Woodworking Question

[Traveshamockery]

When we moved into this house, our kitchen cupboards were painted white but seemed to be rather shoddily done.  They have wainscoting and it's a nice wood thick wood.  The cupboards are sturdy and large and I want to keep them, I just want to improve them.

A couple of years ago my husband agreed to sand them all down and stain them.  Bless his heart, he spent a lot of hot summer days sanding them and staining them to a lighter color.  The staining brings out the pattern in the wood and they are okay but I just don't much like them.  They are not all that smooth, either.  I'd love to smooth the wood out and paint or stain them a beigy/gray/off white color like this:



They talk about paint and some sort of glaze. 

Do we have to take off the old stain and how exactly do professional woodworkers get the wood so smooth.  Is there a different method for sanding? 

Is there anyone here who knows about woodworking? 

[IassaFTots]

I know someone who knows.  I will ask him tonight. 

[JohnnyReb]

To strip them down to original wood and redo them will be a nightmare of a job.

See a cabinet shop about redoing the face frames and putting on new doors.

It will be a lot cheaper than a divorce.

[RightCoast]

If your husband put a finish over the stain you'll need to sand that off.  If it is just the stain that's an easier sanding job - but also probably why it doesn't feel as smooth as you want.  At this point repainting is your best bet: Use a degrease or cleaning solution on all the wood to take off the oil/ grease that collects from cooking in the kitchen.  Sand down any areas that are shiny or rough - start with a 150-180 grit and end at 220 grit, you should go over everything at least twice.  Fill any holes or dents with a good wood filler. Caulk in any seams or gaps that you don't like.  Prime with a high grade oil-based primer, then use a fine grit sanding-sponge to go over all primed areas.  Now paint with a high grade latex paint, two coats, the second coat you can use a little bit of latex-paint-thinner to help the brush strokes smooth out. 

[Traveshamockery]

I know someone who knows.  I will ask him tonight. 

He saw them, too, didn't he? 

Sounds like it's going to be a lot of work either way and my elbow surely can't handle it.  There is no way I will ask Mr. Traveshamockery to redo those cupboard doors. 

What about putting a glaze over all of it? 

[IassaFTots]

He saw them, too, didn't he? 

Sounds like it's going to be a lot of work either way and my elbow surely can't handle it.  There is no way I will ask Mr. Traveshamockery to redo those cupboard doors. 

What about putting a glaze over all of it? 

Yup.  He saw em.  10 bucks says he says exactly what RightCoast did.  Betcha.