Home > Cabinet Making > Finishing Kitchen Cabinet Hardwoods Clear Coat Painting

Finishing Kitchen Cabinet Hardwoods Clear Coat Painting

December 22nd, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

In the cabinet industry we have used several methods for finishing hard woods. These three ways will help you produce an excellent finish on your kitchen, or bathroom vanity cabinet project. Putting a fine finish on cupboard parts begins with preparing the wood properly before you do anything in the way of adding a liquid to the wood.


Steps for finishing hard wood

1) Look over the real hard wood areas very good-It is during this stage when you find all of the noticeable flaws in the wood.

2) Fill all knot holes and imperfections with wood filler-There are several types of hard wood fillers that can be applied to the surface prior to adding stains and poly urethane or lacquer finish paint or clear coats. Choose the correct hardwood filler for the task by visiting your local paint supply company or hardware store.

3) Vibrate sand-Using a vibrating sander, sand the entire area of your project with 100 grit sandpaper.

4) Re-sand the hardwood-Using 220 grit paper sand all areas of the hardwood again.

5) Apply the stain, sealer or primer- Depending upon the finish that you are applying to the hardwood’s surface, one of the mentioned finishes will be applied in this stage of finishing the hardwood.

6) Wood filler again- Once the primer or sealer coat has dried, you should be able to see more imperfections in the wood. Add more wood filler to the bad spots in the finish. Take your time and make sure that you get them all this time.

7) Sand again-Using the 220 sandpaper, sand the entire project again.
8) Spray another sealer or primer coat and let it completely dry.

9) Check for imperfections in he hardwood finish again. Repeat the previous steps if there are still scratches, dents or dings that need to be dealt with.

10) Lightly sand all areas and put another primer or sealer coat on the kitchen hardwood doors or cabinet parts.

11) Lightly sand and start applying the final clear coats or paint color to the wood.



The process of getting real wood finishes to look great takes a lot of work. You should never be in a hurry when you are applying finish coats to your kitchen or bathroom vanity project. Always allow plenty of time between coats for things to completely dry. Finishing hardwoods can be a lot of fun and also very frustrating.

If you are trying to match an existing color, this is where the frustration begins to set in. If you have a lot of area to match and a lot of cabinet parts to finish, I would recommend getting a professional finish person involved to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

Categories: Cabinet Making
  1. No comments yet.
  1. No trackbacks yet.

*