A complete step-by-step tutorial for how to use wood veneer to redo your kitchen cabinets and make them look like new again without replacing them.
Did you know that you can apply veneer to kitchen cabinets to update them?
I had been wanting to makeover my orange oak cabinets for years.
I really wanted wood cabinets, just not orange ones! And replacing them wasn’t in my budget.
So, I came up with a plan to keep the wood look and make them look more modern by building new modern doors from hardwood plywood and covering the frames with wood veneer.
Before we get started, I want to let you know that my cabinets are face frame style cabinets. If yours are not, then your process would be slightly different.
If you are not sure what that means check out my post on the parts of a kitchen cabinet, to learn about the pieces that make up a cabinet and/or figure out what kind of cabinets you have.
There are different types of frame styles and many parts to a kitchen cabinet that are helpful to understand before you start fixing up the ones you have.
Table of Contents
- What is veneer?
- Video – DIY Kitchen Cabinet Makeover Using Veneer
- How to reface kitchen cabinets with veneer
- Supplies
- Step 1: Remove cabinet doors, drawers, and hinges
- Step 2. Clean cabinets
- Step 3: Sand cabinets
- Step 4: Apply edge banding to inside edges of cabinet
- Step 5: Apply veneer to end of cabinet
- Step 6: Apply veneer to face of cabinet
- Step 7: Trimming veneer
- Tips for trimming veneer:
- Step 8: Finish kitchen cabinet veneering
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is veneer?
Veneer is very thin and often made of wood, that can be bought in sheets or strips. It is made in many different wood varieties that can be used to cover the surface of an object.
It comes with and without glue already applied. And is pressed onto the object.
I’ve been using wood veneer for years to cover the edges of hard wood plywood that I use to build furniture for my home.
When applied to an object it basically covers the surface to give it a different look.
Veneer also comes in black and white vinyl. I used white veneer on the edges of the material when I built a shoe storage cabinet from closet shelving last year.
Video – DIY Kitchen Cabinet Makeover Using Veneer
If you have thought about updating your kitchen cabinets and don’t want to paint them or are looking for a wood finish look cabinet update, check out this kitchen cabinet makeover idea. Watch how I covered up my orange oak kitchen cabinets with wood veneer in this video!
How to reface kitchen cabinets with veneer
Supplies
- Electric drill or screwdriver
- Rags
- Tsp cleaner
- Bucket
- Ryobi cordless sander
- 120 and 220 grit sandpaper
- Iron
- 3/4 inch edge banding, I used red oak
- Utility knife
- Wood veneer sheets, I used 3M peel and stick flat cut red oak
- Polycrylic or finish of your choice
Step 1: Remove cabinet doors, drawers, and hinges
Use a screwdriver or drill fit with screwdriver head to remove screws that hold the hinges and doors onto the cabinet frame.
Screw placement will be slightly different according to what type of cabinet frame and/or hinge you have.
You’re basically just looking for where the cabinet door hinge attaches to the cabinet frame and unscrewing so you can remove the cabinet door.
Step 2. Clean cabinets
Wash the surface of the cabinets, where you will be applying veneer, with tsp or denatured alcohol to remove dirt and grime.
I used tsp. Follow the directions on the package to mix, wear good quality protective gloves, and scrub the cabinets with the tsp solution. Then rinse it with tap water and allow it to completely dry.
Make sure you clean the front of the cabinet, ends of cabinet runs, and inside lip of the front frame, where the veneer will be going, so it has a nice clean place to stick.
Step 3: Sand cabinets
After the cabinets have dried from cleaning them, use 120 grit sandpaper to scuff up the finish.
You are not removing all of the finish here, just decreasing the gloss so the veneer will stick to the surface of the cabinet better.
I like to make quick work of this step by using my cordless sander.
After you sand the cabinets remove the dust with a damp cloth and allow the cabinet to dry completely.
Step 4: Apply edge banding to inside edges of cabinet
First, measure the cabinet opening and cut strips of veneer edge banding to those sizes. These are the pieces that will go on the inner lip of the face frame of the cabinet.
TOOH Timesaving Tip: If you have any openings that are the same size, cut edge band to fit and then use that piece to cut the rest of the pieces that you need that are that size.
I got lucky on one bottom run of my cabinets and had four cabinets with all the same size opening.
Next, iron the pieces of edge band onto the inner lip of the face frame of the cabinet.
Hold the edge band where you want it and, using an iron on high heat (no steam), press down on the edge band for a few seconds. This should melt the glue on the back of the edge band and tack it in place.
You should be able to move the edge band at this point if you need to recenter it.
Then, continue ironing the edge band to the edge of the wood until you get to the end.
Tips for veneering edges:
- Use scissors to cut the edge band.
- Hold the first few inches of edge band in place and hold iron against it for 5 seconds. Then, remove the iron and slide the edge band around into position if it is not where you want it.
- Hold the iron flat on the edge band.
Use a scrap block of wood or a veneer scrapper to press the edge band down onto the wood.
Continue until all inside face frame cabinet edges are covered.
I used 3/4 inch edge band and the frame of my cabinet wood was 3/4 inch so I did not have to do any trimming of the edge band veneer.
Step 5: Apply veneer to end of cabinet
The next pieces of veneer that you will apply to your cabinets are the cabinet end pieces.
