Refinishing white wash smooth panel red oak cabinet doors
There are 5 major steps in each cabinet refinishing job.
1. Striping off existing cabinet finishes
2. Progressively sanding cabinets
3. Conditioning the sanded cabinets
4. Applying your stain of choice
5. Applying your clear coat of choice
Refinishing any cabinets is a time consuming and a very involved procedure. The complexity of the job is in a large part is dictated by the design features and make up of the cabinets themselves. The more intricate and complex the cabinets – the more time consuming the job is going to be.
If you are faced with your first cabinet refinishing job and the cabinets that you are after are anything other than smooth panel cabinets – seriously consider hiring a professional for the job.
Keep in mind that most cabinets on the market are made with shop grade plywood that consists of two (or more) types of wood. In the middle is the core that is usually made of one (or all) of: Spruce, Pine or Fir. And the top part (the surface of the plywood that you see) is the veneer – a very thin layer of the wood species that your cabinets appear to be made out of. When sanding your cabinets it is very important not to sand through the veneer.
In this two part video I’m demonstrating a simple technique of refinishing smooth panel cabinet doors made out of Red Oak shop grade plywood with a white wash stain and a high gloss clear finish.