Resurfacing a Dishwasher Front Panel

With Spring cleaning and sprucing up in the air, I thought I’d pull up a post from a couple years ago that would help in this area. I don’t know about you, but with all the beautiful sunshine, I have been much more aware of the dirt, grime, scratches, and scuffs that accumulated over the Winter months. My kitchen has been a target area for me to work on and in my efforts to make everything look better, a little coat of paint on my “spruced up dishwasher” was a simple easy fix for the scuffs and crud on the front. But, this easy fix was only made possible by the resurfacing of the used dishwasher we purchased years ago. Anyway, here’s the scoop on that whole process…

The only dishwasher I had growing up was the manual kind!! I never knew what I was missing until I married my dishwasher owning/loving man that insisted we get one. Good call, babe. We’ve had one now for about hmmm, 20 years and I’m not sure I could want to live without one.

Dishwashers, in many homes, have become a common fixture. Replacing a dishwasher can however cost a pretty penny. Purchasing used appliances can be a money saving alternative. We have purchased several used appliances recently and have had good success with the way they do their job.

Their appearances however, have not been the best.

Our $65 second hand dishwasher works well but didn’t look very good, so we used a scrap piece of bead board to spruce it up and make it look new again. Here’s how you can do the same.

For this particular style of dishwasher you will need two pieces of bead board.

So, first things first, measure your dishwasher door and base and cut bead board to fit those places.

Next, apply double-sided (we used carpet tape) tape to the back center of the bead board. This will hold the bead board in place while the construction adhesive dries.

A nice even coat of construction adhesive will go on next.

Then firmly push the piece of bead board onto the dishwasher and rub the front of the bead board.

For the construction adhesive to seal, remove the bead board from the dishwasher. This will allow the proper adhesion.

Now, peel off the paper from the carpet tape and reapply your bead board to the dishwasher door.

Press and rub until you can feel the double-sided tape adhering to the door.

Do the above steps to the lower panel as well.

You may want to apply duct tape for a few hours to secure the corners and edges. Don’t leave the tape on too long…you don’t want any duct tape marks on your bead board.

After the construction adhesive has dried, remove the duct tape and apply a thin layer of silicone caulk around the top of the bead board. This just seals up the top and gives it a finished look.

There you have it. An inexpensive, well functioning, and now visually pleasing dishwasher for a small fraction of the cost of the new.

If your dishwasher has the panel that just slides in and out, you can replace it easily with a piece of bead board, cut to size, or use a piece of thin plywood painted any color you want. Stainless steel painting systems are even available if you’re into that look!