Hello -

Kitchen cabinets are currently painted with a semigloss latex almond paint. Not sure if previous homeowner performed all necessary steps for painting cabinets. Many spots where paint has scratched off and can see wood.

I'm going to paint the cabinets black. Wondering if I need to strip old paint off, or just clean and sand? Or should I clean, sand, and prime?

I want to paint them black, then sand edge profile of cabinet doors. I'd like the finished look to be smooth and hard. Does that make sense? Not like they are now - running my hand over them, it is a little rough.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cathy

 

Hi, Cathy.

I hope you get a reply to your post. It would probably help me too. I have new, bare wood, red oak cabinets that I am going to paint....but I'm hoping one of the experienced experts will reply to you so I can see what they are thinking, too.

I never thought this would be so complicated.

 

I also posted this question in the painting (interior home/decor) section and received this answer from Marksr:

"marksr
Topic Moderator

Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: east tenn
Posts: 11,546
Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like the previous paint job was done incorrecty - most notably the lack of proper prep and primer. Your new paint job will only be as good as the surface under it. I'd aggressively sand with some 80-100 grit and see what it looks like. The latex enamel may need to be completely removed but it's hard to say without knowing how well it is bonded to the cabinets - sanding should answe that question.

Oil base enamel dries harder than latex enamel = it will both wear and sand off better than latex. Spraying looks better than brush or roller but since you pan to distress the cabinets, it may not matter.

IMO it is best to take the doors down and remove the hinges and any other hardware. I like to # the doors behind the hinge to make sure they go back properly.

There is a sticky atop of this forum with good instructions for repainting cabinets. You will need to modify the instructions slightly for your faux finish."

Hope this helps!

 

aggiette, here's some good info for you;
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=292098
Are you sure you want to paint red oak? Oak has an open grain so you will need to fill the grain to make it smooth. I'd reccomend a latex enamel undercoater followed by 2 coats of waterborne enamel.

Cathy, it's a little hard to say from here. A repaint job is only as good as the paint it is applied over...... but stripping paint is a big chore. What I'd do would be to aggresively sand what you have with 80 grit. Whatever is left should be bonded ok to your cabinets. Then sand with 120-150 grit to remove the worst of the sanding scratches.

Black is going to require 2 coats. After the 1st coat is dry, sand lightly with 180-220 grit, wipe off the dust and recoat. Oil base enamel will dry harder and wear better than latex enamel.

Cathy, forgive my poor memory, I forgot I had already replied to this question - but the answer is still the same

 

Thanks for the info, marksr. I chose these particular cabinets because of cost----they just happen to be red oak, stain grade. Painted look is really the look I wanted. I will reconsider, but I'm not sure what I would choose otherwise. The existing cabinets were very dark, ornately detailed and poorly configured. I just thought they needed to come out....I didn't see fixing them as the answer, but cost is an issue.