Tarheel Heather & any other kitchen cabinet painters. I need tips.

[True Blue]

What is the best way to paint the cabs? Any particular tips you can share? We plan on painting our hideous cabinets in our next house. Thanks.

BTW, your cabinets look fantastic Heather!

[In The Great White North]

I painted kitchen cabinets a few years ago. I took off all the doors and hardware and spread them around the barn on newspapers. You can tell where I used a brush or roller, so it helps to figure out which look you prefer before you start.

The guy at the paint store recommended an oil-based enamel lacquer because it is harder (once it's dry) and lasts longer (especially where you will be washing it frequently)

However, I did this in a hot, humid spring and summer. It took forever to dry. Apparently, enamel takes longer then flat to dry, and oil-based takes longer than water-based.

My recommendation? Paint them in the winter when it's really, really dry, inside and out.

[Tarheel Heather]

First clean them. Wipe them down with soapy water or mineral spirits. Then I primed with Kilz, sanded, prime again. Sand and first coat of paint. I put a second coat of paint on since the cabinets were so dark. If you don't sand between coats the paint may peel of the door.

They look completely different and brighten up the kitchen! It took me about three weeks between painting and getting the stripped screws out of cabinets. Be diligent! Don't give up!

HTH!:001_smile:

[strider]

I have found that I get a smooth, really good looking finish when I use a mini foam roller. It looks like a really, really smooth sponge. Take the time to really rub it back and forth and work the paint in until it's almost dry. It will be smooth and without streak marks if you do this.

If you are going to do a lot of painting all at once you will need to wash the roller and squeeze it out REALLY well, just so the paint doesn't dry in the sponge and get hard.

[Tarheel Heather]

I have found that I get a smooth, really good looking finish when I use a mini foam roller. It looks like a really, really smooth sponge. Take the time to really rub it back and forth and work the paint in until it's almost dry. It will be smooth and without streak marks if you do this.

If you are going to do a lot of painting all at once you will need to wash the roller and squeeze it out REALLY well, just so the paint doesn't dry in the sponge and get hard.

I tried those boogery things. I ended up using the regular roller.

[True Blue]

I painted kitchen cabinets a few years ago. I took off all the doors and hardware and spread them around the barn on newspapers. You can tell where I used a brush or roller, so it helps to figure out which look you prefer before you start.

The guy at the paint store recommended an oil-based enamel lacquer because it is harder (once it's dry) and lasts longer (especially where you will be washing it frequently)

However, I did this in a hot, humid spring and summer. It took forever to dry. Apparently, enamel takes longer then flat to dry, and oil-based takes longer than water-based.

My recommendation? Paint them in the winter when it's really, really dry, inside and out.

Have you had any chipping of paint? What did you clean your brushes with?

[True Blue]

First clean them. Wipe them down with soapy water or mineral spirits. Then I primed with Kilz, sanded, prime again. Sand and first coat of paint. I put a second coat of paint on since the cabinets were so dark. If you don't sand between coats the paint may peel of the door.

They look completely different and brighten up the kitchen! It took me about three weeks between painting and getting the stripped screws out of cabinets. Be diligent! Don't give up!

HTH!:001_smile:

Thanks! How are your cabinets holding up? We might replace the doors with white doors first and just paint the cabinet body. We're not sure yet though so this is good info. to know.

[True Blue]

I have found that I get a smooth, really good looking finish when I use a mini foam roller. It looks like a really, really smooth sponge. Take the time to really rub it back and forth and work the paint in until it's almost dry. It will be smooth and without streak marks if you do this.

If you are going to do a lot of painting all at once you will need to wash the roller and squeeze it out REALLY well, just so the paint doesn't dry in the sponge and get hard.

Thanks. I think we'll try the different tools and types of paint on a separate board first. This is a big job and I don't want to screw it up.

[Sharon in SC]

Thanks. I think we'll try the different tools and types of paint on a separate board first. This is a big job and I don't want to screw it up.

I'll ditto what everyone else has said and offer another tip you might try. I took the cabinets over our washer and dryer from stained to white. You'll definitely need to plan on 2 coats of primer and 2-3 coats of paint in cases like that. For larger open spaces like doors, what worked the best for me to get a smooth finish (without streaking) was to first roll with a typical roller and then come behind with a *wide* brush lightly brushing through the roller marks with one long sweep of the brush from end to the other. Rolling first expedited things (brushing takes so long in and of itself and, by itself, leaves lots of brush marks). Something about this technique worked perfectly for me leaving a very smooth finish. Like Heather said, I, too, tried the spongy rollers but I did not have the success that Strider had with those either.

Happy projecting!
Sharon

[LisaNY]

First clean them. Wipe them down with soapy water or mineral spirits. Then I primed with Kilz, sanded, prime again. Sand and first coat of paint. I put a second coat of paint on since the cabinets were so dark. If you don't sand between coats the paint may peel of the door.

They look completely different and brighten up the kitchen! It took me about three weeks between painting and getting the stripped screws out of cabinets. Be diligent! Don't give up!

HTH!:001_smile:

I agree with Heather. To get the best results, and achieve permanence, you need to sand the cabinets. It's more work, but pays off in the end.

[Sharon in SC]

First clean them. Wipe them down with soapy water or mineral spirits.

Another cleaning option that worked well for my on my stained woodwork is to clean with an ammonia solution and then rinse with water. This went a long way towards cutting any grime that was on the wood.