Removing Varnish From Cabinet Doors

Spread the wood filler and allow it to dry.

Removing varnish from cabinet doors. It can be used to refinish hardwood floors or it can be used to remove varnish from much smaller surfaces a. Scrape the gelled finish off the cabinets using a paint. Step 1 remove all doors drawers hinges handles and knobs. Better for indoor use because it smells like oranges but still wear a painting mask and puddy knife.

Use a screwdriver to remove the screws twisting in a counterclockwise direction. The layer of stain remover tends to swell or bubble up when ready for removal. Scrape directly into a trash can if possible. Use a screwdriver to remove the hinges and drawer pulls.

First i tried just using the paint stripper citristrip. Now back to stripping the paint from the cabinets. Scouring pads and or steel wool you ll use these with the solvent to remove the stripper residue. Painters tape to protect areas around cabinets and walls if you are working on something installed like a door frame or kitchen cabinets.

Though labor intensive sandpaper is capable of removing nearly any wood finish. Remove the cabinet doors and drawers from the cabinet base. Hand sand small spots or leave them and sand it while sanding your door. For cracks in the door scrape or sand off any rough or raised edges.

Brush the stripper on the cabinet face frames and end jambs two at a time. Allow at least 15 minutes for the stripper to gel the finish. If however you don t plan on repainting the object but prefer instead to show off the wood grain underneath or stain it at most then you re going to have to remove every last drop of old paint. I applied a thicker coat of the paint stripper with a cheap paint brush and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Clean rags have them handy to wipe the wood after using the solvent. Use a marker and a small piece of masking tape to label each drawer and cabinet door with a designated symbol that indicates where they go when finished. Before the stain remover has dried gently scrape the layer of stain and stripper residue from the wood surface with a plastic scraper or putty knife. Some of the stain may linger after scraping.