Refinishing our Kitchen Cabinets - Day 13

Okay, before you go asking what happened to days 7-12, let me remind you that this project is now five years old.  Soooo, there are probably even more days, but the update I gave you yesterday is actually what I am calling days 7-12.

But now for the update with lots of pictures!  I only have the four doors left, so I am working to get all of them done at once.  That is actually not a big deal at all, but I did most of the doors in small batches just for lack of space throughout the process.  I will try and do all of the drawers at once, though.  Partially because I think they won't take up too much space and partially because I don't want to wait another five years for the drawers to be done.  :)

 As mentioned before, I have a problem with the humidity, so I had to let these guys dry for 24 hours.  Because of that, I needed to do a light sanding between coats to be sure that the next coat would go on smooth and lay flat.  This also works to cut down any abnormalities in the finish, like any trapped air bubbles or areas of higher finish.  This is a light sanding, though, so as not to take off any of the stain underneath.

 After the sanding, I removed all of the excess dust with a tack cloth that left the surfaces of the doors nice and smooth, lightly sanded, and clean.

 I learned a trick from a book I have on woodworking, so I conditioned the china bristle brush in mineral spirits before I used it.  I have found in the past, though, that not getting the mineral spirits out of the brush leaves some unwanted streaks in the finish.  So I squeezed the bajolies out of the brush and then sharply flung the bristles towards the work sink to get any remaining mineral spirits off of the brush.  It is great to have the brush conditioned - the polyurethane goes on very nicely and the brush is easier to clean later - you just have to be sure that the brush is conditioned and not coated.

Another neat trick I learned is to start the finish in the middle and work to the edge.  This allows for the polyurethane to coat the top without running over the edges.  If  you go from edge to edge, you end up with poly seeping down one side, which then has to be cleaned up or you get poly "droplets" that dry in place on the other side of your doors.  (Remember, all of this information is learned from experience, so, yes, I have some permanent droplets that I have had to deal with in the past.)

 After the first pass, you start in the middle again and work in the opposite direction.  The coating should be smooth enough to even out over time - one of the benefits of using oil based poly - but I am always careful make sure I don't have a hill in the middle of the door where the two directions intersect.  The most difficult part is actually moving around the edges, making sure they are coated without having so much poly that they end up dripping long after you've taken your lunch break.

The current iteration!  This isn't how they will look at the end of the process, as I am using a satin finish (a semi-matt finish) but this is right after coating.  (Both doors have been coated, the one in focus and the one behind it.  Once they are finished, I will show you the doors actually on the cabinets.)