Cabinets

There are several ways to refinish cabinets. Stain and varnish are mostly what you see in homes today. New Cabinets that are bought from home depot or other low costs stores will come with a lacquer finish.

Lacquer looks great when they come to your home just out of the box. They are made out of state where it is legal to use higher grades of lacquer. Then they are painted in spray booths using robotic sprayers; no wonder they look great.

The problem with lacquer is that it just doesn’t last very long. Sunlight, water, cooking oils and detergents all can and do break down lacquer, and do it surprisingly quickly. Water is the worst and what a place to have that problem, I don’t know about you but when I clean dishes I have water everywhere. When going to your friends homes, look at which of their kitchen cabinets always look the worst; it is always the ones right under the sink. Why is that? Lacquer just doesn’t hold up to water. The next biggest problem is sunlight, which every good kitchen has plenty of.

We rarely do lacquer finishes because we just believe they are a waste of your money and our time. There are other options that can and do work better then lacquer. Water base sealers do work here but also have the same problems that lacquers do. Understanding your options and what the costs of them are is the first step. Then comes picking what is right for you with the criteria of what they will look like when finished and how long they will last. Knowing what it will take to keep them looking their best is something you should also look into.

You don’t have to spend a fortune replacing or refinishing cabinets. Most times when we walk into homes, the only ones that look bad are under the sink. So why do all of them? Please take a breath here and find solutions that work, not just for looks, but for costs as well. Cabinets are one of the most expensive items that need to be painted or refinished in your home and sometimes you can’t help but go all the way. But it is our experience that most times that is not the case and there other options that should be looked at first.

Painting, oil base varnish, break through sealers, all can be done. But remember that once you cross the line and start thinking about a spray finish, things can and do get expensive. Yes we do this kind of work and sometimes there is no other option. But you should have someone who knows all the ins and outs of cabinets take a look and make sure that you understand all the options