This is probably more appropriate for the woodworking group, but I'll cast
my line out and see what happens.
The finish on my cabinets is a badly worn varnish. I say varnish because
its a flaky yellowish crystaline substance from the 1960's over plywood.
After removing the varnish from the cabinet boards I notice that the cabinet
isn't a natural wood color so I'm assuming it was stained. My question is
what kind of a finish would be best for wood like this?
It's not like its raw plywood or something, it has a nice hard smooth finish
so being unfamiliar with plywood construction I can only assume its a
hardwood laminate or similar material.
I guess my question is, if I restain it, do I need to apply varnish to seal
or are there better alternatives? What if I like the original color and
simply want to seal/complete the finish from weathering (hands, kitchen
smoke, traffic, etc..)
I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks, but
something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the kitchen.
It's probably varnish, as you suspect. So, it's oil based, being of
that vintage. Using any waterbased product over it will likely not be
satisfactory.
I would remove the doors/drawers, take them out of the kitchen
(outside?) and sand them to remove the varnish coat. If you are OK
with present stain color, then recoat with an oil based polyurethane.
If you want a different shade or color, You may have to resort to
stripping it all, then sanding.
Even if you apply an oil based paint, you will need to sand away the
varnish coat first.
Whatever you decide, the face frames will have to have the same
treatment, of course.
good luck!!
Gene
On Mar 17, 1:31 pm, "Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is probably more appropriate for thewoodworkinggroup, but I'll cast
> my line out and see what happens.
>
> The finish on my cabinets is a badly worn varnish. I say varnish because
> its a flaky yellowish crystaline substance from the 1960's over plywood.
> After removing the varnish from the cabinet boards I notice that the cabinet
> isn't a natural wood color so I'm assuming it was stained. My question is
> what kind of a finish would be best for wood like this?
>
> It's not like its raw plywood or something, it has a nice hard smooth finish
> so being unfamiliar with plywood construction I can only assume its a
> hardwood laminate or similar material.
>
> I guess my question is, if I restain it, do I need to apply varnish to seal
> or are there better alternatives? What if I like the original color and
> simply want to seal/complete the finish from weathering (hands, kitchen
> smoke, traffic, etc..)
>
> I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks, but
> something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the kitchen.
On Mar 17, 9:43 pm, [email protected] (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, "Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I've removed the varnish from my test piece (a while back not today), Citrus
> >Strip seemed to do a perfectly adequate job, so whatever's on there can't be
> >too tough. I'll go with a polyeurothane as was suggested and keep the
> >original color.
>
> Some suggestions...
>
> Use a good quality, full gloss, oil based poly. Apply with
> a good foam brush -- the Wooster's sold at Lowes are
> excellent and very inexpensive. Stir (don't shake) the
> poly and thin it with mineral spirits if that helps.
>
> Apply about 4 coats, waiting about 24 hours for each one
> to dry. Sand *very* lightly between coats with 400 grit.
>
> After the final coat wait a few days for a full cure.
> Then, if you want to knock down the plastic-like look,
> rub the new finish with 0000 steel wool and some good
> quality wax. It will make it silky smooth but not glossy.
>
> If you're careful and patient, you'll have a really
> professional looking finish. I used this protocol on
> some beaten-up kitchen cabinets and the final result
> was simply wonderful. The striping/sanding is a pain
> but everything else is pretty quick and easy to do
> right.
Card scraper did the job for me last set of kitchen cabinet fronts
I was paid to strip. Prepare to file the edge every 2 minutes (no
hook needed), but even then, it's faster than anything short of a
hot lye bath.
On Mar 17, 4:31 pm, "Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks, but
> something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the kitchen.
Use poly or alkyd enamel paint. Prob with linseed is it takes about a
year
to fully cure, during which time it'll absorb whatever cooking fumes
you
have floating about your kitchen.
"DZIN" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It's probably varnish, as you suspect. So, it's oil based, being of
> that vintage. Using any waterbased product over it will likely not be
> satisfactory.
> I would remove the doors/drawers, take them out of the kitchen
> (outside?) and sand them to remove the varnish coat. If you are OK
> with present stain color, then recoat with an oil based polyurethane.
> If you want a different shade or color, You may have to resort to
> stripping it all, then sanding.
> Even if you apply an oil based paint, you will need to sand away the
> varnish coat first.
> Whatever you decide, the face frames will have to have the same
> treatment, of course.
