Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Refinishing kitchen cabinets

George,

Several months back you gave me great advice on refinishing an old piano. After months, literally of sanding it turned out beautiful. Thanks for the help.

Now I need your advice for another project. After taking all the doors and hardware off my kitchen cabinets. I sanded and used TSP to clean them. I put one coat of an oil based primer (KILZ) on the backs of the doors, let them dry for 24 hours. When I sanded them (between coat sanding to keep it smooth) with my electric sander and 220 grade paper the primer began to chip in parts. My intention is to sand between all coats for a smooth, distressed finish by the end.

I am now afraid that my 9 year old white washed cabinets were finished with a water based product and that the oil based products I much prefer to use for their qualities of durability and sandability may not work. Do you have any suggestions for my before I go any further?

Susan

Susan:

This is more in line with a question for the painting forum, but I'll give it a shot.

First, the only oil based primer I know of by KILZ is an exterior primer - but that really makes little or no difference. The one I use most often is alcohol based.

Second, if the primer is chipping off, you applied too much. Sand the cabinets back to the original paint and prime again. Kilz should work whether oil or latex was used originally. Also, Kilz should be dry enough to sand out within 2 hours maximum. The alcohol-base aerosols I use most of the time dry within 30 minutes.

Third (and a LOT of people don't think of this) primer is an integral part of your FINISH system, and just like every other finish, needs to be stirred well before, and during, use.

If you're still not comfortable with the KILZ and want to set it aside for something else, use BIN. It doesn't sand as easily as KILZ (which is why I prefer KILZ), but it is specifically made to bond between dissimilar types of paint.

Congrats on the piano - I knew you could do it. If you have the facilities, email me a snapshot.

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George T.

[This message has been edited by George (edited August 29, 2000).]

George

Thanks for the response. I hand sanded cabinets and am now having no problems. I'm afraid the electric sander may have been grinding/chipping the primer, which is now working fine. Oh well, tried to save myself some labor.

I checked the paint section - Duh - you were right, there was good advice there too. It just didn't occur to me to look there.

Thanks again. I love this site!