Stripping/refinishing kitchen cabinets?

[Shleedogg]

So slowly but surely, DH and I have been re-doing our 1901 foursquare house. We've done the downstairs, new walls, floors, new marble downstairs bath, enlarged our bedroom and gutted it to the studs, same w/ DD's room. Our biggest eyesore is the kitchen. We almost redid it 2 1/2 yrs ago, but then I got pg w/ DD and I quit my job to stay home with her. Then we were looking at doing it again last year but we bought DVC instead. Well, we don't have the cash to do a gut-job, but I can't stand looking at it anymore. I started sanding the doors so we can repaint them and add some small decorative molding to the doors. Well, the paint is still tacky. Not just the top layer, we're talking layer number 5 that's probably been there for 40+ yrs. So sanding was out. It was ripping the paper off my powersander. So I bought stripper. It worked on the door that had been partially sanded. The door that hadn't been sanded? Not so much. I'm at a loss. Can anyone recommend a good paint stripper? The stuff I bought was gel that changed color when it was ready, so not that stuff, lol.

Unfortunately quitting at this point isn't an option. One door is stripped on one side, sanded smooth on the other. The smooth sanded side though has a nice tie-dye effect due to all the different colors of paint. Another door is half stripped. My SIL says I should buy the Black & Decker sander that's $40 and it will cut through anything. DH is hesitant to buy another sander since this one has worked well on other projects. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Shleedogg]

bump anyone?

 

[akcire]

I am currently stripping the exterior of a cabin. Think, your job times a million. There are approximately 11 layers of paint on the 100 year old irreplaceable wood siding. The only think I have found that has worked is a heat gun and a scrapper. Not even kidding so far I have thrown out 5 giant trash bags of paint scrapings. It's sort of like putting the cabin on a diet.

Let me know if you want to practice on my cabin. I have one side done, three to go.......

 

[hambirg]

SoyGel. It's what a lot of the restoration guys use. It works and it has a lot of benefits for the home user. It's non-caustic and can be used safely indoors. Plus if there is any chance that you have any lead paint . . .and it sounds like you might. . .it contains it for safe disposal.

http://www.amazon.com/SoyGel-Urethane-Remover-Stripper-Gallon/dp/B0002Z11MO

 

[petchie]

I had my best luck with ZAR products for stripping paint. ZAR® PAINT AND VARNISH REMOVER http://www.ugl.com/maintenanceRepairSpecialties/removingAndRefinishing/zarPaintAndVarnish.php

it is getting harder and harder to find though! I stripped about 40 coats of paint of a staircase with it and it worked wonders to get to the cherry underneath. Use a spackle tool to scrape off the first raised layers of paint until I got to wood, then used steel wool. Each section took probably 4 coats of ZAR then scrape, then Zar then scrape, etc. Nothing has ever taken the old paints off with one application.

Our window trims were painted over pine that I needed to strip in one room and I used a heat gun on those. It was OK, but be careful to keep the gun moving or you can burn the paint into the wood.

Either way it is a long tedious project.

 

[dfchelbay]

I am currently stripping the exterior of a cabin. Think, your job times a million. There are approximately 11 layers of paint on the 100 year old irreplaceable wood siding. The only think I have found that has worked is a heat gun and a scrapper. Not even kidding so far I have thrown out 5 giant trash bags of paint scrapings. It's sort of like putting the cabin on a diet.

Let me know if you want to practice on my cabin. I have one side done, three to go.......

Be careful you're not dealing with lead based paints in those eleven layers. It can be dangerous to you and you can get into a lot of trouble for dumping it in the trash too.

 

[akcire]

Be careful you're not dealing with lead based paints in those eleven layers. It can be dangerous to you and you can get into a lot of trouble for dumping it in the trash too.

Thanks for the warning. My Dad is an environmental engineer and had it tested before I began the project. According to my Dad, no lead; and in fact the first layers of the paint are some sort of homemade from crushed berries stain.

 

[Earstou]

I haven't refinished furniture in years, so I'm not sure what product I used to use. It might have been Strypeeze. I do remember that you want a thick product.
Take your doors off, lay them flat and cover with lots of remover. You can even cover it with a sheet of plastic to stop it from drying out. Let the remover do the work instead of you! Leave it on awhile. When the paint has bubbled up, scrap it off. Repeat the process until all the paint is gone. Use an old tootbrush to get into all the small corners and hard to reach places.
I was taught to scrap the used remover into a coffee can and to reuse it. After awhile it will be so full of paint it won't work anymore, but you can reuse it some. The good products are expensive so this saves money.
Good luck!

 

[apnep]

Perhaps you can look for some place to take the doors to have them dipped and then stripped?

I am like you. I haaaaaaaaaaate my kitchen. I've been living with it for 10 years and I would LOVE to get them redone, but it's just not cheap. I went into Cabinets to Go the other day though and that is looking like an attractive option. They are all plywood boxes and all wood doors. No particle board. The catch...you put them together. It's kind of like IKEA only better quality. Maybe you could do that?

I'm thinking of taking my measurements to see how they compare to Lowe's.