How to Refinish Particle Board Cabinet Doors

Particle board is a good, solid furniture material, but it generally can’t be sanded and stained. Finding a creative way to refinish a particle board cabinet can be a challenge. One option is a process of making it look old and battered. This is called a “distressed” finish, and it’s a good way to hide that particle board look. One common method is to use refinishing glaze, which is an opaque finish that you apply and then partly remove, leaving marks and designs on the piece to mimic age and abuse.

Newspapers
Fine sandpaper
Glaze refinishing compound
Paintbrush
Stiff scrub brush
Polyurethane (in a spray can)

Instructions

- 1
  Take off the hinges and other hardware from the cabinet. Set the doors out on spread-out newspapers, face up.
- 2
  Sand each section of the doors with fine sandpaper, by hand, just enough to de-gloss the surface. Brush away the dust.
- 3
  Brush refinishing glaze over each door. Lay it on thickly. Let it sit for about five minutes, until it starts to dry.
- 4
  Wipe off the partly dried glaze with a stiff brush, with light strokes, so you remove only the glaze that’s on the flat sections and not in the corners and nooks of the wood. Let the brush leave lines and crosshatch marks in the glaze, so the surface looks battered and aged.
- 5
  Continue working the surface until you have the look you want. Let the glaze dry 10 to 12 hours.
- 6
  Spray polyurethane over the doors in a smooth, light coat. Let it dry, then add a second coat. Repeat for a third coat. Re-assemble the cabinet.

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