Hello all, our kitchen cabinets are structurally very sound and solid but after over 25 years the wood finish is looking dated (too dark). There are also some minor nicks and scratches that could use repair. We don't want to resurface, reface, or replace the doors, drawers or cabinets...what we would like to do is paint them, lock stock and barrel.

I'd appreciate any suggestions, hints and tips on how to go about this, what pitfalls to watch out for, and your perspectives on the best: surface preparation methods and materials, tools (brushes vs rollers, etc), primers and paints, color, etc.

Also, if anyone has any before-and-after photos of a similar project you've undertaken I'd appreciate those too.

Thanks,
Mike

 

I'm also in the process of refinishing my kitchen cabinets, for the very same reasons.

I've been looking at melamine paint- urethane alkyd - as it seems to be a tough, smooth and long-lasting alternative to regular paint. Is this a good choice?

I wonder about sanding all the fine profiles in the door panels.

Anyone have any experience with the Dremel profile sander? Is this little tool able to handle doing 18 cabinet doors?

Thanks

 

Did this in our first house. It's important to sand down to wood and prime so the paint will stick and not scratch off, expecially since the kitchen is a high-use area.

I removed and sanded doors and drawers and face frames (belt sander with med then fine belt made it go reasonably fast). I was lucky to have a simple profile on the doors/drawer fronts so I could free-hand it. If you have a complex profile, you could use paint stripper and steel wool, and/or sandpaper wrapped around dowels or whatever you find to fit the profile. Am unfamiliar with the Dremel sander.

I filled the grain of all surfaces with a lightweight spackle made for that purpose. Another quick superficial sanding, then prime and paint. I used a top-of-the-line latex primer and semi-gloss from a quality vendor. The cabinets looked great for years.

 

Our cabinets were already painted so I just added 2 more coats and they look way better.

 

Can't do that over a stained and lacquered finish, the paint would chip and scratch off too easily.

 

My paint store guy (who is very reliable) sold me a product called "Insl-X Cabinet Coat". This is an acrylic satin enamel designed to dry hard and smooth. I haven't done the painting yet, but I trust his opinion. Good luck.

 

Did you use a brush and or take any extra steps to eliminate brush marks?

 

the paint is sort of thick and is supposed to dry without brush marks, a plasticy smooth finish. not a very technical answer, but it is supposed to be brushed on and dry smooth like laminate. Good luck

 

Are you using the paint in the required temperature range? Some paints need to "flow" a bit to smooth.

 

I been researching this topic on the web and talked with a couple paint stores and one painter. Their responses have all been pretty much the same. Remove the doors and draws to spray them. Clean throughly and sand. Sanding to bare wood is best. But with a good oil based primer it may not be necessary. Sand the prime coat.

Brushing the boxes seams the most used method. The recommendations are to get the best oil based paint. You want a slow dry time so there is time for the brush marks to flow out. Temperature and humidity will play a part. The addition of Flotrol is recommended to increase the flow. The recommendation on the amount to use varies. This is where you have to experiment. Even your brush loading and technic play a roll. In my words, the objective is, to the get paint on the area quickly followed by long smoothing strokes. Apparently working the paint releases the drying agents more quickly.

One technic that I plan to experiment with is using a foam roller to cover an area quickly and then use the long smoothing strokes. Another technic is to use only the foam roller. With the correct amount of flow-out you get a slight stipple effect versus the hint of brush strokes.

The most recommended rig for spraying cabinets or any furniture is HVLP (high volume low pressure). Of this type, the turbine powered appear to be the best choice. I'm considering the Wagnor 2900 (on the web for $578). From my perspective, the most driving reason for the turbine rig is the reduced overspray. I want to see if the reduced overspray is enough that it could be used inside the house. I need to decide just how much business the painting of cabinets can generate.

So, let's experiment and report.

Garry

 

If you're painting them white, they say oil-based turns yellow. I used Behr Premium Plus latex from Home Depot which was rated #1 by Consumer Reports. If you brush, you need to brush very accurately and unidirectional, cause there will be brush strokes no matter what. If you use a roller, it will give an orange peel effect. I think a roller gives a more uniform effect.

First I TSP'd the cabinets, then I sanded them down. I used two coats of Kilz primer, lightly sanded, then finished w/ about two coats of the latex paint.

Cabinets are really easy to clean, any stains come off w/ bleach, and any nicks or scratches just get a coat of paint and they disappear.

 

Gtibri, why did you choose to use kilz for the primer instead of just Behr preium primer? The Behr primer has a mildew inhibitor in it? Just curious... we're getting close to doing the same and have been pleased with the Behr paint and were wondering if using Kilz had any advantages. Thanks!

 

I have done this and know about just enough to be dangerous. At the time we were doing the Kitchen over I had a professional doing some work and he advised me on how to approach the Cabinets. He recommended Liquid Sandpaper and I didn't do any sanding. It is almost a stripper but not quite it is enough to rough up the surface so it will take paint, my original surface was High Gloss Polyurethane. I have never had a problem with paint chipping or adhesion. I used the Kilz primer mentioned, but I have had good luck with other Ben Hur products from HD so I will probably go with that next time and the anti mildew aspect is probably a good thing, not that mildew has been a problem. I forget the brand of paint because I put the remainder in a glass jar but it was Latex I know and I am sure I bought the best possible paint available. All in all the job was successful but not perfect. The job was done about 10 years ago and I have freshed the paint a couple of times but for the most part it is pretty durable.

We are buying another house and we would like to pretty much replicate the kitchen we have now, so I will be doing it all over again. The only thing I would change is the final coat. The finish has a nice general appearance but if you look close its not the best finish. So I have questions about paint, this slow drying flow controlled paint, how long do you have to wait typically in a dry situation to put on a second coat? Is Spraying a good option? If you spray it will be oil base, as mentioned earlier yellowing of white paint can be an issue, will it be with a spray? I suspect it would be. I wouldn't invest in a $600 sprayer, but I have had success using just regular spray cans, has anyone ever done that?

I am still looking for a before picture, but this is what it looks like 10 years after. Does anyone know how to turn images on here?
http://www.priceoffuel.com/barrym/OldKitchen.jpg

The before was very campy looking pine cabinets that were made by the previous homeowner, not exactly a master cabinet maker but the general look is so much better now. We also want to replicate the tile, but that is going to be another thread.

Thanks
Barry