Hi folks,
I want to refinish and paint my kitchen cabinets, but before touching the doors I want to ask opinions on how to repair this peeling on edges of 3 cabinets. Looks like steam from the range and kettle did this.
I was thinking to trim off the excess bit that has peeled and expanded, then sand down and fill with wood/general filler before painting with bullseye 123. Is there a better approach?
I will echo the Bondo route that others suggested. The big box hardware stores sell quart cans of general purpose Bondo in the paint aisle.
Cut out the vaneer over the bad area with a razor blade or box cutter.
Sand with 80 or 120 grit to remove any loose bits of the board. The particle board will crumble a little, but it will be fine. Just dont go overboard. Vacuum it to remove most dust.
Using a flexible putty knife, get one to two globs of Bondo on a clean piece of cardboard. Don’t do too much as you will have about 5 minutes of working time once the hardener is added. Follow the instructions on how much hardener to add, you wont need much. Fold the hardener into the Bondo with the putty knife until it is a uniform color.
Spread the bondo over the area you cut out. Try to get it smooth, but dont overwork it. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Using 60 or 80 grit paper, sand it as it starts to dry. If it is gumming up the paper, it is still too wet to sand, give it another minute or two and try again. You are shaping it with this step. If you let it completely dry, it is hard as a rock and more difficult to sand.
Once it is in a good shape, switch to the next step up for sanding and repeat (60 to 80 to 120 to 180 to 220). Do not skip gits or you will just make work for yourself. You can probably stop at 180, but since it is next to vaneer, i’d go to 220. Again, if it is gumming the paper, wait a few minutes. Once you are at 220, use it to sand the entire cabinet to rough up the surface and accept primer better.
Once sanded, wipe the entire cabinet down with a tac cloth. I also recommend wiping the cabinets with a wax and greese remover so everything will stick better.
Now it is time for primer and paint. For a smooth finish, use a good quality foam mini-roller and foam brush for tighter areas.
Prime the cabinet using any water-based primer; killz is pretty good. They make an oil based that would be better, but will smell up your whole house, so I don’t recommend it unless you have excellent ventilation.
Lightly sand the peimer once it is fully dried with 220. If any spot is too light, do a second coat. Wipe up the dust.
Paint with an alkyd paint. Do at least 2 coats.
Not necessary, but if you want extra protection, you could use a foam brush (not a roller here) and do 3 to 4 coats of a water-based polyurethane on top of the paint. It might be overkill for what you want though.
This might seem like a lot, but you will have a great finish when done. Also, fair warning, Bondo has a strong smell. Open a window.
Oh wow this is excellent, thank you so much for taking the time to do such a detailed write up! Much appreciated. Going to get everything together this weekend and tackle it over the next few days. Thank you!!
Good luck to you. Post the results when you finish. I’m sure more than just me would like to see it
Will do for sure! Going to work on it sometime in May.
I’ve heard that an oil primer is the way to go for kitchen cabinets. Wood filler or bondo should work for repairing those edges.
I’ve never used an oil based primer, only the bullseye / shellac stuff. Not sure if it’s the same, but seems to seal well.
Nice thanks all, glad that my initial thoughts on repair seem to be on the right track. The cabinets are original and are over 35 years old at this point, so not the worst shape all things considered!
Shellac is not the same as oil based. Oil based is made from, well, oil. Shelllac is made by crushing the shells of the lac bug. It is an insect that is cultivated specifically for the purpose. Shellac is typically used as a final coat for protection. Shellac primer is basically that mixed with a white pigment. It is great for sealing. Fairly pricy though.
Tbh I’d just sand down the edges of that and throw on another sheet of veneer. Other than that, your idea of wood fill and paint would probably work (I’d look for a touch up marker in the same wood type), but seems like a lot of effort for particle board and wood veneer
The venner is super thin, it’s that film stuff is n top of particle board so I don’t think the touch up marker would work. This one is the worst, the other two are super minor and I’m probably the only one that notices it.
You could always just glue it back on and clamp it down while it sets. I’d try that on a small section first, since it’s probably the easiest solution. See how it looks, and then go from there.
Oh good idea, I never considered that because of how thing the veneer/film is. Would standard wood glue do the trick you think?
If it’s getting damp and you’re going the wood filler way, use the two-part stuff; it’s like car body filler with a paste and a hardener. Stinks but it’s faaaaar better than water based stuff
Ah that’s a good tip. I’ll take a look if it’s available locally, it’s like that bondo stuff so probably. I think the wood filler I have is also outdoor grade, and would be covered by sealer/primer. Best to start with a solid layer first though!
You could try gluing it and clamping but it looks like getting a clamp on it might be hard and I have not had good luck gluing veneer that is peeling away like that. That is cheap and easy to try so I would start there though. Some of the other suggestions to repair it are good as well. I will throw out another, buy a sheet of veneer and cut out a square an inch or so larger than the area that needs to be repaired. Lay the square over the area to be repaired and cut out the bad area in the shape of the repair piece, then glue the repair piece in, a little wood putty and sanding to match might do the trick.
Depending on where it is peeling away, you might try putting on small decorative trim pieces stained or painted in a complementing color. I did this all along the underside of our countertop as decoration and to make some new cabinets blend in with older existing ones.
