How to Refinish a Framed Medicine Cabinet

A framed medicine cabinet can look very attractive in your bathroom. At some stage, you may wish to change the color scheme of your bathroom and repaint it. While you are doing this, you might also want to refinish your framed medicine cabinet so that it fits into the design of the room. It’s not a big job and doesn’t take much in the way of materials.

Step 1 - Preparation

Begin by putting drop cloths on the floor of the bathroom around the medicine cabinet and over the sink. This way, if either the varnish stripper or the finish spill or drip, nothing will be ruined. Make sure you remove the hardware from the cabinet and empty the cabinet out.

The room should be well ventilated. Leave the door open and switch on the extractor fan. You’ll be working with chemicals so you need as much air as possible. Before you begin, put on a breathing mask so you don’t inhale the chemical fumes.

Step 2 - Stripping

Pour some of the varnish stripper onto a clean cloth and wipe it on the wood of the framed medicine cabinet. Keep wiping while you change cloths and add more stripper, until you’ve taken off all the old finish. Give the cabinet ample time to dry before proceeding.

Step 3 - Sanding

When the wood is completely dry, take some find sandpaper and begin to sand down the wood. Wear safety goggles to keep the sawdust out of your eyes. You’ll only need to sand lightly because you want to leave the wood smooth and ready for the new finish. When you’ve completed the sanding, wipe the wood down with a cloth that’s been lightly dampened in order to remove all the sawdust.

Step 4 - Finish

Before you begin to apply a new finish you need to prepare the framed medicine cabinet. To do this, put masking tape all round the edges of the cabinet where it meets the bathroom walls. You also need to apply it on the inside of the frame adjacent to the mirror. Make sure that the cabinet door is open.

Start by brushing finish onto the back of the door, following the grain with even strokes. Just apply a light coat of finish. Then, apply finish on the sides, top and bottom of the framed medicine cabinet.Complete the first coat by applying finish to the door frame around the mirror and let the finish dry completely.

Step 5 - Second Coat

Since the framed medicine cabinet is in a room with steam and moisture, you need a good seal on the wood. It’s important that you put on a second coat for protection. Complete the job by removing the masking tape, clearing away the drop cloths and returning shelves and items to the framed medicine cabinet.