Measure the end of the cabinet. Add at least 1/2 inch to each measurement. Basically, you want to end up with some overhang of the veneer sheet over the edges of the cabinet that you will end up trimming off.
If you don’t leave an overhang of the veneer, it likely will not cover the cabinet completely in one spot or another. The balance here is having enough extra veneer, but not too much that you have to trim off later.
Cut your veneer sheet to the size that you just measured, plus the extra I just talked about.
For instance, if your cabinet end measured 15 in x 33 in, you would want to cut a piece of veneeer that is at least 15 1/2 in x 33 1/2 in in order to make sure you have enough to cover the end cabinet surface.
When you are ready to apply the veneer sheet to the end of the cabinet, peel back the protective backing a few inches.
Line up the veneer sheet with the wall and the surface of the cabinet you are covering it with, making sure all of the cabinet is covered, and slowly press the veneer sheet onto the cabinet as you peel back the protective backing.
Once you have the veneer on the cabinet, make sure it is covering all of the cabinet and press it onto the cabinet with a veneer scraper, pressing with the grain of the veneer.
Last, trim the edge of the veneer so that it is flush with the front of the cabinet.
Carefully run a sharp utility knife down the front edge of the cabinet to trim off the extra veneer.
Step 6: Apply veneer to face of cabinet
Next, measure the vertical pieces of wood on the front of the cabinet. You’re going to want to know the width and the height of each vertical piece.
Add at least 1/2 inch to each measurement like you did with the end cabinet measurement above.
Measure and cut the wood veneer sheet to those sizes.
Apply the front vertical veneer sheets just like you did the cabinet end pieces above.
Peel back a few inches of the paper backing, line up the veneer making sure that it is covering all of the surface of the vertical front piece, and press the veneer to adhere to the cabinet, peeling the backing as you go.
Continue until you have all front vertical cabinet pieces covered.
After you are done measuring, cutting and applying the vertical pieces of veneer to the front of the cabinet move onto the horizontal pieces on the front of the cabinets following the same steps.
Step 7: Trimming veneer
Once the cabinet fronts are covered in veneer it’s time to start trimming.
With a sharp utility knife, carefully trim the excess veneer from the bottom and top of the cabinets, and edges of the hole where the door goes.
Save the corners where the vertical and horizontal front cabinet veneer pices until last.
To trim the veneer at the corner of the door hole, where they meet:
- Hold a straight edge, vertically, exactly at the corner and score the top layer of veneer.
- Remove the piece that you scored.
- Score the second layer of veneer exactly where you just cut it.
- Peel back the first layer and remove the piece you just scored.
- Now, press the vertical and horizontal veneer pieces down and they should meet perfectly.
Tips for trimming veneer:
- Go slow.
- You don’t have to trim it all in one piece, chip away at it.
- Be patient.
- Try not to cut (gouge) into the cabinet wood.
- Don’t panic! Read the next tip. My husband came home from work in the middle of me veneering my first section of cabinets and I’m sure he thought the edges looked like a 5-year old’s work. Once you sand well it will look finished.
- Sanding can hide a multitude of sins.
- Use a sharp knife, be careful, and use common sense.
Step 8: Finish kitchen cabinet veneering
Once you’ve trimmed all of the veneer edges you’re almost done!
Press down all of the veneer that you have applied to your cabinets with a veneer scraper, following the grain of the veneer. Press it down well because this is the step that is going to make sure it sticks well to your cabinets.
After that, sand your cabinets and edges well with 220 grit sandpaper. This is the step that is going to make your cabinets look finished so do a thorough job.
Once you’ve sanded and removed the dust you can finish them.
I used three coats of polycrylic following the directions on the container.
After I was all done, I completed my kitchen cabinet refacing by building modern kitchen cabinet doors.
And this is what it looks like now that I am all done!
I think it looks a lot better. What do you think? It definitely looks different, more modern, and less orangey. Which is what I was trying to accomplish, so I’m happy!
Frequently Asked Questions
How difficult is it to reface kitchen cabinets with veneer?
It isn’t difficult to use veneer to give your kitchen cabinets an update. There are very few tools involved: a sander, measuring tape, and a utility knife. It does take time for the preparation of the cabinets (removing doors, cleaning, and sanding) and time to apply the veneer and trim it. But, overall, I would rate it at a beginner to intermediate level home diy. Intermediate only because it is good to have some experience with diy before starting this project.
How much does it cost to use veneer to reface kitchen cabinets?
For my kitchen, I have approximately 15 feet of lower cabinets and 20 feet of upper cabinets:
- $150 for 3 pieces of 3M peel and stick flat cut red oak veneer
- $60 for 250 foot roll of red oak edge banding (which I used on my diy modern cabinet doors as well and still didn’t use the whole roll)
- $25 for one quart of polycrylic
About $235 for just materials. I already owned all of the tools and supplies.
How does it take to apply veneer to kitchen cabinets to reface them?
It depends on how many cabinets you have. As I mentioned above, I have approximately 15 feet of lower cabinets and 20 feet of upper cabinets and I would say it took me about 4 (eight hour) days to prep the cabinets, cut and apply the veneer, and trim off excess veneer. It gets faster after the first day, once you get used to what you are doing.
Would you use veneer to makeover kitchen cabinets again in the future?
Yes! If I was looking for a way to update my kitchen cabinets on a budget. This is a great way to cover old kitchen cabinets and give them a new, clean, wood look!
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