Am I sanding too much?

Schwarzy
by Schwarzy
I finally started sanding our kitchen cabinets to start updating the room. When we bought the house, it was in possession of the bank. The bank must've sent in a crew of painters to freshen it up. This included painting the cabinets in the kitchen. But the painters did a quick and sloppy job. Now, after 3 years of living here, I can't take it anymore. But I'm worried I'm sanding too much. What do you think? Also do I leave my cabinets full? Or empty them? The dust is everywhere.
Under the sink.
Yeah. The back splash is coming down too.
  5 answers
  • Ken Ken on May 15, 2018

    Is there such a thing as sanding too much? You need to remove any paint that comes off easily and rough up the surface a bit. Mission accomplished I'd say.

    You have already identified the problem with leaving the stuff in your cabinets while sanding. Is it a problem for you? You can take everything out and clean when you are done. You are the only one that matters here.

  • While I know it is a pain, the entire room should be completely empty. Everything out of every cabinet, curtains down and out along with any furniture. Tape off any heating and cooling vents too. Then mask off the room from the rest of the house with cheap plastic drop cloths to keep the dust to a minimum from spreading to the rest of the house.


    Get everything as smooth as possible then vacuum up as much dust as you can with a shop vac and wipe down cabinets with tack cloth to remove any remaining dust. Then you can prime, then start painting.


    Proud of you, my kitchen is in worse shape and it has been 18 years!

    • See 1 previous
    • It is a lot of work. But if well planned it will take less time. Set yourself up a make shift kitchen elsewhere, exactly why these projects are done in spring / summer so you can use a bbq grill and camp gear in the back yard and garage. Borrow a travel trailer, camper or motorhome if at all possible. A few weeks of inconvenience will be well worth it in the end. You can do this, get everyone on board, hit a grocery or liquor store or fed ex kinkos for free boxes, and label them! I can bake a birthday cake on a bbq grill! If I can do it, I guarantee you can too.

  • Rose Broadway Rose Broadway on May 15, 2018

    You really don't have to go down to the bare wood, you will wear yourself out. Let me find a good video for you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u9vT5xY8s


  • Ebbjdl Ebbjdl on May 15, 2018

    Take the food out of the cabinets, and store them away from the sanding, too much dust.

  • Shoshana Shoshana on May 16, 2018

    You just need to sand enough to roughen up the surface so that the paint will properly adhere to the cabinets