Hack

I think the above ideas are on the right track. We're in about the same place with our kitchen cabinets, and we're not ready to remodel the kitchen yet, so we're considering paint. That should get us an extra couple of years out of them before we can't stand them again...

Good Luck!

__________________
Hack (a.k.a. Jeff)

AU_Prospector

We painted everything. The top cabinets we painted an off white like a creamy marshmallow and the lower cabinets we painted a rich rosewood color. All hardware was removed and spraypainted flat black. This lasted for 9 years until we sold the home with only an occassional touch up here and there.

1) everything must be as clean as possible. Any oil or grit and the semi gloss latex paint wasnt going to stick. We used murphy's oil soap for this.

2) all doors and drawers were removed for easier access. Inside, we painted everything a flat ceiling type of white latex paint. Outside took 3 coats with a fine hair top quality brush.

Our cabinets were an early 70's dark walnut stained, but made of real wood and UGLY!!. It was painfull and a lot of work, but worth it. No way we would have made back the money spent on new cabinets even after 9 years. Not one prospective home buyer commented on the painted cabinets. No central A/C and single pane windows got plenty of comments, but not those marshmallow and rosewood painted cabinets!!!

triple D

Thank you for all your input...I'm "not allowed" to replace doors or anything of that magnitude. We're planning to sell in about 2 years and my hubby's thinking is they've been good enough for us so they're good enough for the next owners! (I just hear, "Cheap, cheap...) I guess I'll go the sand and stain route and see how they turn out...I can handle the hard work.

__________________
[COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]See my work-Check out my album. "Git 'Er Done":D [/FONT][/COLOR]

ToolGuy

Be sure and let us know how it works out. And of course, we're open to any and all further questions you may have.

As for the stain/varnish, you could do that. Just be careful of any drips or such, as they will show up more so than with regular varnish. Use a natural bristle brush and apply just a thin coat at a time.

If it's not shiny enough but the color is right, you can use regular varnish of the desired sheen for the final coat. Of course, if you want it a little darker, you can could use the stain/varnish for further coats as well. It's all optional.

Be sure to sand and clean off the dust between coats, to remove the grit and dust particles that always seem to find their way to the wet varnish.

__________________
[COLOR="DarkRed"][B]~ ToolGuy ~[/B][/COLOR]

[I]Save money on tools at [URL="http://mytoolbox.net"]MyToolbox.net[/URL]
[/I]

guyod

Instead of a brush you might want to try a lambskin applicator. its pricy but will not leave any brush marks

jack3140

they are wood alright you can tell by the grain if you want a real nice job strip them to bare wood and restain i think they would come out very nice

TylerDurden1984

I'm remodeling my kitchen and I'm covering it the cabinets in hammered copper panels. I'm also using plain copper for the countertops. I think it will look great I'm getting them from this website.
stormcopperstore.com/hammered-copper-sheet.html There are several different styles I'm using the NY for my cabinets and backsplash for my stove. They just glue on with silicone so it's pretty easy to do...

trythis

There is a product called "cabinet magic" that I found at Home Depot and it is a great cabinet cleaner/polisher. You won't believe what the rag will look like when you are done. I would suggest adding some hardware/drawer pulls.

ayeshaa

I came across an article on Ezine, seems similar to the problem you have quited ..skim through it, it might be of some help ..good luck
here is the article >> http://ezinearticles.com/?Updating-Your-Tired-Kitchen-Cabinets&id=310118

kitchencountertopspot.com