Should I sand and paint the wood or use a stripper and then sand and paint?

Question

I'm looking for an inexpensive way to update my kitchen cabinets and figured taking off the current finish and refinishing it with a stain and/or gloss. I've seen instances on h.g.t.v. where designers would use a stripper, then sand, stain, etc., and finish. I've also seen them just sanding and painting. over wood. Which method is the easiest and most cost effective to use? And when is using a wood stripper really necessary?

Answer 1

using stripper is a lot of work and messy. if you can get away with just sand and paint that is the way to go.

Answer 2

If you want the underlying wood to be on show, stained nicely or suchlike, then you will have to remove all traces of the existing finish first, and the easiest way to do that is with stripper.  Once the finish has been cleaned off, the amount of sanding needed may not be very much.  On the other hand, if you want a new paint finish, all you need to do is make sure the existing finish is even and roughened, and the best way to do that is by sanding, you won't need stripper at all.

Answer 3

There is a liquid sander available on the market that you can buy.  Stripping is time consuming and takes work, BUT I prefer to strip completely, sand and then refinish either with a very high quality paint or stain. Depending on which you choose, and even if it is paint you can then put on 2 to 3 coats of satin polyurathane to help proctect the finish.  The poly also makes it a lot easier to keep the cabinets free of grease accumulation by simply washing them down with hot, sudsy water, rinsing well and then buffing dry with a soft cloth.

I also use poly on the insides of the cabinets, which makes cleaning them easier.  It also protects them from moisture damage.

Answer 4

If the existing finish is sound, that is, not gooey nor flaking off, you can usually paint over it, as long as you can make them dull and clean.  The exception to this is some of the 2-part finishes put on my manufacturers in the last 12-15 years.  These not only don't take anything on top of them (adhesion is an issue), but they are a bear to strip.

Sanding to completely remove a finish, as an alternative to using a stripper, is a really bad idea.  You will get very tired of it very quickly.  It does not do a good job in corners and details, it will not do a very good job removing the existing finish and will risk sanding through veneers.

Answer 5

you can sand prime than paint just make sure that you sand every square inch