Cabinet Doors Help

[cperren]

I'm remodeling my kitchen which includes replacing the cabinets.. Unfortunately all of the cabinet shops are slammed in my area (Austin) therefore I'm debating on running the cabinet doors myself. Our designer has model the the kitchen and the cabinet and drawer sizes which is fairly accurate.  After talking with a cabinet shop, they was concerned about the quality of sanding which may affect the finish. My approach was to use my Festool sanders after I run the profile on the shaper..  I don't have a wide belt or drum sander. Do I need one? Any suggestions or concerns? The lower cabinets will be shaker in either walnut or rift white oak.  The uppers will be shaker but painted white.  Or should I look further out (i.e. out of state) for reputable cabinet shops. I'm thinking of mocking up a few doors using the process.  Any thoughts? Thanks

[list type=decimal]
[*]Order and Receive 4/4 Hardwood
[*]Straight line, flatten using jointer / planner
[*]Cut to size
[*]Sand to 180
[*]Run profile through shaper
[*]Glue up
[*]Drill Hinge
[*]Sand profile to 180
[*]Finish with Danish Oil or Stain or Paint
[*]Apply Top Coat
[/list]     

 

[Packard]

If you are painting, the paint will not need such fine sanding.

I've painted cabinets using PPG's Breakthrough, with no primer and only l lightly sanded.  I applied it with a HVLP sprayer.  It dries very, very fast and you have to have decent technique because there is very little self-leveling going on.

The local PPG dealer could not survive the pandemic loss of business and is out of business.  I now use Benjamin Moore's Advance.

I spray two coats of 1-2-3 primer (cut back with water slightly) and sand between coats.  I have experienced some grain raising so the sanding is needed but you can feel when the grain raising is knocked down.  It sands easily.

I then put down two good coats of Advance which dries very slowly--and requires 16 hours between coats.  I lightly sand between coats.  The slow drying also allows for leveling and the satin finish is remarkably nice. 

Blocking is an issue--the tendency for two painted (but nominally dry) surfaces adhering to each other when left in contact.  I've been told to allow one-week dry time before allowing surface-to-surface contact. 

Dark colors cure slower.  I have heard 30 days to cure for light colors and 60 to 90 days for dark colors.  I can say that the 3-month-old finishes are very hard and durable.

I will say that the self-leveling property hides a number of blemishes.  I paint over poplar and maple. 

 

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Hi,

I build as many cabinet doors as the next man, and I recently invested in a Laguna Supermax Drum sander.  I order hardwood for rails and stiles at 7/8 inch S4S.  After assembling the doors, I run them through the drum sander.  They turn out really nice and flat.  I highly recommend investing in a drum sander for doors and faceframes.

It would seem that the lumber I order was never quite perfectly flat.  The drum sander flattens the doors quite nicely.  I join the rails and stiles with the Domino XL, and while my results are very good every once in a while, they don't quite line up perfectly.

Good luck. 

Brian

 

[cperren]

Brian - What size drum sander did you purchase? What was your process before the drum sander? Do you sand profile by hand?  Any suggestion for a rookie without a drum sander ..

There appears to be a slew of internet order cabinet door companies.. Anyone have experience using them.   

Thanks
Chris

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Hi Chris,

I bought the 25-50.  It is a nice unit.  Before I had the drum sander I would use my Festool sanders, and rely on the lumber being flat.  Invariably I would have one door that was warped.  If you are going to be building doors- and it sounds like we should all be in that business, then a drum sander is a nice addition.  I am going to specialize with in frame cabinets, and I think the drum sander will help me achieve good results with that specialty.

Good luck.

Brian

 

[cperren]

Thanks Brian.  I going to attempt hand sanding although a drum sander would be helpful. Plus Laguna drum sanders are out of stock until June. Chris 

 

[guybo]

Hi, we found these to help with reducing the hand sanding,will one of the shops sand your finished doors? guyView attachment 1View attachment 1 sorry these fit the rts and they make them for the dts as well

 

[Lincoln]

Skip 'step 4', as there's no point sanding at that stage. Take your time with your machining, so your material is nice and true.
Take your time with your stile/rail set up on your shaper and there's no reason why you can't end up with flush, true doors - which are fine to sand with orbital sander.
The more time you spend on accurate set ups, the less time you spend sanding. Once you introduce bowed/twisted components and/or out of alignment joinery, sanding becomes a problem.

 

[cperren]

[member=69760]Lincoln[/member] - Thanks.  No need to waste time on sanding. My plan is to mock up a few doors and see where it leads.. Hopefully its all downhill.  Rift plus Quarter White Oak, and Walnut Hardwood being delivered tomorrow for these doors.

Thanks Chris