painting kitchen cabinets

[wyndhy]

we're slowly but surely remodeling the house and one of the things i'd love to change are the kitchen cabinets. the face of the cabinets are medium colored solid wood (pine probably) with some kind of pressboard for the shelves and exposed sides, protected by a clear finish, most likely polyeurathane (sp?). i would like something lighter in color to open up the room but don't want to spend/haven't got the money to get them refaced or replaced. i was hoping i could paint them w/o stripping off the poly first (messy and involved job, toxic chemicals and all that jazz).
anyway, i've looked on-line and have found tips/instuctions on how-to but everyone i've asked personally tells me any painted cabinets they've seen have looked crappy and the old finish tends to bleed through the paint eventually. do any of you have experience with this? can you help me with some tips on how to do this the right way? if it's even possible, that is.

[PantyFanatic]

Can you say "SAND BLASTER"?

[ocean lvr]

i'm a painter ... i'll catch up with u and give u the scoop ... or mail me if u want ... later ...

[WildIrish]

Mrs. WI and I purchased our house almost 6 years ago. It was built in 1968 and was well maintained, but the kitchen (though functional and livable) looked dated. It appeared as though a few years prior, the previous owners attempted to give it a new look by painting the cabinets white. Having just sold a house that we completely renovated, we were less than enthusastic to start with this one. But Mrs. WI couldn't stand it, so one week while she was away...I stripped all the woodwork down and poly'd it all. It came out really nice, but now she is squalking about how maybe we should've just painted it a different color instead. :rolleyes2

So...back to your quandry. Do you paint over the finish? I think two coats of primer under a finish color would do fine. And if you tinted the primer to match your finish color, then it'll be easier to get good coverage. If the poly finish on the woodwork is really glossy, then run a palm sander with a light grit paper over it just to dullen the surface a little. It's not as toxic or as messy. And when I say palm sander, I don't mean an electric one. Those really make a dusty mess. Use a sanding block. ;)

And don't forget the pics! :D

[wyndhy]

Can you say "SAND BLASTER"?

sa...sa...sarp buster. guess not :p

[wyndhy]

thanks for the tip WI...now i just gotta talk BIGbad into letting me do it...or rather conning BIGbad into helping me....alright! i gotta make BIGbad do it. :D

[Lilith]

I painted my dark stained cupboards white, stark white. We wiped them down with something to remove any grease ( I'll look later to see what we used). We primed them well to make sure the dark did not bleed through and then 2 coats of paint. Then sealed them with a non-yellowing clear acryllic poly coat or 2. I really like them.

[wyndhy]

thank you, lil. we do have some dirtex laying around...i was gonna use that...it'll take the grease of a french fry. how long ago did you do this?

[scotzoidman]

Kitchen in last house had knotty-pine cabs & panelling that some moron had stained with dark walnut, made the dining area look like a dungeon...after figuring out that the stain would never go away, we decided to paint the cabinets a light yellow, made a big difference...one trick is take the doors off & do them outside or in a basement/garage to minimize the mess in your kitchen, you still have to do the cabs in place but so much easier that way...you will have to scuff sand any glossy surface & clean ALL surfaces so the paint will stick...for primer, I recommend Kilz brand, esp. if you're going from a dark to lighter color...warning, kilz smells like hell but it can often cover in one coat...then you can use any quality kitchen/bath paint tinted to the color of your choice...
Taking the doors off may sound like more work, but it's also a great chance to get new hinges & handles...since you want a fresh look, go for the whole shmeer...

[WildIrish]

Kitchen in last house had knotty-pine cabs & panelling that some moron had stained with dark walnut, made the dining area look like a dungeon.


Hmmm...was this last house in Florida? :grin:

[Lilith]

Must have been;)



Here wyndhy...mine...well some of them

[wyndhy]

very nice lil! i'd like to do the doors on ours too. the whole kitchen seems to be made up of cabinets, with only one window, and painting the doors will really brighten things up.

lol, scotz. yeah...stain does have a pesky habit of sticking around. guess that's why they call it stain :D thanks for the tips

[Lilith]

We are still making up our minds about the doors. They were so dark they were almost black.

[wyndhy]

must have turned your kitchen into a black hole

[scotzoidman]

Hmmm...was this last house in Florida? :grin:
Actually, that was my house in L.A...




Lower Antioch...

[flywater]

wyndhy, alot of good advise on here! I agree with scotzoid about using Kilz! best primer there is! go for it and take it from there!

Lilith, beautiful doors! looks like a very nice kitchen!

[LixyChick]

On the subject of smelly paint...OK, scotz mentioned Kilz and it's smell and I never actually tried this with the primer...but wait, I'm getting the cart before the horse. Um...ok...When I paint, if I can't do it all outside, I'll put 2-3 drops of "pure vanilla" in the paint before I stir it. It really cuts down on the odor of the paint and doesn't tint it any other color than what I have. I never used pure white paint before so I would check for tinting before I put it in the the entire can. It may help with the Kilz...but to be honest, I never thought to try it.

Tinting the primer to match the final color is a most excellent idea. I didn't do so before I painted all my woodwork in the dining room and I'm kicking myself to this day!

Good luck wyndhy and BIGbad!

[wyndhy]

thanks lixy. great tip about the vanilla!

[Aqua]

I'd just like to add that kilz isn't just a bad smell, it's more like toxic fumes. We used some in a closet and had to paint a little then retreat to fresh air, but it did work really good.

[wyndhy]

actually, with the kids around, i'd use anything a little less effective, putting on two or three coats, before i went with stuff that had more a noxious odor. i checked out that kilz (love that name :D) and it's certainly effective but there are other products that are a little less give-you-a-mind-numbing-headachey. thank you all again for the tips..

[scotzoidman]

Last I checked Kilz had come out with a water-based latex version, haven't had a chance to try it but that might be less noxious...in any case, if the kitchen area can be ventilated well, it shouldn't be a big problem...ALL paints give off potentially toxic fumes, and when painting an enclosed area like Aqua was doing, taking a fresh air break is always a good idea...