How to Refinish Honey Oak Cabinets

Refinishing honey oak cabinets will restore their appearance.

Honey oak cabinets add a warm elegance to the overall decor of your kitchen. Their appearance will fade over time, however, as regular exposure to grease and moisture will damage the cabinets' finish. Refinishing your honey oak cabinets will restore them to their original beauty.

Things You'll Need

• 120 grit sandpaper
• 180 grit sandpaper
• Chemical stripper
• Stain
• Polyurethane
• Screwdriver
• Putty knife
• Steel wool
• Paintbrushes
• Cloth

Instructions

1. Remove handles and hinges from the honey oak cabinets with the screwdriver.

2. Apply a liberal amount of chemical stripper to the surface of the honey oak cabinets to remove the original finish.

3. Scrape the original finish off the surface of the honey oak cabinets with a putty knife. Scrub the cabinets with steel wool in areas where the finish is difficult to reach.

4. Sand the honey oak cabinets with 120 grit sandpaper to roughen the wood surface and completely clean it of the original finish. Sand the cabinets again with 180 grit sandpaper to smooth the wood surface so the new finish goes on smoothly.

5. Brush a coat of stain onto the surface of the honey oak cabinets. Let the stain sit on the wood and absorb into the wood and then wipe off any excess stain with a clean cloth. Allow the stain to fully dry.

6. Apply a thin coat of polyurethane onto the surface of the honey oak cabinets with a paintbrush. Let the coat dry and lightly sand the cabinets with 180 grit sandpaper. Apply a final thin coat of polyurethane onto the cabinets and allow them to dry completely.

Tips & Warnings

• Work with the grain of the wood

• Keep your work area ventilated

References

• Lowe's: How to Refinish Wood