Giving Old Cabinet Handles a Makeover!

Joanne Diamond
by Joanne Diamond
10 Materials
$40
1 Week
Easy

As part of Mom & Dad's budget kitchen renovation, we needed to give the cabinet handles a new lease on life. ​

Mom soaked them in hot water with vinegar and baking soda and scrubbed them with a soap pad. She rinsed them well and had them dry and waiting for me to paint when I got off work.

We taped the wooden middles off with painter's tape and then I brushed on a quick coat of primer, New Surface by The Plaster Paint Co.

This is a very thick, super sticky primer and a little goes a long way. You just work quickly and spread it thinly. You can paint over it in as little as a half hour to an hour, if you wish.

I had this on hand and I do really like the product. However, my absolute favourite is Stix by Inslx and it is readily available at your nearest Benjamin Moore store or Amazon.

Using a cheap craft foam sponge brush, I put on 2 coats of black paint. I did the 'pouncing' method to gain faster and more even coverage. I did leave at least a day between coats for no other reason than I didn't have the time to do it sooner. LOL

Original color on right and Cedar on left

I painted on 2 coats of Saman One Step Wood Stain & Varnish in the color Cedar, to match the island's countertop. We did this in one evening.

Lastly, came 3 coats of top coat. For the first batch of handles I used Gator Hide but I ran out and used Saman Water-based Clear Coat for the rest of the handles. Saman is more readily available in my area and I LOVE their products!

The handles before . . .
. . . and the handles after!
Resources for this project:
New Surface by The Plaster Paint Co.
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Joanne Diamond
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