Super Handyman: Glaze can give newly painted cabinets a warm feel

Freshly painted kitchen cabinets look pretty nice … for a minute. But if you want your kitchen to look like you actually use it, you can “warm” it up by adding a glaze to the plain cabinet paint or stain. Here’s how to do this.

Start by covering everything except the cabinet with drop cloths. Mask off everything you don’t want to paint. Stain isn’t wiped off nearly as easily as paint is, so be careful.

If the cabinets have just been painted and are clean, you can proceed with the glazing. But if the paint is even a few weeks old, you should clean the surface again, just to remove any airborne grease from when you cook. You can clean the surfaces with mineral spirits paint thinner.

Glaze is just stain or paint mixed with water or solvent, whichever would be used to thin or clean up with. You can purchase pre-mixed glaze or make your own. Read all the directions, and don’t be afraid to consult the paint dealer with questions.

To apply it, you just paint or wipe it on with a rag and then wipe some of it back off. This naturally leaves more in the corners and crevices, giving your plain paint finish an older, warmer look. If you want more, wipe off less or add a second coat once the first is dry. Glaze usually dries slower than paint, so give it a little extra time.

You can apply a clear finish if you want. This is a great way to give a standard, boring cabinet finish a custom look. You even could do this in a bathroom or to individual furniture pieces, too.

