How do I remove vinyl coating from cabinets?

Joseph Romero
by Joseph Romero
  5 answers
  • Tinyshoes Tinyshoes on Sep 09, 2019

    Joseph...Is it on an old kitchen....I'm thinking about my mother's years ago with the piece of metal riveted to hold it on? Can you please send a picture? Thanks

  • Judith Judith on Sep 09, 2019

    I removed my vinyl from the cabinets......and the most important part of this project is removing all the glue that the vinyl was adhered too. I used a small angel sander and took it all off. I then put three coats of paint....sanded lightly between each coat.....and sprayed a sealer on top. I did the campiness lying flat in the garage not left on the cupboards. 5 years and only had to do two again from over usage under the sink area.

  • HandyGirl HandyGirl on Sep 14, 2019

    based On the photo from the link you sent, there are two different materials to deal with: thermofoil, which is a plastic sheet that is shrink wrapped and bonded to an mdf (pressed/formed wood dust) door, which will have thick laminate sheeting glued to the back, and the cabinet boxes will generally be strandboard with laminate sheets glued to them. To remove the thermofoil, take a blow dryer, and direct the heat toward a corner. As the plastic wrap warms, it will lose its bond to the mdf door. Once you see it has begun to loosen, take one hand and start to lift as you continue to warm the plastic in the adjoining area to loosen it as you pull. It takes a few minutes and some patience on doors which still have a good bond. Others will just “zip” right off and you’ll wonder how it hadn’t already fallen off on its own. The door will need to be well cleaned with krud kutter or another cleaner that breaks down glue. You need to get all the glue off without ruining the surface of the door, so be careful. It really is just pressed dust. Once clean and dry you can prime and paint. As far as the thick laminate is concerned on the backs of the doors and the cabinet boxes, why strip it off? If you sand and degloss the laminate, you can use a high bonding primer and then paint. You start stripping the laminate off the strandboard and it could become a disaster real quick. You’re not going to be staining any of it anyway, so prep for painting without removing. That laminate is providing some stability for cabinets made out of wood slivers and chunks, and for doors and drawer fronts made of pressed dust.

  • Deb K Deb K on Feb 09, 2022

    Hi Joseph, you can clean them well and chalk paint over the laminate, hope this helps you out

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjkOr5bkM0M