Tassie Oak Kitchen Cupboards

[petal]

My kitchen, (1980's) has Tasmanian Oak doors, kickboards et al. Thought about getting new doors, but would much rather polish up the old doors.

The only problem is, I have no idea where to start. Would appreciate any advice you can offer, on how best to accomplish bringing my kitchen back to life.

Thanks in advance.

[antiphile]

Hi petal

Like many many other members here, I've used Tassie Oak quite a bit for many purposes. However, I'd be a bit hesitant to proffer any suggestions how I'd approach the task without seeing how "intricate" the task may be.

Is it possible to post pictures of the cabinet doors, drawers, kickboards etc? I may do it differently if its panel and frame, or complicated routing, or a flat panel with a knob, for example.

Cheers
Phil

[petal]

Hi Phil,

Kitchen cabinets. 253938


253940 Kickboard and "breakfast bar" (This photo was taken by my preschooler, when he grabbed the camera).

I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thank you.

[RETIRED]

I would say they are probably coated with Nitrocellulose lacquer.

If the finish is not lifting or peeling off you could try this POLISH REVIVER (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/reviver.html)

At only about $16 a bottle it is worth a try. Shake the damn bottle though before and during use.:D

Try it in out of the way place first.

[barrysumpter]

Hi all,
I'm having the same issue.
But would like to see if there is anyone in the Glen Iris area who would do this for me.
Anyone know of a business that would do this for me?

tia

[Arron]

You need to decide just how much work you are prepared to do here. Are you interested in sanding/stripping them back and then refinishing, or are you just wanting to revitalise the existing finish. If its the latter, and assuming they are nitrocellulose lacquer or a 2 pack finish, then I'd clean and degrease them thoroughly, and then use an automotive cut/polish solution with a power buffer. I have found Meguiars Mirror Glaze products to be the best with nitro lacquer. I was put onto it by someone on this forum and its heaps better then the DIY level products that I was using before. Automotive products tend to be good because there is no finish people are more particular about then the one that's on their cars.

With Meguiars products, there is a graphic on the bottle that shows the cut level (ie the size of the grit). You need to choose one with a medium cut and then follow it up with one with a fine cut (called 'Fine-Cut Cleaner'). The medium cut will leave swirl marks, but the fine cut will remove them. You can buy them at SuperCheap auto.

The other good thing about Meguiars is that they dont contain anything that will prevent you respraying after using them, if you change your mind.

I suggested a power buffer simply because you have a lot of area to do - you can use these products by hand.

Of course if your kitchen is not one of these finishes then I've no idea what they will do, so test first.

cheers
Arron

[ecsk]

I have very similar kitchen, all doors/panel were hand painted by previous owner of the house with clear polyurethane, they are shiny but finish are rough.
Is there any thing can be done to improve it without sanding back and redo. Sanding those kind of door is not a fun job to do.