How to repair kitchen cabinets with water damage?
How to repair kitchen cabinets with water damage?
Water can have a devastating impact on your wood over time. When exposed to water frequently enough, it can destroy the outer portion of your cabinets and result in the wood developing a water-damaged appearance.
In more severe cases, water damage can completely ruin your cabinets and will need to be replaced. This is especially true if you have a leak inside of the cabinets and underneath your sink. In these cases, the damage typically goes unnoticed until it’s really bad. If you have cabinets made out of plywood, it’s very likely even modest water damage results in your wood getting warped to the point where they need to get ripped out and replaced. Even small leaks can worsen and result in serious damage. This is why time is of the essence when it comes to minimizing the damage. Keeping that in mind, here is what you should know about how to correct the problem of having water damage in your kitchen cabinets.
How To Repair Kitchen Cabinets That Have Been Water Damaged In Several East Steps
The cabinets in your kitchen are constantly being put under a lot of stress. This is especially true when you’re talking about the cabinets that are located either underneath your sink or the fridge. It only gets more true if you have cabinets made out of a weaker and less durable material like particle board or even MDF. Unfortunately, the water from your sink can end up damaging the outer portion of your cabinets and make them look worn down. Your property is your number one asset. We provide the good maintenance and general handyman services. Because of this, you want to properly maintain your home to the best of your ability and that includes keeping your cabinets in good condition. This is why we offer cabinet painting services. Below, you will find some of the different ways we can effectively repair your kitchen cabinets that look worse for the wear. Along with this, you will also learn how to effectively prevent further damage in the future.
1. Prep Your Cabinets For Repair
Most importantly, you need to prep your cabinets for the repair process. You’ll need to completely remove all of the cabinet doors from the hinges. You want to place it on a towel or something that will protect it from scratching your floor and that will protect your cabinets from getting damaged. You also want to use something you don’t mind getting paint on. A good idea is to use your garage or shed for this task. You do want a place where you can get plenty of ventilation since it’ll be painted.
While it does depend on the severity of the damage, you are likely going to want to remove everything on the cabinet. This means removing all of the door handles, hinges, and other types of hardware that are on the door. This can make the entire process much more manageable and easier. This is true even for cases of small water damage.
2. Use Shellac-Based Primer On The Wood
You want to get started using shellac-based primer. These primers are readily available at your local hardwood stores. These primers are purposefully meant to help you repair smaller blemishes on wood. Because of this, it’s perfect for what you are intending on using it for.
One of the best things about this primer is that you can apply any kind of paint over top of it. It doesn’t matter what paint you use, it’s going to help make the surface much more even. It’ll also do wonders for helping your paint properly sink in.
3. Apply The Platic Wood Filler (If Needed)
Do you have larger areas where there is damage to your kitchen cabinets? If so, you’re likely going to want to use plastic wood filler. This will allow you to seal up the damage and repair it much easier. A lot of the weaker woods that are more susceptible to damage will get a lot more bumps than stronger woods. Because of this, you want to go through this step if you have kitchen cabinets made out of particleboard or weaker wood. Ensure that you can get the surface of the cabinets as flat as possible before you proceed to the next step.
4. Start Sanding
It’s time to start sanding your wood. You are going to need to sand wood if you are repairing any kind of kitchen cabinet. At some point, you’ll need to go through this step. Any cabinets that have sustained water damage will need to be sanded down so the surface is completely flat and even. You want the surface to be smooth and free of swelling or bubbles.
You do want to be careful during this process. There is a possibility of sanding the wood down too much. You want to avoid doing this. You don’t want the wood looking brand new. You just want it to be smooth enough to mitigate a lot of the damage that occurred.
5. Repair Previous Steps (If Needed)
This isn’t always mandatory. This is only if your cabinets need to go through the various steps again. If your cabinets have been severely affected by the water damage, you’ll likely want to go through step 1 and/or step 2 over again. You want to do this until the repair is satisfactory.
You may likely need to reuse the shellac primer and the filler, and even complete the sanding process over and over again if your wood has been severely damaged.
6. It’s Time To Start Painting
Once you cannot spot the damage and the damage has been minimized, it’s time to start painting. This is how you will get your cabinets looking new again. You want to use the same paint that was used on the original design. You will be leveraging the shellac paint to prep the wood and paint to adhere optimally.
