Cabinet reface?

We are getting ready to do a slow, patient rehab of our newly purchased 1997 Bounder 36S.  We are planning on starting with the rear bedroom first.  I checked out the carpet and it seems like a "no brainer"....simply pull out the old and cut the new and staple down. There is no padding and no tack strips to deal with.  Next will be the cabinets.

The doors are solid oak...good construction and they are in good shape, but we would desparately love to update the look by going with a more modern stain than the medium oak that is prevalent in all Bounders.  I've done woodwork (cabinet building in a night class) so I'm not afraid of the stain project.  What I haven't figured out is how best (and within budget) to get the cabinet base frames to match.  They are made from a cheap paneling product that has a wood grain look...most likely some type of contact paper.  I don't know if I should find a decent looking wood grain contact paper at Home Depot etc. and then match stain for the doors or try to paint the cabinet body with a similar color of the stain.  I want them to look good obviously.

I think it might be too expensive and too much work to actually use a thin wood veneer and stain it but that might be an option.

Any ideas? I'm sure there are some good wise ideas in this group.

Veneering may be your best option and even then matching the previously finished doors and the new veneer could be difficult but not impossible.  I would consider a wood dye instead of stain.

Oak veneer is not all that expensive but veneering existing cabinets can be challenging.

You can get veneer for refinishing cabinets, either prefinished or raw so you can stain it. Go to Lowes and take a look at the stuff from Quality Doors, a millwork company that makes new cabinet doors and draw fronts and also sells the matching peel & stick veneers for the face frames.  Not a bad DIY project if you are handy.  Might be more than you want to spend on an older coach, though. I built a computer desk using their cherry veneer and also remodeled our kitchen at home using their doors, drawers and veneers.

If you Google prefinished veneers you will find some more sources. Here's one:
http://www.tapeease.com/pre-finished_veneers.htm

It is hard to find decent quality contact paper - most of what is available locally is really fake looking. You have to go to the specialty suppliers for decent looking stuff and it isn't cheap. Less expensive than buying a new coach, though!

Trying to stain over previously stained wood can be problematic. And if it is paper-faced rather than real wood veneer, it can't be stained anyway and only a real paint will do. Make sure you know what you have before you get too deeply into it.

If your Bounder cabinet carcasses are anything like the ones in my 93 Pace Arrow (another Fleetwood motorhome) they are made of veneered plywood that is finished with a catalyzed lacquer. That stuff is hard as a rock and almost impossible to remove or refinish over. Typical homeowner available finish removers won't touch it. Sanding down to the bare veneer will work but you have to be careful not to sand through it.

Woody

I too have a ?97 Bounder so I know what you mean when you say the light oak cabinet doors just scream ?Bounder? at you when you walk in.   ;D

I also know that the tendency to want to personalize the coach is very hard to resist at first. 
I?m a gear head so I tend to change (improve?) mechanical and electrical things rather than interior appointments.  Olive green shag carpet would have to go, but everything else could stay.

I feel my Bounder is worth $18/20K tops, in today?s economy, and I think it?s in great shape.  I assume yours is as well.  My value assumptions are pertinent only to the following comments.

If you intend to keep this coach until it?s value is basically zero then any alteration or improvement needs only your justification of perceived value.  Go for it!  I sincerely hope it exceeds your expectations.

If, on the other hand, you envision a future trade, then you are, or will be, concerned about a future owners perception of the coach and therefore, its resale value.  My gut tells me that a future buyer of an older motor home, would attach a higher value to ?original, in great condition? than to ?resurfaced / refinished in place? cabinetry.  JMHO

My plan, if I?m ever unhappy with my cabinets, is to leave them firmly attached to the Bounder, drive them to the nearest RV dealer, browse the lot and pick out a set of cabinets that I like, swap keys with the owner and drive the new cabinets home.  I would be very pleased if, when I opened the door, the cabinets screamed, ?Country Coach?.

Not trying to be judgmental, just offering food for thought.  Good luck with whatever you choose.

;D

If contemplating re-finishing any cabinetry, first try and identify the 'finish' you want to change.  Rarely will a 'new' polyurethane finish work over an existing lacquer or shellac finish.  Most indoor 'factory finished' woodwork/cabinetry has a lacquer finish because of its fast drying time and relative ease of application qualities.  Lacquer finishes are not good on exterior woodwork.  It does not hold up to weather well so  urethane, polyurethane,  marine varnish or paint are options.

