The cabinets in my bathroom are painted. Yesterday I noticed that the paint is peeling away in more than a few areas and underneath seems to be a nice wood. I always thought the cabinets underneath would be something hideous from the '70's if someone felt that painting them would be better LOL. I have removed some of the paint with a Citris Stripper that comes in an aerosal can and it really has been working pretty well but I notice that there is still little flecks of white paint that appear to be stuck in the grain of the wood in some areas....what do I need to do to get it off?? AND once I do have all the paint removed do I need to put on a varnish or stain or something??? I am a total novice at this so I appreciate any and all help.

By Mrse on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 09:26 pm:

I would use a tooth brush on the paint that is in the grooves, once the remover had done it's job, then you sand all the door/drawer fronts. Take everything off that you can, once it is all sanded, then you will want to put on your varnish, they do have varnish with a color in it, which would be good. Check for what finish you want it to have in the end, semi gloss or satin, the paint store will have a chart which shows you what it will look like when it is done. You could also buy new hardware if you wanted a big change. The varathane with a color also comes in white. When you use the sander just us a normal hand sander , do not use a belt sander, it is to strong . Make sure you have a fan in the bathroom running because if you use varathane with a color ( which gives you a super strong paint) it will be really smelly and you will need to ventalate the room. I use the varathane with the color white for all my door jams, it is so easy to clean and it is strong so it does not chip easily. I just repainted my kitchen cabinets the white, it is a satin. The flat paint you will not be able to wash , so satin or semi gloss is the best. Hope that helped, if you have any other questions related to home reno, I will try to help.

By Shellyg on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 09:34 pm:

Take those suckers off and take them to be sandblasted! I learned my lesson the hard way!

By Annie2 on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 10:15 pm:

I agree about taking them off and taking them somewhere. I would take them to be "dip-stripped". Call a local paint store or carpentry store to find one and the prices.

By Mrse on Friday, August 27, 2004 - 12:35 am:

So what do you think mommy of 4 what you going to do? In the end you will still have to strip the wood that is around the doors and sand then , as you can not take thoses into get done anywhere, unless you are going to take apart the whole cabinet. I like to just dive right in, to projects you would not believe what I have got myself into , but with a little elbow grease it will be nice in the end. If you are really not into all the work, it would be best to take them somewhere.

By Feona on Friday, August 27, 2004 - 06:34 am:

You will need to sand and stain and polyuruthane.

What color do you want in the bathroom?