HELP!!! I Can't Decide

[Lion El’John-Saw]

Oh yeah! My wife wants the kitchen cabinets refinished... So, this is my opening... I have the ETSC 2 125, ETSC 125, and ETS 150 EQ in the shopping cart ... Which one should I get?

EDIT: Added relevant info.

What is the current finish on your cabinets?

• Maple, warm honey tone, matte finish

Are you painting or staining plus clear?

• Painting a light color (TBD)

Making new doors and drawer fronts Or reusing the old ones?

• I was planning to reuse the old ones, but I’ll consider making or buying new unfinished doors.

What is the style of the cabinet doors?

• Traditional: raised-panel, cathedral arched-top, applied molding around the panel.

Paint: Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel (TBD light from white or light palette color)

 

[Packard]

What is the current finish on your cabinets? Are you painting or staining plus clear? Making new doors and drawer fronts Or reusing the old ones?

What is the style of the cabinet doors?

I painted my cabinets, but made new doors and drawer fronts. I judged that carefully sanding the profiles on the doors would take longer than making new doors.

Also, to modernize the cabinets I wanted to have full overlay, instead of the partial, and I wanted soft close hinges.

So, much has to do with your starting point and proposed landing point. Buying tools before planning the job is probably short sighted.

 

[onocoffee]

If it were me, I’d be sticking with corded, so ETS or ETS EC. If you have to strip the cabinets, then I’d also consider the Rotex RO90 and RO150, depending on the scope of work.

As Packard said, if you describe what the job entails, the advice you receive will be better geared towards your needs.

And this presumes you already have a CT extractor?

 

[Duckler]

What kind of paint will you use? And what method of application?
I am in a somewhat similar situation as the OP.

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

What is the current finish on your cabinets? Are you painting or staining plus clear? Making new doors and drawer fronts Or reusing the old ones?

What is the style of the cabinet doors?

I painted my cabinets, but made new doors and drawer fronts. I judged that carefully sanding the profiles on the doors would take longer than making new doors.

Also, to modernize the cabinets I wanted to have full overlay, instead of the partial, and I wanted soft close hinges.

So, much has to do with your starting point and proposed landing point. Buying tools before planning the job is probably short sighted.

You’re 100% correct. Here’s the relevant info:

What is the current finish on your cabinets?

• Maple, warm honey tone, matte finish

Are you painting or staining plus clear?

• Painting a light color (TBD)

Making new doors and drawer fronts Or reusing the old ones?

• I was planning to reuse the old ones, but I’ll consider making or buying new unfinished doors.

What is the style of the cabinet doors?

• Traditional: raised-panel, cathedral arched-top, applied molding around the panel.

If it were me, I’d be sticking with corded, so ETS or ETS EC. If you have to strip the cabinets, then I’d also consider the Rotex RO90 and RO150, depending on the scope of work.

As Packard said, if you describe what the job entails, the advice you receive will be better geared towards your needs.

And this presumes you already have a CT extractor?

Yup, I got the CT 36 EI to replace and old shop-vac.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Personally unless you were already invested in 125mm media, I'd be going for the 150mm sanders, the ETS EC 150/5 as an all rounder being my first choice.

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

What kind of paint will you use? And what method of application?
I am in a somewhat similar situation as the OP.

I’m using Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel

 

[Packard]

I’m using Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel

I quit my local Sherwin Williams store over Emerald. Corporate created thee problem, the store clerk executed it, and I failed to check.

Corporate named two different paints “Emerald”

I asked for Emerald urethane.

The clerk mixed Emerald acrylic.

I failed to check.

Only one door painted because it would not spray out as usual. I asked for a refund. They said they needed the area manager’s approval. I did not hang around. I went to the Benjamin store and switched to Advance.

In any event, don’t trust the clerk to know the difference between the two Emeralds. Check before they mix.

These were my cabinets prior to refinishing. I judged the arched profiles to be too time consuming to prep for paint, so I made ne doors and drawer faces. It sounds like you are describing similar profiles.

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

I quit my local Sherwin Williams store over Emerald. Corporate created thee problem, the store clerk executed it, and I failed to check.

Corporate named two different paints “Emerald”

I asked for Emerald urethane.

The clerk mixed Emerald acrylic.

I failed to check.

