Stripping/sanding Polyurethane From Cabinets?

[bubbs147]

Hello! The kitchen cabinets in the house we bought are coated with a lovely polyurethane finish, nice and glossy! Has anyone ever stripped or sanded poly'd cabinets? How bad is it? Any suggestions are much appreciated! Thank you!

[johnohfs]

You have a couple options. You can use a chemical stripper or you can use elbow grease and sand the poly off. I would recommend a combo of both.

First, you would be well served to clean every square inch of the cabinets. A dirty or greasy cabinet won't hold paint well. If you don't want to sand, you could use a de-glosser. You can get some at Lowes or HD. That's a simply application process... basically allows the poly coat to be primed.

Sanding is another option, but it's got to be thorough.

Recommend you sand lightly, de-gloss and then sand a little bit again.

Good luck!!