The term “cabinet refacing” can be a daunting one at first glance, but it’s actually far less complicated than it sounds. Simply put, cabinet refacing is replacing your cabinet doors and drawers with new material.
Before diving into the process of refacing your cabinets, though, it’s important to sufficiently prepare your cabinets for the remodel they are about to undertake. You do need to take the time to carefully measure your cabinet space in order to place an order for properly sized doors and drawer fronts, but making sure your cabinets are ready for new doors, drawer fronts and panels are just as crucial.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through precisely how to determine whether the condition of your existing cabinet spaces is good enough to move forward with your refacing project.
For Thermofoil(RTF) or laminate cabinets:
- Start by removing any hardware from doors and drawer fronts you plan to reuse.
Pro Tip: Keep all like items in a baggie for easier and proper sorting. It may be an extras step in the process, but it protects against misplacing vital pieces of hardware and saves you plenty of headaches in the long run.
- Remove all of your doors and drawer fronts from your cabinets and drawer boxes.
- If you have two-piece hinges, you can easily snap the base of the hinge to quickly remove the door.
- Completely empty your cabinets.
- With a 50/50 solution of vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle, clean your cabinetry to remove any dirt and grime that’s accumulated over the years.
That’s it! Now you can simply install your new cabinet doors and drawer fronts.
For wood cabinets you plan to paint:
- Start by removing any hardware from doors and drawer fronts you plan to reuse.
Pro Tip: Keep all like items in a baggie for easier and proper sorting.
- Remove all of your doors and drawer fronts from your cabinets and drawer boxes.
- If you have two-piece hinges, you can easily snap the base of the hinge to quickly remove the door.
- Completely empty your cabinets.
- With a 50/50 solution of vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle, clean your cabinetry to remove any dirt and grime that’s accumulated over the years.
- Determine if the old paint is in good enough condition to warrant a quick sand to prime over.
**Please consider the age of your home. It is possible your current paint is lead-based. Please use a testing kit or call a professional for help if you believe the paint may be lead-based. Homes built before 1978 are likely candidates for lead-based paint.
- Using medium, 60-100, grit sand paper to sand all surfaces you plan to paint.
- Clean all surfaces with a cloth or vacuum to remove dust.
That’s it! Your cabinets should be ready to paint, along with your cabinet doors and drawer fronts. Take a look at our instructions here to learn how to paint your cabinets!
DIY cabinet refacing sounds like more work than it actually is. If you take the time to prep correctly and keep the hardware you are keeping organized, refacing cabinet doors and drawer fronts will be a breeze.
If you have any questions give us a call, our customer service team members are happy to help!
