Redoing kitchen cabinets

CheshireFool

I have a set of old kitchen cabinets that are still solid. I was hoping to modernize my kitchen by refinishing them & updating them.

Here is a link to a picture of the current state of the cabinets and their design:
http://i39.tinypic.com/2cmpzzn.jpg

What I would like to do is strip the cabinets of their paint, redo them in a high gloss / nearly an enamel black.

After the current paint is stripped off, is there any way to build the bevel out so it is just a nice clean corner that could then be painted / enameled? How about that grove that is mid cupboard that can be sen in the picture?

If not, the other option I was considering is if there is any way to add a brushed aluminum trim to replace the current bevel? (basically have a hard aluminum trim around the contour & grove of the cabinets)
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

-Aaron

Ron6519

All I see is some sort of advertisement. Try another source to exhibit the pictures.
Ron

CheshireFool

Updated the picture link above and included it here for ease:
http://i39.tinypic.com/2cmpzzn.jpg

hayewe farm

They look like plywood doors. Once stripped you could probably fill the "V" groove with wood filler and sand smooth. I don't know how much overhang the doors have but I would guess trimming them down to a straight edge may be an option. I'm not a great fan of filler on edges but and epoxy filler might work. You would need to band the door to provide a dam to hold the epoxy in place until dry. The other possibility would be to trim the doors down and biscuit solid wood along the edges and sand smooth.

Though I do believe it would be easier and as cost effective to build new doors.

CheshireFool

Those are good ideas.

Mostly I want to redo my kitchen on the cheap.
What do you recommend for replacing 13 cabinet doors to something that has and keeps a nice hard edge, and can be coated in a high gloss black paint / enamel ?

(cheap is good)

hayewe farm

You can also cut out the "V" grove with a dado and install a filler strip, sand smooth, and paint. Rabbit the edge and install your aluminum trim or a filler strip of hardwood.

jlhaslip

auto body bondo

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TheCamper

You may wish to consider the following; if the back side is smooth, flip the doors over so that the inside of the door is now the outside and fill and screw holes, sand and paint; cut the larger doors down to fit the small door cabinets and make just a few new doors out of a cabinet grade plywood such as a maple or birch. Maple and Birch are tight grains and paint up nicely but pick something that matches the existing doors when finished. The Bondo is a great idea, I have used Bondo many times for repair., don't be sloppy with it or you'll have a lot of sanding to do. good luck, if it is old paint be careful of making paint dust if it is lead based.

CheshireFool

I nearly thing I'm inclined to go straight for new flat & rectangular maple / birch cabinets, laquer them to a nice gloss black, get some modern brushed steel hinges, call it a day.

Rhizzlebop

I am contemplating redoing my builder grade oak cabinets from 1991.
I have posted here before about this topic, but it seemed like too much work and time.
I considered a light sanding to take off the finish and then stain darker but that just didn't look right either. To get them dark enough to cover the medium oak, you had to actually mix a bit of oil based black paint into the stain, and that just didn't look right.

I just bought a Dremel Multimax, and I'm wondering if that might be THE tool to help take all these cabinets and doors down the bare wood, and then restain em back to a nice rich caramel color. If using that tool, might make the sanding "cleaner" and "easy-ish" to do as opposed to orbital sanders and belts that throw mess everywhere.

I'd ideally like to redo the boxes as described above and put up new doors and drawers, but I'm not sure thats in my budget for the project.

Thoughts are APPRECIATED!

Ron6519

Orbital sander with a vacuum attachment. Hand sanding what you need to.
Ron