Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 2, February 2004

Copyright 2004 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

DECORATING DILEMMAS:

Old wood cabinets?

By ROBIN DALY

Q: Dear Robin,

My wood kitchen cabinets are perfectly functional, but they are looking a bit outdated and tired. Can I do anything, short of replacing them, to make them look any better?

A: I have some good news for you! Refreshing your cabinets is one of the easier things you can do to make your kitchen look better. All it takes is a bit of elbow grease and you will be on your way to restoring all that gleaming woodwork.

First of all, let's determine the state of your cabinets. Examine the surface; is there any dirt or grease build-up around the handles or along the edges? Even the tidiest amongst us can have grimy cabinet woodwork in places, so be honest!

If this is the case, here's what you need to do: Using a rough cloth, like terry cloth, scrub down the cabinets using paint thinner. Make sure you are not using lacquer thinner, or else you will be traveling down the refinishing path.

If you find that the terry cloth is not lifting enough of the grime, it's time to work on those cabinets with a synthetic scrub pad specifically designed for refinishing don't confuse this pad with the type that you use in the summer to scrub down the grill!

Before attacking the doors with paint thinner, remove the handles. This will make it so much easier to clean off the dirt on the door surface. Even if you are feeling a little lazy, and don't want to unscrew all the pulls, remember that it's a lot less work to clean off a flat surface than one with the all those handles in the way.

If the handles themselves are outdated, this is also the perfect opportunity to replace them with new hardware. It's definitely worth a trip to Builder's Hardware on 15th Ave W., to check out the latest in knobs and pulls before you attach everything back on again.

Using the synthetic pad, scrub the cabinets well but try not to scrape into the finish, or you might leave some scratches. After you have removed most of the dirt with the scrub pad (or you lucky ones who can just use the terry cloth), let the cabinets dry for a while.

This is a good time to remind you to use solvent resistant gloves for this project. Also, make sure the room is well ventilated. If you are chemically sensitive, a respirator may also be appropriate. I also think this is a good time to take a break in your day and eat some lunch.

So once lunch is eaten, and the cabinets are dry, it's time to add the gleam. The hard part is over, and this last step will give you lustrous results. Using a soft cloth, like white t-shirt rags, rub down the cabinets with teak oil. That's it! You have now successfully restored your woodwork without refinishing the cabinets.

Please realize this will not replace the need to ever refinish them, but it's a great way to extend the life of the existing finish. If your cabinets are down to bare wood, this "refresh" will not repair that situation. But for most of us, it really adds new life.

Since you are mucking around the kitchen cabinets, how well are your shelves organized? My favorite source of inspiration to combat cabinet chaos is Storables at University Village shopping center. Check out the expandable shelf steps that you use to store your canned good on, which allow you to see all the way to the back of the cabinet.

Now if we could just invent the automatic kitchen cook.

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Robin Daly is a third generation co-owner of Daly's Paint and Decorating in Fremont. She loves to hear from you and answer your decorating dilemmas.

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