Cabinet Restoration Questions

thefader

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Hey Guys, I'm restoring a cabinet that is a little rough. Ive read through but cant find a good step by step how to do this. I'm planning on taking the cabinet to a friends place that does auto restoration to be painted, but as far as prepping...

What sand papers do I use? What primer should I get? How many coats? Anything other hints anyone has? Thanks Guys.
 
Try posting a few pics of what you have, that will give us a better idea of what you'll need to do. There are a lot of different opinions on what materials to use. As for primer, that will also depend on where the work is going to be done (inside your house, garage, outside). I would also defer to your buddy as to what primer would work best with his paints.
 
Here are a couple pictures of the cab.. Any advice? Also, what is the best kind of putty to fill in the nicks and such? (I'm new to restoration.)
 

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First thing you're going to want to do is strip off whatever's covering that cab. I can't tell if it's painted or not. If it's painted, sand it down, if it's got some sort of vinyl covering, you're going to want to get a heat gun and strip it down. If it's painted, you might not need to take off all of the paint, but if you're going to route of having it professionally painted, you might as well do the job right. For wood repair, I've always found Bondo to be the best. If it's just shipped or dinged, remove the loose particleboard and apply the bondo after sanding down to bare wood around the area. If it's water damage that you're repairing, you'll want to break away the really bad wood and then use a wood hardener. You can find it near the wood stains. This will strengthen it prior to applying the Bondo. You're also going to want to get some sort of power sander (random orbital, belt sander, or a little Mouse or something). Usually you'll want as high a grit as you can get (like 80) to get down the worst of it, and then move up from there (120, 150 or whatever) and then finish with like a 200+. You'll need to use each one stepwise to remove the scratches. Make sure you wear a mask and glasses!!! If you're indoors, you'll need a can of primer, if outside, you can use sprayable. You'll want a couple of coats, with sanding inbetween each coat. This
forum doesn't have a lot of step by step restorations, but you might find more info here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,32.0.html

I've documented a few of my restores which show some of these steps:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=114727

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=130312

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=131501
 
Just a quick clarification, Sand 80, 120, 150, 200... Then Prime a few coats and sand again with the 200?


Or prime, sand 120, prime, sand 150, prime sand 200?
 
Just a quick clarification, Sand 80, 120, 150, 200... Then Prime a few coats and sand again with the 200?


Or prime, sand 120, prime, sand 150, prime sand 200?

Personally, I bondo where necessary, then sand 80, 150, 220. Then use Kilz primer and then sand with 220 once again. I use a foam roller and, more often than not, I sand between the 1-3 coats of paint. Now, if you're taking this to an autobody shop to be sprayed, I just saw someone post that they use 400 grit a few times before spraying...
 
Personally, I bondo where necessary, then sand 80, 150, 220. Then use Kilz primer and then sand with 220 once again. I use a foam roller and, more often than not, I sand between the 1-3 coats of paint. Now, if you're taking this to an autobody shop to be sprayed, I just saw someone post that they use 400 grit a few times before spraying...

I'd agree with that. You need a much nicer finish to your prep work if you're going to spray it (or apply vinyl) because it will show up every imperfection. Your coats of primer with help bring out some of them, so sand your layers of primer until you can't see any issues and then you can get it painted. The toughest things about restoring these cabs is the prep work.
 
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