Only one door painted because it would not spray out as usual. I asked for a refund. They said they needed the area manager’s approval. I did not hang around. I went to the Benjamin store and switched to Advance.

In any event, don’t trust the clerk to know the difference between the two Emeralds. Check before they mix.

I quit my local Sherwin Williams store over Emerald. Corporate created thee problem, the store clerk executed it, and I failed to check.

Corporate named two different paints “Emerald”

I asked for Emerald urethane.

The clerk mixed Emerald acrylic.

I failed to check.

Only one door painted because it would not spray out as usual. I asked for a refund. They said they needed the area manager’s approval. I did not hang around. I went to the Benjamin store and switched to Advance.

In any event, don’t trust the clerk to know the difference between the two Emeralds. Check before they mix.

These were my cabinets prior to refinishing. I judged the arched profiles to be too time consuming to prep for paint, so I made ne doors and drawer faces. It sounds like you are describing similar profiles.

Here is mine.

 

[Packard]

Here in s mine.

That would be easier to prep.

I would do a light hand sanding, wipe on SealCoat dewaxed shellac and then paint. I don’t think I would sand to bare wood, just scuff it up. The shellac makes an excellent primer. I don’t spray shellac—too much airborne solvent. It wipes on nicely right from the can. But it may not be available everywhere.

In which case, I would probably mix up some dewaxed flakes and solvent.

 

[onocoffee]

Yup, I got the CT 36 EI to replace and old shop-vac.

Now that we've seen the project you're working on, I'll back away a bit since I have not done that kind of work.

However, I would still stay with corded - mainly because your initial expense won't be as high and you won't have to concern yourself with stopping to switch batteries (and perhaps wait while a battery recharges). I would think this kind of refinishing will take awhile meaning that the corded will allow you to continue unabated.

If I were to approach this kind of task, I'd also consider using the DTS or RTS 400 sanders to get up close and personal with those faces. But I'll let those with first-hand experience guide you.

 

[tjbnwi]

Clean with original Krud Kutter in the white bottle with the red label, not the kitchen stuff.

Scuff sand.

Use Extreme Bond (SW product) or Styx (BM product) primer.

If brush/rolling use Emerald Urethane, if spraying us Gallery (SW spray only product).

Tom

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

Clean with original Krud Kutter in the white bottle with the red label, not the kitchen stuff.

Scuff sand.

Use Extreme Bond (SW product) or Styx (BM product) primer.

If brush/rolling use Emerald Urethane, if spraying us Gallery (SW spray only product).

Tom

Ok, but which sander would you recommend?

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

Now that we've seen the project you're working on, I'll back away a bit since I have not done that kind of work.

However, I would still stay with corded - mainly because your initial expense won't be as high and you won't have to concern yourself with stopping to switch batteries (and perhaps wait while a battery recharges). I would think this kind of refinishing will take awhile meaning that the corded will allow you to continue unabated.

If I were to approach this kind of task, I'd also consider using the DTS or RTS 400 sanders to get up close and personal with those faces. But I'll let those with first-hand experience guide you.

I appreciate the suggestion.

 

[Cheese]

If this were my project...I'd choose the ETS EC 125 and a DTS 400. If there are large areas to sand, I'd also purchase a 150 pad to be used on the ETS EC 125 sander because they will readily interchange. So, the 125 pad for small width profiles, the 400 for corners and difficult to reach areas and the 150 pad for large areas. So 2 sanders but giving you 3 options.

 

[Lion El’John-Saw]

If this were my project...I'd choose the ETS EC 125 and a DTS 400. If there are large areas to sand, I'd also purchase a 150 pad to be used on the ETS EC 125 sander because they will readily interchange. So, the 125 pad for small width profiles, the 400 for corners and difficult to reach areas and the 150 pad for large areas. So 2 sanders but giving you 3 options.

Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[tjbnwi]

Ok, but which sander would you recommend?

ETS 125 with 150 or 180 grit Granat. The inside corners it will not reach clean up with 220 grit by hand.

Tom

 

[Packard]

Spraying out the doors was easy on my bench. But brushing the boxes with Advance involved a significant learning curve, as Advance is quite low in viscosity and was prone to runs on vertical surfaces. When I finally figured it out, it was easy and worked fine.

Allow yourself adequate practice brushing out the finish.

Masking the already installed boxes seemed way too much work, and overspray still seemed a worry.