> good luck!!
> Gene
>
I've removed the varnish from my test piece (a while back not today), Citrus
Strip seemed to do a perfectly adequate job, so whatever's on there can't be
too tough. I'll go with a polyeurothane as was suggested and keep the
original color.
> On Mar 17, 1:31 pm, "Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> This is probably more appropriate for thewoodworkinggroup, but I'll cast
>> my line out and see what happens.
>>
>> The finish on my cabinets is a badly worn varnish. I say varnish because
>> its a flaky yellowish crystaline substance from the 1960's over plywood.
>> After removing the varnish from the cabinet boards I notice that the
>> cabinet
>> isn't a natural wood color so I'm assuming it was stained. My question
>> is
>> what kind of a finish would be best for wood like this?
>>
>> It's not like its raw plywood or something, it has a nice hard smooth
>> finish
>> so being unfamiliar with plywood construction I can only assume its a
>> hardwood laminate or similar material.
>>
>> I guess my question is, if I restain it, do I need to apply varnish to
>> seal
>> or are there better alternatives? What if I like the original color and
>> simply want to seal/complete the finish from weathering (hands, kitchen
>> smoke, traffic, etc..)
>>
>> I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks,
>> but
>> something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the kitchen.
>
>
"Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> This is probably more appropriate for the woodworking group, but I'll cast
> my line out and see what happens.
>
> The finish on my cabinets is a badly worn varnish. I say varnish because
> its a flaky yellowish crystaline substance from the 1960's over plywood.
> After removing the varnish from the cabinet boards I notice that the
> cabinet isn't a natural wood color so I'm assuming it was stained. My
> question is what kind of a finish would be best for wood like this?
>
> It's not like its raw plywood or something, it has a nice hard smooth
> finish so being unfamiliar with plywood construction I can only assume its
> a hardwood laminate or similar material.
>
> I guess my question is, if I restain it, do I need to apply varnish to
> seal or are there better alternatives? What if I like the original color
> and simply want to seal/complete the finish from weathering (hands,
> kitchen smoke, traffic, etc..)
>
> I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks,
> but something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the
> kitchen.
There are many ways to go. Take some photos and go to a good paint store
and get some recommendations. Things to consider:
1/ cost
2/ durability
3/ ease of preparation and application (can a DIYer get a good result)
4/ smell (some modern finishes are just awful)
"Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:JZOdneGS-
> I guess my question is, if I restain it, do I need to apply varnish to
> seal or are there better alternatives? What if I like the original color
> and simply want to seal/complete the finish from weathering (hands,
> kitchen smoke, traffic, etc..)
>
> I'm used to working with linseed oil, I use it to refinish my gunstocks,
> but something tells me I don't want something that flammable in the
> kitchen.
Linseed oil would not be flammable once cured,but is still a poor choice for
a kitchen. I'd go with a polyurethane as it is easy to clean.
In article <[email protected]>, "Eigenvector" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I've removed the varnish from my test piece (a while back not today), Citrus
>Strip seemed to do a perfectly adequate job, so whatever's on there can't be
>too tough. I'll go with a polyeurothane as was suggested and keep the
>original color.
Some suggestions...
Use a good quality, full gloss, oil based poly. Apply with
a good foam brush -- the Wooster's sold at Lowes are
excellent and very inexpensive. Stir (don't shake) the
poly and thin it with mineral spirits if that helps.
Apply about 4 coats, waiting about 24 hours for each one
to dry. Sand *very* lightly between coats with 400 grit.
After the final coat wait a few days for a full cure.
Then, if you want to knock down the plastic-like look,
rub the new finish with 0000 steel wool and some good
quality wax. It will make it silky smooth but not glossy.
If you're careful and patient, you'll have a really
professional looking finish. I used this protocol on
some beaten-up kitchen cabinets and the final result
was simply wonderful. The striping/sanding is a pain
but everything else is pretty quick and easy to do
right.
--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| [email protected] Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 21:35:51 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I'd go with a polyurethane as it is easy to clean.
I second that. They make low VOC poly so it won't stink up the house.
My kitchen is all either stainless or poly over wood (including the
countertops) They are bulletproof and everything comes off with a wet
sponge.
As for the stain, try a small out of the way spot but I bet the only
way you get a decent result is to strip it completety. Be aware if it
is a hardwood overlay you will be down to the base wood in about a
silly millimeter so sand carefully. In the end you might end up with a
laminate on it.