OK, first let me state that this whole project was a happy accident… a grueling, disgusting, six-day accident but happy none the less. I also cannot stress enough that we are walking into every project with my 1 year of high school wood shop and Dakarai’s accumulated 60 minutes of welding experience so bear with us. What we lack in tactical skills, appropriate resources, and an abundance of free time we make up in effort, ingenuity, and positivity!

Our house has passed through many hands during its lifetime and has maintained its unique charm throughout. When it was our turn to carry the proverbial torch we found it had one additional quality to complement its allure….. DIRT! The house was filthy and while I’d love to dish on our dirty laundry, literally, we’re here to talk about cabinets. The kitchen cabinets were a complete nightmare and stained black from years of built-up dirt and grime. Just rubbing your fingertips against them was enough to warrant a full-body shower but whatever no harm no foul, we got right to work.

Step One: Clean the Cabinets

My initial thought was to clean the cabinets so that’s what I did. I grabbed a pack of Dollar Tree scour pads and LA’s Totally Awesome cleaner (because we all know this stuff will clean ANYTHING.) and started scrubbing. It took hours of elbow grease to clear the grime and reveal these delightful wooden cabinets but to my dismay, our overzealous scrubbing (because I did have help) and whatever is in my girl Lala had completely stripped the finish off of the cabinets.

So basically I improvised on sandpaper with 100 grit scour pads (this is a joke) and saved on a chemical stripper by visiting the local dollar store. Genius, right?! Since our cabinets now possessed a sad, faded disposition among the bright whites and blues we had no choice but to restore.

Step Two: Restore the Finish

I did some research and found that Howard’s Restor-A-Finish was the cheapest and easiest product to use for the job. We went to Lowe’s and chose the Walnut stain as it was the best match to the before photos. I had purchased some kitchen cloths from Dollar Tree when I bought my other supplies and they were the perfect application tool. I recommend wearing gloves and a mask because you are working with chemicals and safety is important. It took just a few swipes and my cabinets were restored to their former illustrious color and formidable beauty.

Step Three: Seal and Maintain

We left the cabinets to sit overnight, a little bit of overkill but after all that work I didn’t want to risk making any mistakes. The next morning we used the same kitchen cloths (clean ones, lol) to apply the wax to protect the new finish. We went with Howard’s Feed-N-Wax because the Restor-A-Finish box recommended it and it was also the cheapest wax protectant they had at Lowe’s. The wax was slightly harder to work with than the finish because it has a clumping quality to it that makes it difficult to spread. To combat this issue and achieve an even spread we added the wax to the cloth and then worked the wax between our fingers. I also used an old toothbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies with the polish.

Step Four: Enjoy a Job Well Done

We gave ourselves about thirty minutes before we wiped off any excess polish and Viola! our cabinets are good as new! What started as a clueless venture into a wormhole of mass exhaustion and almost certain death… ended with our first completed project as brand new homeowners and natural DIYers. Hope this helps you as much as my hubris thinks it will.