Cabinet Refacing Products

New veneer can transform the look of an old cabinet.high definition tv cabinet image by James Phelps from Fotolia.com

Cabinet surfaces can have a large influence on the style aesthetic of your home, especially in the kitchen, where cabinets make up a large part of the décor. Over time these surfaces develop grease buildup, scratches and other damage that can ruin their appearance. Refacing the cabinets involves changing the entire look of the cabinets by installing new covers over the surfaces.

Veneer

Refacing means covering the existing cabinets with a completely new face of wood veneer. The veneer can be vinyl, thin sheets of wood or other materials. Veneer may be finished or unfinished wood, and veneer will easily take new stain and finishing projects.

Veneer products come in a huge range of choices, including different types of wood, grain sizes and colors. You can also choose application methods: some veneer products require gluing with contact cement or epoxy, while others, called "peel-and-stick" or "pressure-sensitive" veneer, feature a prepared adhesive backing. For these, the installer need only peel away the protective cover from the adhesive and apply the veneer in place.

Veneer retailers can help you match your colors and measure the amount of veneer you need. Consider taking a picture or a sample of your cabinet with you to the retailer for color matching.

Depending on the type of cabinets you have and the type of veneer you choose, you may need extra decorative pieces to complete your cabinet refinishing.

Veneer edge banding decorates the edges and corners of your veneer installations, adding accents to the edges and protecting laminate corners and edges that may peel away from the surface. The edge banding can match the veneer, or you can highlight the areas with metallic colors.

Installers and homeowners sometimes choose to add different types of trim or molding to the area around their veneer for style accents. The different styles can bring a provincial or modern aesthetic and can highlight the grain of the veneer for a more stylized look.

Any veneer installation will require you to prepare the cabinet surface to receive the new material, and for this you will need a number of products.

Regardless of the type of veneer you install, you will need to thoroughly clean the cabinet's surface to remove grease buildup from cooking or human contact as well as all surface dirt and dust. Start by using a tack cloth to remove surface contaminants, followed by a thorough wash with mineral spirits or a similar solvent cleaner to dissolve any grease or other buildup.

Installers apply peel and stick veneer directly to a clean surface. If the veneer requires the use of contact cement or other adhesive, you must also sand the surface with fine-grit sandpaper to make it more tacky and ready to accept the adhesive.