With an existing lacquered door, a rub down with fine steel wool dipped in lacquer thinner will give a good base for a new coat (or two) of brushing lacquer (Lowes/HD or most any paint supply).  Make sure the woodwork is thoroughly brushed off, wipped down and clean before applying any new coats.  Re-staining a darker tone can be done with a lacquer stain only - (not to be confused with the most common poly-stains) but in order to get the old surface to 'stain down', most of the existing should be removed with stripper and sanding.  With cabinets, as others have suggested, 1/8" plywood veneer is available in 4' x 8' sheets (also Lowes/HD) which, following the grain of the existing cabinet carcass, can be cut to size with a sharp knife and glued in place with contact adhesive.  This can  then be stained and refinished to best match the door(s).  Cabinet doors can be replaced with new, either finished or unfinished and also stained to match.  They can also be refinished in much the same way as previously described. 

When using any lacquer or petroleum distillate products, turn off all pilot lights and give yourself plenty of ventilation.  I've refinished several kitchens and bathrooms in this manner over the years and saved a ton on $$$ in not having to replace cabinets if otherwise in good shape.  I am also just in the process or re-finishing a solid oak door and had to completely strip the old finish off with paint stripper before applying new stain and top-coat.  It's the fourth I've done in the past two weeks.

BT

Gary
That is a great link, have to flag that one.  BTW, anyone interested in this, go to the lonk and read the instructions.  Patient will be a key word.

I have a Fleetwood myself, mine is a Southwind, and most of the laminate is a paper/plastic that if it lifts is done pretty much.  My problems are shelves.  The cabinet surfaces are all fine, but in cabinets the edges have lifted.  I will probably attempt a spray adhesive to keep it down. 

Underneath is a particle type board.  Maybe MDF. 

I also agree with the poster that mentioned keeping forever or leaving alone.  No matter how well you do the job, when it comes time to trade in, one of the questions is "have you performed any modifications."  I remember many times the customer telling me it was better than when built, but I have never seen the appraised value go up.

Sounds like one of those projects I would start but not finish...good luck to you!

Scary part.  Look at all the finished surfaces.  ottoms, tops, mpuldings, drawer faces, doors, caps on the ends that also match.

Not an easy job to say the least. 

Well this seems to flow right down my alley, I am a custom cabinet maker by trade. I do this everyday at the shop when we have a "PICKY" customer.
The only way to darken the color of your doors and drawer fronts is to add a dye stain to the finish you are applying. Wash the wood down first with a clean rag and lacquer thinner. Let it dry for a few minutes and apply a light coat of the dye stain and lacquer mix using a cup gun to spray this on.Turn your air and mixture down very low as to not get a very thick coat on at first. Every coat you apply will make it darker so start light and go dark.
As far as the cabinets themself try a good paint that will match the color of your doors and the use a artist brush to apply the wood grain look with a different color paint
    Good luck and hope this helps.

blackshadow43 said:

The only way to darken the color of your doors and drawer fronts is to add a dye stain to the finish you are applying. Wash the wood down first with a clean rag and lacquer thinner. Let it dry for a few minutes and apply a light coat of the dye stain and lacquer mix using a cup gun to spray this on.Turn your air and mixture down very low as to not get a very thick coat on at first. Every coat you apply will make it darker so start light and go dark.
As far as the cabinets themself try a good paint that will match the color of your doors and the use a artist brush to apply the wood grain look with a different color paint.

Click to expand...

...and, by the way... do this in the confines of a motor home without getting stain on the ceiling, walls, floors and windows. :

My old Bounder cabinets are looking better all the time.

Have you tried get new used ones. On either Craig's list or at a used building supply store.  They mite be easier then resurfacing the ones you got.
Hope this helps.  Good luck.

Sarah

I have refinished some of the cabinet surfaces in my Keystone Hornet. I assume the orig finish was lacquer but it had aged and I used 220 grit sandpaper to "rough" the surfaced, cleaned thoroughly with mineral spritis and a tack rag, then used a poly sanding sealer, lighltly sander and then applied 2 coats of Zinszer Hi Gloss Spar Varnish as a top coat> The end result is beautiful, plan to do the rest of the cabinets as time goes on.

I also did the same treatment to the spindles and top/bottom caps on the divider from the dinette to the den. I really like that Zinzser Spar, great product to work with.

herd...Being that the  Poly sanding / sealer 'took' to the surface - even though sanded and old, my guess is it was a varnished or polyurethaned finish to begin with.  Unless you got real lucky.  Lacquer and  most other sealers or finishes  rarely mix, usually resulting in an adverse chemical reaction between the two.  Looks like you got the finish you wanted, well done.

BT