Removing Varnish From Cabinet Doors

Allow at least 15 minutes for the stripper to gel the finish.

Removing varnish from cabinet doors.

Remove the cabinet doors and drawers from the cabinet base. Step 1 remove all doors drawers hinges handles and knobs. Hand sand small spots or leave them and sand it while sanding your door. Scrape off the varnish with a paint scraper or a putty knife.

Now back to stripping the paint from the cabinets. The layer of stain remover tends to swell or bubble up when ready for removal. Use a marker and a small piece of masking tape to label each drawer and cabinet door with a designated symbol that indicates where they go when finished. You can use a stiff bristled scrub brush to remove varnish from fancy curved details.

Step 2 fold a sheet of fine grit sanding paper into a square and sand over the entire surface of the cabinets the cabinet doors and the drawer fronts. Painters tape to protect areas around cabinets and walls if you are working on something installed like a door frame or kitchen cabinets. If however you don t plan on repainting the object but prefer instead to show off the wood grain underneath or stain it at most then you re going to have to remove every last drop of old paint. Clean rags have them handy to wipe the wood after using the solvent.

Though labor intensive sandpaper is capable of removing nearly any wood finish. Spread the wood filler and allow it to dry. It can be used to refinish hardwood floors or it can be used to remove varnish from much smaller surfaces a. Use a screwdriver to remove the hinges and drawer pulls.

I applied a thicker coat of the paint stripper with a cheap paint brush and let it sit for 30 minutes. For cracks in the door scrape or sand off any rough or raised edges. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws twisting in a counterclockwise direction. Scouring pads and or steel wool you ll use these with the solvent to remove the stripper residue.

Scrape the gelled finish off the cabinets using a paint. Before the stain remover has dried gently scrape the layer of stain and stripper residue from the wood surface with a plastic scraper or putty knife. Scrape directly into a trash can if possible. Brush the stripper on the cabinet face frames and end jambs two at a time.