[DIY] I'm new here - hi everyone - have a few questions
HI, I laid my tile right over the formica. It's holding up REALLY well after 3 years. I haven't had a single problem. The formica is over a 3/4" base, and plenty sturdy. I recommend painting to update your cabinets. Liz
I prefer the wood look myself, but I'm only one person. However, I thought you might like to know how we recently rejuvenated some pretty sad-looking hollow-core wood doors (luan mahogany), also stained brown. We took them off the hinges, wiped all the old dirt off them, gave them a VERY light sanding, wiped them off again, and added a layer of satin polyurethane (water based). I could not believe how much better it made them look! We had thought we would have to replace all of them, but now we intend to replace only the ones with actual holes in them. If you want to give this a try, select a closet door to start and do the interior side, and see what you think. (You could also use a semi-gloss polyurethane if you like them a bit shinier.) Ann
I have been lurking and I wanted to say "Thanks" to all those who responded about the original questions about hollow core interior doors. I read Ann post about removing and sanding and then polyurethane and I am motivated to do it to mine. I had thought I was going to have to paint mine yet I figure I can try this first, if not result I like, them paint. I am also going to try and added stained molding on the doors after the poly finish to add character to the house. Maybe the long narrow hallway going down center of house won't look so boring. Lisa
Good luck with that! Just remember that you only need to sand a tiny, little, eensy-teensy bit. If you sand too much you can go right through the thin top layer of the door and that looks awful! Don't ask me how I know that. :( But a little bit of sanding smooths out the old varnish so the new stuff looks better when you put it on. Also two coats look better than one (though even one was an improvement for our doors). Ann