As soon as you’ve finished the painting process, you can leave the cabinet door out to dry. You’ll need to allow it to dry for however long the paint takes. Different paints have different drying times. Look at the can to see what the recommended drying time is. Keep in mind, that any oil-based paint is going to take more time to dry. Therefore, you’ll want to give it a good couple of hours in between coats. Thus, you should prepare for it is a long journey.
7. Sand The Painted Cabinets Down
Once again, it’s time to get sanding. As you can tell, there is a lot of sanding involved in the wood repair. You should be very good at sanding once this project is done! Once the paint has completely dried, it’s time to start sanding the wood down. The goal of this sanding job is to help make the finish of the paint much more seamless. It’s also a good way to create micro-holes in the wood to help future coats of paint get better adhesion.
8. Apply Your Final Coat Of Paint
At this point, the wood is perfectly primed for the final coat of paint. Once applied, you need to give it plenty of time to dry. The more the better. You’ll then want to gently sand it down with a very fine 220-grit sandpaper. You could find yourself needing to repeat this step twice depending on whether or not you’ve achieved a good final result you are satisfied with.
9. Apply A Water-Proofing Varnish
Now that you’ve got your kitchen cabinets back to looking like new, it’s time to prevent this issue from happening in the future. How are you going to do that? By applying a final clear coat of water-proofing varnish. This is a great way to ensure a little bit of moisture won’t completely wreck your wood. Waterproof varnishes and paints aren’t going to make your cabinets perfectly impervious to water, but they are going to keep a little bit of moisture exposure from ruining your wood. They make it much more difficult for moisture to penetrate the wood.
Protect Your Kitchen Cabinets
At this point, you’ve got all of your cabinets repaired. This is when it’s time to further prep them for kitchen life. We’ll take care of home repair and you want your cabinets to be protected against moisture exposure so you don’t have to do this again. Here are some of the best ways to protect your kitchen cabinets from damage.
1. Laminate Them
You’ve likely heard about laminated kitchen cabinets. This is a good way to protect your cabinets without changing their look of them too much. Essentially, it involves placing a layer of laminate overtop of them which can keep water from penetrating the wood.
The laminate is typically a smooth and shiny layer of skin. It’s usually made out of a water-resistant material like plastic. While your cabinets won’t be waterproof with laminate applied, they will be able to repel some of the water that gets on them. These cabinets tend to be glossy because of the laminate layer. Therefore, you could paint them to achieve a specific style.
2. Use Waterproofing Coating or Varnish
There are a lot of different clear coats that you can apply to your kitchen cabinets. These tend to come in different types. They are usually clear so you don’t have to worry about them changing the overall look of your cabinets. You do want to find something that matches the finish though. You can find some that are matte, glossy, and even satin.
3. Change Your Sink
If you are constantly getting water dropping on your cabinet doors, it’s time to alter the design of your kitchen. By opting for a different style of sink, you can prevent spillage from ruining your cabinets. It’s always better to prevent the problem than to try to fix it.
4. Try New Countertop Edges
You may even want to swap out your countertop edges for new ones. If your countertop edges are allowing too much water to drip down on your cabinets, you can keep this from happening by swapping out rounded edges for square or beveled edges instead. While it’s going to cost a bit, it can prevent this issue from occurring in the future.
5. Get Better Ventilation
If you are having a lot of issues with having too much moisture present in your air that’s causing your cabinets to get damaged, you may need better ventilation. If you are routinely boiling water or doing a lot of cooking that produces a lot of steam, you may need to get a better exhaust fan or start opening windows while cooking to allow the excess moisture to escape.
Final Thoughts
The fact is, having damaged kitchen cabinets can negatively impact the overall look, feel, and value of your kitchen. Water damage is something you need to address as soon as possible. The longer you let it sit and fester, the worse it will get. You need to know the appropriate steps to take to repair the water-damaged cabinets. Use the tips above and you can get your cabinets repaired as effectively as possible.
If you don’t want to waste the time and energy doing it yourself, Mercury Drywall Repair Service professionals can handle it for you. Not only are you going to save time, but they can get the job done much better than you could yourself. please reach out to us at (816)295-7203