Clean your AC drainAir conditioners remove a lot of humidity from our homes at the same time that they are cooling them down. Moisture from the air condenses on the cooling coils, and when the unit shuts down, the condensation drops into a pan and drains away #8212; or at least it#146;s supposed to. This drain will sometimes clog, and when that happens, it can overflow. In most cases, there is a backup drain, but many times it will overflow and cause water damage to floors and walls. If you pour a cup of bleach into the drain line twice a season, it should stay unclogged. If it starts running slow, use a snake to clean it out. Some units even can be fitted with an automatic-shutdown device should the water level reach a certain point.Stud walls have potentialExposed stud walls in your garage may look boring, but actually, to the clever do-it-yourselfer, to turn all those walls into storage facilities is very exciting! Adding two-by-fours horizontally between the studs provides great shelving. To make them even more useful, drill holes across these so you can set tools in the holes for a really organized garage. You can keep all of your screwdrivers in one section, wrenches in another and chisels in still another place. Since you aren#146;t taking up valuable floor space, you#146;ll have lots of room for everything.Super hintsŸ Sprinkle salt on your carpets to drive out fleas. It will kill them and their eggs. After it#146;s had time to work (a couple of days), vacuum it up and throw away the vacuum cleaner bag. Do this periodically if you have flea problems.Ÿ Save those Popsicle sticks that the kids will have this summer. They are great for garden stakes, stir sticks for paint and other shop compounds, and for lots of crafts projects. Ÿ Picture frames, trim molding and other thin wood projects can be made easier by pre-drilling the holes for the nails or screws. This prevents delicate wood from splitting while you work.Q. There are some plastic decals that were put on my patio door, presumably to prevent someone from running into the door when it was closed. I would like to remove them but don#146;t want to scratch the glass. How do I get them off?A. We suggest lightly scoring them with a utility knife. You just want to open the plastic, not scratch the glass. Then apply a shot of WD-40 lubricant. Give it a few minutes to work on loosening the adhesive. Use a rounded-edge plastic scraper and try to scrape off the decal. When you are finished, use glass cleaner to remove the WD-40 and any adhesive residue.Q. Our kitchen was renovated some years back, and the tiles on the walls behind the stove and sink were painted. The paint has held up pretty well in most spots, but is starting to peel in others. We think it should all be removed but aren#146;t sure what we can do after that. Any suggestions?A. Use a chemical paint stripper that doesn#146;t require any scraping so you don#146;t damage the tiles. Once the paint is gone, examine the surface of the tiles. If they are rough, they probably were etched before the paint was applied. If the tile is still smooth, then you can leave it unpainted if you want. If the surface was etched, then you probably will want to remove the tile or paint it again with epoxy paint. Q. One of our toilets is a little wobbly on the floor. It#146;s an older model, and other than the wobble, has no leaks that we can see and no other problems. Is there a way to fix this, or is this an indication that there is a problem we need to deal with?A. Check for leaks around the base just to make sure the wax seal is still working. If the caulking is still in place, make sure there isn#146;t a leak behind the caulk by removing a small area. Replace the wax ring if you need to. Sometimes you can tighten the bolts at the base of the toilet, but be very careful not to overtighten them. That could break the porcelain and create a serious problem. Try putting some wooden shims under the base of the toilet to steady it, and then gently tighten the bolts. Cut off the shims and caulk around the base. Keep an eye on it to make sure you don#146;t develop a leak.Reader tipsŸ After staining our older fence, we got a note from the homeowners association saying the new color wasn#146;t acceptable. I guess we should have checked first. Rather than try to strip it off, we just turned the fence boards around so the unfinished side was facing out and the stained side was inside our yard. It looks great now, and you can#146;t tell that the inside is stained. Live and learn, I guess.Ÿ We turned our dark cave of a basement into the perfect home theater. We put in a large-screen TV and installed sound-dampening walls and a dropped ceiling. We bought comfy couches and a small fridge, and even a popcorn popper. The kids stay home on the weekends now, and family time is always spent there, where we are all together. We even decided to skip the spring break vacation this year, and just spend time together at home. A small investment for a big return, in my book!Ÿ We finally took some time off work to put in a fence on our property. It was a lot of work, but the whole family pitched in and we got it done in just a few days. We saved a bundle by doing the work ourselves, and it turned out pretty nice. We used a posthole digger to dig all of the holes. To make this faster and get the depth just right, we marked the handle of the digger with green paint. With the tool down in the hole, the mark was put in the right place so that when it lined up with the existing soil line, you knew you were finished digging.Ÿ #147;Laundry room#148; is just a closet in our hallway. We keep the doors closed when using it because the machines are loud. I installed weatherstripping on the doors, and this really cut down on the noise. You still can hear them, but not nearly as much. We also put the machines on rubber mats, and this seemed to help, too.Ÿ I had a hard time getting the kitchen grease off the wallpaper behind our stove. I used a couple of cleaners but couldn#146;t use a scrubber because it would have damaged the paper. I got out my iron and warmed it up. I placed a couple of paper towels over the wallpaper and then ran over it with the iron. The warm iron heated up the grease, and it went straight into the paper towels. I think I finally got it all off.Shop talkŸ Vinegar is one of those everyday household products that we all have in our homes. It has tons of uses there, as well as in the shop and even outdoors. It#146;s really inexpensive and can save you money, in many cases, by using it instead of some of the high-priced cleaners and liquids available at the hardware store. We have put together a list of some of our favorite, tried-and-true uses for the stuff. You also can get this information, as well as a lot of other interesting tips, on our website at www.thesuperhandyman.com. We hope to hear from you soon. Have a super day!Ÿ Mission Stone isn#146;t really stone at all. It#146;s a limestone cement product, designed and finished to look like natural stone. It#146;s placed on top of a lightweight foam material that is only frac12;-inch thick. You can get really creative with this material, and although it#146;s designed to go over existing fireplaces, you could use it in many other spots as well. It comes in a variety of colors and finishes, and because of the foam core, is much easier to work with and will save you a lot of money over real stone. Check it out at www.missionstone.com.Ÿ Elmer#146;s has a super reputation when it comes to glues, and its latest wood glue has some notable features. Not only is it waterproof, but now it#146;s heat-resistant and stronger than ever. It#146;s stainable now, too. Wood Glue Max even resists mold and mildew, so every home should have a bottle on hand for wood repairs. It#146;s available at most hardware stores and home centers, as well as many discount stores. For additional info, go to www.elmers.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells#146; website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$