How to Do Your Own Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

Kitchen cabinet refacing is normally an expensive project, but it really doesn't have to be. You can reface your own kitchen cabinets for a relatively small amount of money, and avoid paying thousands of dollars to a contractor.

Things You'll Need

• Table Saw
• Contact Cement
• Cabinet Veneers
• New Cabinet Doors
• Basic Hand Tools
• Laminate Roller

Instructions

1. Remove your old kitchen cabinet doors and hardware. Before you can do anything you really need to take off the doors so that you are working with the main structural elements of the cabinet. Make sure that you remove all of the screws carefully so you don't damage anything as you're taking off the hinges.

2. Sand the face frame and sides of the cabinet structure down to the bare wood. In order to install your veneers properly, you have to expose the bare wood to give the glue an optimum sealing surface. Start out with a coarse grit sand paper such as 80 grit, and end up at about 200 grit for your final sanding.

3. Clear away any dust or debris from the cabinet surfaces. Everything needs to be free of sawdust and sanding debris before installing the veneers to make sure that they sit flat, and that the glue seals well. A tack cloth and shop vac work great for this step.

4. Measure and cut your veneers for the face frame and cabinet sides. Take as much time as you need to ensure that your measurements are accurate. You don't want to waste veneer material by making hasty measurements and inaccurate cuts.

5. Apply contact cement to both the cabinet structure and to the back of the veneers. Contact cement needs to be spread onto opposing surfaces to provide a proper bond between two materials, so make sure that you cover the entire back side of the veneers as well as all of the sealing surfaces on the cabinet structure. For kitchen cabinet refacing it's best to purchase a large can of contact cement so that you don't run out in the middle of the project.

6. Install all of the veneers onto the cabinet structure. Use a roller to make sure that the veneers are properly seated and have good contact with the face frame and cabinet sides.

7. Inspect the cabinet for any cracks, glue drips, or misaligned veneers. If you find any mistakes, now is the time to correct them.

8. Hang the new cabinet doors. Once you've finished all of your veneer work you can move on to the final construction step of installing the new cabinet doors. Make sure that you don't scuff the new doors or drop them while you are installing the hinges. Get someone else to help you steady and support them if you're having trouble by yourself.

9. Clean and polish your cabinets. Wipe off any fingerprints or smudges from your new cabinets, and protect them with a light coating of furniture polish applied with a soft cotton rag.