Monday, January 2, 2012

Jan. 1st, 2012- refinishing a kitchen cabinet.

My first project of 2012 was decided at 11 am on the 1st. I was sitting looking at my kitchen with disgust at how dirty and old my cabinets looks. I have the original 1989 oak cabinets that came with the house. I love oak but grime and dirt layers not so much. I threw on my shoes and told my husband I was going to Home Depot. He of course knew I was up to no good (I take on odd projects all the time) kissed me and told me to have fun. By 12 I was back and the project was in full swing.
Here is my before shot. I had other curtains up and the mini blinds were dusty and dirty. I should have taken the picture before I stated but this is day one so I figure I get a little break. Anyways here is my kitchen. Notice the giant white patch on the wall where the paint was peeled off.?
and here is my before close up of my cabinet. Doesn't this make you want to eat at my house? 

I started by spraying each cabinet with a good coat of Simple Green cleaner and scrubbing the heck out of it with a scrub brush and a bunch of paper towels. This part took about 2 hours. It was the worst part of the whole project but the most needed part as well.
Once the cabinets were degreased and dry they looked like this.

The Simple green took off some of the old stain color and made them super dull.
The next step is the Miracle product of this project. It is called Howard Restore a Finish. It is a stain but it is fool proof. Perfect for me:) I dumped some of the stain on an old t-shirt and rubbed it with the grain of the wood on all of the cabinets. This part stunk so bad. I am pretty sure my whole family got a high from it. Lucky for me it was 85 and sunny so we opened up ALL of the windows and we were good. The stain covered all the discolored spots and gave he cabinets life. Once all the stain was dry (20 min) I got a new t-shirt and used another product called Howard Feed and Wax. It is orange oil and beeswax. I rubbed down all the cabinets again. I was exhausted by this point but the look of the cabinets major facelift kept me going. So here is the final product.
What a difference! They are clean and shine again. I was thrilled and my hubby keeps commenting on them.
So here is the break down.
The project from start to finish took me 4 hours. I got all of the supplies at Home Depot and spent just under $30 for the Simple green, Restore-A-Finish and Howards Feed and wax. There are other products that may be a little less money but these are the ones my Mom has always used and they are the best! Plus they were so easy to use and not mess up.
Here is the final finished kitchen
I also patched the hole in the wall and repainted it. Took down the mini blinds and scrubbed them with Simple green and a hose and stole the curtains from my living room (guess I will have to teach you how to sew a valance soon)to complete the kitchen makeover. This was all in the 4 hours as well.
Well that is it. I am off to take a ton of tylenol and sleep off the already starting pain in my arms but to wake up tomorrow and see my pretty kitchen will make it totally worth it.
Check back tomorrow for Jan. 2nd project!

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