Let’s Refinish the Tool Storage Cabinet!

A few years ago, we found a little wooden cabinet on wheels at Habitat. It had two drawers, two doors and was only $40! Hubby thought it would be a good addition to the garage to provide more storage space. We bought it to store tool and supplies. The cabinet had been painted white. Even though the paint was chipped, I liked the shabby chic look, so I didn’t do anything with it before loading it up with tools. Recently, I decided it was time to clean and spruce it up.

The cabinet was a mess! It had no back or shelf so there was not a lot of usable space.

Table Of Contents

Step 1 – Remove contents
Step 2 – Make a shelf
Step 3 – Clean & sand cabinet
Step 4 – Paint cabinet – Sand & poly doors
Step 5 – Drawers – strip, sand, paint, poly
Step 6 – Make & attach back
Step 7 – Fill and enjoy!
Finished cabinet
Supplied Used
Instructions
Tool cabinet: Before, during, after
For your convenience
Want more project ideas?

Step 1 – Remove contents

The first step was to remove the contents from the drawers. While I had all the items out of the drawers, I took the time to organize.

Step 2 – Make a shelf

Before removing the tools from the cabinet, I measured for a shelf. Since I’m a visual learner, it was easier for me to determine the height of where the shelf would be if I left the existing tools inside. Once I knew where the shelf would sit, I cut two pieces of 1″ x 3″ board with my miter saw. Then using screws, I attached them to each side of the cabinet

The next step was to measure for and cut a shelf. I had a piece of plywood on hand and used my skill saw to cut the shelf to the dimensions I needed. I then sanded the wood and gave it two coats of white semi-gloss water-based paint.

Step 3 – Clean & sand cabinet

The cabinet was in rough shape! I removed the contents then washed it down with a wet rag & Simple Green. When it was dry, I used my palm sander to smooth out the surfaces. The top has deep grooves in it from the previous owner. Since it is a garage cabinet, I didn’t feel the need to fill those in with wood putty and they were too deep to sand out.

Step 4 – Paint cabinet – Sand & poly doors

With the prep work done, it was time to paint the cabinet. Usually, I remove doors when painting but this time I decided to leave them in place. Using a paintbrush, I applied 2 coats of white semi-gloss water-based paint. The grooves in the top don’t look quite as deep now that they are freshly painted, but they are still there, reminding me of the cabinet’s history. When the paint was dry, I sanded the doors using a sanding block, wiped them down with a cloth to remove any sawdust, then applied 2 coats of water-based satin polyurethane using a paintbrush.

Step 5 – Drawers – strip, sand, paint, poly

To strip the drawer fronts, I used an environmentally friendly stripper, QCS made by Stripwell. I really like this stripper! I like that it’s environmentally friendly and comes in a spray bottle. I sprayed on a generous coat and once the paint started to bubble, scrapped it off with a putty knife. The key is to let it do its job and not rush it. Of course, that’s the same advice with all the strippers I’ve used.

When both drawers were stripped and the wood was dry, I used my orbital sander to remove any last bits of paint and to smooth the wood. Using a paintbrush, I applied two coats of water-based satin polyurethane. After that, I applied 2 coats of white semi-gloss water-based paint to the inside of the drawers.

Step 6 – Make & attach back

As I mentioned, the cabinet didn’t have a back. For some reason, that didn’t bother me when we bought it, so I used it without a back. Now that I was working on it, I thought it would be a good time to add one. After measuring, I cut a piece of paneling that I had on hand to fit the space. To protect the paneling, I applied 2 coats of water-based satin polyurethane using a paintbrush. I attached the paneling to the back of the cabinet using my nail gun. Once the back was attached, I applied 2 coats of white semi-gloss water-based paint to the exterior side.

Step 7 – Fill and enjoy!

Now that this little cabinet was cleaned and spruced up, it’s time to filler ‘er up! Look at all the additional storage space the shelf added! With the back, I don’t have to worry about tools falling behind the cabinet like they used to do.

Finished cabinet

Supplied Used

QCS stripper
Putty knife
Water-based satin white paint
Water-based satin polyurethane
Dewalt palm sander
Makita orbital sander
Sanding block
Skill saw
Nail gun & air compressor
Paneling
Plywood
1″ x 3″ board
Paintbrush
Miter saw

Instructions

Clean cabinet
- Using a palm or orbital sander, sand all surfaces
- Remove dust with a rag
- Apply 2 coats of water-based satin white paint using a brush
Sand doors with sanding block
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin polyurethane
Cut 2 pieces of 1″ x 3″ board for shelf supports
- Attach one board to each side of cabinet using screws
Cut shelf to dimension neeed using skill saw
- Sand wood
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin white paint
Apply stripper to drawer fronts
- Remove loose paint with a putty knife
- Sand front of drawers using a palm sander or sanding block
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin polyurethane to drawer fronts
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin white paint to drawer insides
Using skill saw, cut paneling or plywood for back of cabinet
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin polyurethane on one side
- Attach to back of cabinet using screws, nails, or nail gun
- Using paintbrush apply 2 coats of water-based satin white paint on the outside

Tool cabinet: Before, during, after

For your convenience

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to order through these links, it will be at no extra cost to you

Want more project ideas?

Prefix

Let’s Stay in Touch!

I’m excited to share more projects with you as well as tips/tricks/freebies! Just enter your email below to be one of my Blog Peeps!