Cabinet /vanity refinishing

[Grrrr]

Anyone here ever decided to refinish their bathroom vanity or kitchen cabinets. Wife has been on me about remodeling our bathrooms. I started with our hall bathroom.

This is what the vanity used to look like. Worn and not so pretty. Pic is actually from master bathroom but the hall one was the exact same finish and in the same shape. Just forgot to take before pic.



Mid way comparison pic.



Finished hall bath vanity.



Added new hardware. I think it turned out nice. Wasn't too expensive either.

 

[lakersfan45]

Looks really nice. I'm not into the darks colors personally but it looks good indeed.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

nice work.

 

[Grrrr]

Looks really nice. I'm not into the darks colors personally but it looks good indeed.

I have a wife man.... She picked, I did the work. Ha.

 

[DaDamn]

looks good!

 

[Konquest]

I'm guessing you used General Finishes "Java Gel"? Make sure you brush or spray 3 coats of water or oil based urethane over the top of that. It may seem dry but in the humid environment of a bathroom, the color will rub off. I recommend General Finishes Arm R Seal for oil based and Enduro for water based. Only apply the topcoat after the java gel has dried for 72 hours, though (prevents adhesion issues).

I am a teacher but moonlight in custom woodwork and restoration/repair. I did a big oak staircase in a high-traffic (pets and kids) home last year with these products.

 

[ucunc156]

Really well done TS. I think we have pretty much the exact same bathroom vanity. The one time we tried redoing our kitchen cabinets they ended up looking pretty bad. What tips do you have for this?

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

Looks fantastic. I have the same ugly poor people oak vanities and want to paint them charcoal as well. Can you give us some pointers on how you went about it? I was kind of worried about what it would look like with the grain showing through but it doesn't look bad at all.

 

[blitzk]

Nice work.

My buddies and I did this for a year while in college. Did a whole building in La Jolla, CA. Left it good as new.
I still do some furniture for my mom's house every now and then.
As you say, it's not expensive, it's also kinda fun/therapeutic, if you like doing handy work. And it really stands out and makes a lot of difference.

 

[Shawn91111]

Funny, almost complete with my bathroom remodel. Decided to rip out the old vanity, sink, flooring etc. Just got finished with the electrical and plumbing. I'm not very handy at all so its going slowly but so far its ok

 

[Grrrr]

I'm guessing you used General Finishes "Java Gel"? Make sure you brush or spray 3 coats of water or oil based urethane over the top of that. It may seem dry but in the humid environment of a bathroom, the color will rub off. I recommend General Finishes Arm R Seal for oil based and Enduro for water based. Only apply the topcoat after the java gel has dried for 72 hours, though (prevents adhesion issues).

I am a teacher but moonlight in custom woodwork and restoration/repair. I did a big oak staircase in a high-traffic (pets and kids) home last year with these products.

I did use java gel. Wife loved the color. The pic with me holding the door is before I applied the satin urethane top coat. The pic of the vanity has 3 coats of urethane. Not only does it protect but I think it gives a better look to the wood.

 

[Grrrr]

Really well done TS. I think we have pretty much the exact same bathroom vanity. The one time we tried redoing our kitchen cabinets they ended up looking pretty bad. What tips do you have for this?

I lightly sanded the cabinet first. The vanity was old and beaten up and I wanted a nice smooth finish. Tack clothed it off. Then I applied the Java gel stain using a poly brush going in the direction of the grain. 3 coats and let it dry in between each coat. Then 3 coats of satin clear. Once dry I added all new hardware.

 

[mjmj]

I did the same a few years back. It turned out better than I thought it would. The new door/drawer fronts are far from cheap, but the quality is much higher than what you can buy without getting high end/custom cabinets.


Edit: Never mind, I see now you did the refinish yourself. Mine were beyond that so I went with the re-face method.

 

[Grrrr]

Funny, almost complete with my bathroom remodel. Decided to rip out the old vanity, sink, flooring etc. Just got finished with the electrical and plumbing. I'm not very handy at all so its going slowly but so far its ok

I did new paint, plumbing, new light fixtures, new receptacles and plates, new switches.... Then had to go back to work. Still have some work to do. Hopefully I can finish the vanity mirror tonight.

 

[Grrrr]

Nice work.

My buddies and I did this for a year while in college. Did a whole building in La Jolla, CA. Left it good as new.
I still do some furniture for my mom's house every now and then.
As you say, it's not expensive, it's also kinda fun/therapeutic, if you like doing handy work. And it really stands out and makes a lot of difference.

I honestly don't mind the work. I just hate doing bathrooms. I completely re did my bedroom a month ago. That turned out amazing.

 

[Grrrr]

I did the same a few years back. It turned out better than I thought it would. The new door/drawer fronts are far from cheap, but the quality is much higher than what you can buy without getting high end/custom cabinets.


Edit: Never mind, I see now you did the refinish yourself. Mine were beyond that so I went with the re-face method.

Gotcha. I would have gone that route if I had to. With hardware, stain, and clear I will have about $125 total tied up in both of my bathroom vanities.

 

[Grrrr]

Looks fantastic. I have the same ugly poor people oak vanities and want to paint them charcoal as well. Can you give us some pointers on how you went about it? I was kind of worried about what it would look like with the grain showing through but it doesn't look bad at all.

The grain will be there... Not much u can do unless u cake on the stain. Would probably look horrible though. The pic of me holding the door is showing the color without the satin clear on top. The clear really smooths out the finish.

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

The grain will be there... Not much u can do unless u cake on the stain. Would probably look horrible though. The pic of me holding the door is showing the color without the satin clear on top. The clear really smooths out the finish.

Looks good either way to me but the clear sounds good for protection.

How much stain did it take to cover the vanity with 3 coats?

 

[Grrrr]

Looks good either way to me but the clear sounds good for protection.

How much stain did it take to cover the vanity with 3 coats?

I bought a quart of stain and have about 3/4 left. I also did a mirror frame. More than enough left to do the vanity in my other bathroom.

 

[Konquest]

Looks good either way to me but the clear sounds good for protection.

How much stain did it take to cover the vanity with 3 coats?

A little goes a long way with the gel stain. As I previously mentioned, I did an entire staircase with a landing and 1/4 turn, trim, everything with a quart of Java Gel.

You have no choice re: topcoat (AKA "clear"). Java Gel is not intended to just be a final topcoat. What does make it different from other stains is that you can use either water or oil based topcoats so long as you let it completely dry.