How To Refinish Linoleum Kitchen Cabinets

Linoleum kitchen cabinets are trickier to handle than cabinet made entirely of wood. They are slippery which makes it a little difficult for paint to adhere on it. Following the correct procedure in handling this type of cabinet, however, can solve this problem. Here’s how you properly refinish linoleum kitchen cabinets:

    Gather the materials. You need rags, newspapers or a drop cloth, a degreasing cleanser, medium-grit and fine-grit sandpapers, a primer, a foam roller, a paintbrush, an interior latex paint, and urethane for this activity. If you are refinishing a lot of linoleum kitchen cabinets, opt to use a palm sander as buffer, instead of sandpapers to make your sanding faster. You can buy palm sanders from home improvement stores. Also, you should have hammers, nails, and other repair tools at hand in case you need to do minor repairs on your cabinets.
    Prepare the kitchen cabinets. Take out all the objects inside your linoleum cabinets and set them aside. Next, remove the cabinets and their shelving from their hinges, and clean them using a rag and a degreasing cleanser. Make sure that you get all the dust and oil that have accumulated on your cabinets. Rinse the cabinets and shelving with a rag moistened with water, and let them dry. When the cabinets and shelving have dried, inspect them for any repair that they need. Fix the damages that you have found to prepare them for sanding.

    Sand the kitchen cabinets. Lay newspapers or a drop cloth on the surface where you’re going to sand the cabinets. Sanding is an important step in refinishing linoleum cabinets. It doesn’t only even out the surface of your cabinets; it also makes the primer adhere better to the cabinet’s slick surface. Sand your kitchen cabinets with the medium-grit sandpaper first to remove hard particles that had formed on your cabinets, followed by the fine-grit sandpaper to smoothen out the cabinets’ surfaces. Remove all the shavings on the cabinets with a damp rag.
    Prime the kitchen cabinets. Putting primer on your linoleum kitchen cabinets makes painting easier. Because of this, you shouldn’t leave out this step in refinishing linoleum kitchen cabinets. Dip a brush into a primer and spread it on the cabinets’ edges and other areas that are difficult to reach by a paint roller. Next, use a paint roller to apply primer on the cabinets. Using a roller instead of a brush in painting makes the painting smooth because of the absence of brush strokes. Air dry the cabinets. If the cabinets’ old paint is still visible under the primer, apply another coat of primer on the cabinets.
    Paint and seal the kitchen cabinets. Paint the cabinets with an interior latex paint. Again, use a paintbrush first to spread a layer of paint on the hard to reach areas of the cabinets. Follow this step with applying paint to the cabinets with a paint roller to eliminate the presence of brush strokes. Let the paint dry. When the paint has dried, inspect the cabinets for drip marks. Smoothen these out by sanding them lightly with fine-grit sandpaper. Apply another coat of paint, if desired. To seal the paint, put a layer of urethane on top of the paint using a paintbrush. Let the seal cure for about a week. Return the cabinets and shelving on their places after sealing.

If your aim is to create a new look for your kitchen, opt to refinish your kitchen cabinets, instead of renovating your whole kitchen. This procedure alone will bring back the glow in your kitchen, making your kitchen seem new again. Refinishing is also cheaper than renovation as you only have to focus on restoring or overhauling a part of your kitchen as opposed to recreating your whole kitchen.