Painting Kitchen Cabinets


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Old 04-12-16, 12:44 PM
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Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Hello,

We bought an old house, but have made a bunch of improvements and upgrades in many areas. However, the kitchen hasn't been touched yet.

Me and my girl watched a few videos on painting kitchen cabinets, but we want to make sure we aren't missing anything.

From a simple standpoint, and from what I gather, we need to:

1) Sand
2) Use some type of degreasing liquid to get all the kitchen oils, sand, dirt, etc. off
3) Prime
4) Paint

Any tips, advice, or anything I am missing?
 
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Old 04-12-16, 01:34 PM
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Old 04-12-16, 02:19 PM
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They need to be degreased first, or your going to grind the oils into the surface.
 
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Old 04-12-16, 02:34 PM
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Very helpful. Thank you very much!
 
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Old 04-12-16, 02:40 PM
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Pertaining to the first step, you say "Clean with ammonia/water solution".

Any recommendations of type of solution, or brand?
 
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Old 04-12-16, 03:08 PM
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IMO it doesn't matter a whole lot what cleaner is used as long as it's effective AND the cleaner residue is also removed.

The type of primer and top coat is also important. Solvent based [oil base or pigmented shellac] have a proven track record of bonding well to existing cabinet finishes. While oil base enamel does give the toughest finish, whites and light colors tend to yellow over time. Waterborne enamels dry almost as hard as oil base but won't yellow with age. There is a big difference in quality with latex enamels, the cheaper ones are prone to chipping and peeling. Like waterborne, latex enamels don't yellow.
 
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Old 04-12-16, 09:23 PM
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Except for having two steps out of order it looks like you have everything in order I would first 1:Clean with a degreaser 2:Sand 3:Wipe the cabinets down after sanding with water and dry immediately with a towel 4: Let the cabinets dry some before priming 5: Put cup hooks on the ends of the doors so that you can hang them between chairs on string (this allows painting on both sides at once). 6: Prime 7: Use an oil based paint it will last longer.

As you can see I added some steps but you already had the basics. One of the best videos I saw was on Ask This Old House actually they had two and in one they used a rather expensive paint but you don't need a real expensive paint for cabinets. Don't forget the inside of the cabinets too so be sure to order enough paint at one time for a perfect match of your paint. Good luck to you I hope you post pictures of your completed project.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 03:18 AM
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I prefer to leave the inside of the cabinets with a stain/natural finish as it won't show wear as much as paint does .... and nobody will notice when the doors are shut
 
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Old 04-13-16, 05:16 AM
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My daughter did her cabinets with the Rustoleum Dark Base Cabinet Kit. She got good results but said that it was a very difficult job, especially the prep. Lots of scrubbing - but no sanding.

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Old 04-13-16, 05:45 AM
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I'm not familiar with the rustoleum cabinet kit but sanding is almost always a good idea. Using a liquid deglosser helps and claims it eliminates the need to sand but sanding is still a good idea. I normally do both.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 08:48 AM
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Mark.

I looked at the Rustoleum kit instructions. They definitely say no sanding required. The kit provides a deglosser with scrub pads and a "bond coat" I have no idea what those two products are.

My daughter said that the cleaning and deglossing step was by far the hardest and most time consuming part of the job. She ended up using 3 times the number of provided scrub pads.

"The Cabinet Transformations™ Deglosser prepares the surface and allows proper adhesion of the Bond Coat. The Deglosser eliminates the need to sand or prime the cabinets. Proper adhesion is critical to ensure optimum results."

I know that the end result was pretty impressive considering what she started with.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 09:28 AM
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So, the basic steps:

Degrease
Sand
Degloss / Clean / Dry
Prime
Paint
Enjoy

Also, I really appreciate everyone's comments and contributing to this idea. I like the idea of having white cabinets, but the picture posted with the natural finish looks great also.

I see one person recommended water based paint, and another oil based paint. Is it true that oil based white paint will yellow over time? If so, I will go the water route.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 10:19 AM
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Yes, oil base white enamel will yellow over time! I like waterborne enamel because it dries almost as hard as oil base [means it will wear well] but doesn't yellow. There is a difference between waterborne and latex enamels. it is always best to sand lightly between coats.

CW, deglossers are mostly solvent based and both clean and soften [usually] the existing finish which allows you to skip sanding BUT it's still best to sand. One brand of deglosser is called Liquid Sandpaper.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 11:26 AM
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BEHR, which Home Depot sells, is usually the paint brand I go with. Any recommendations on finish type, such as gloss, semi-gloss, etc., for kitchen cabinets?

I'm sure it's preference, but what do you guys suggest?
 
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Old 04-13-16, 11:33 AM
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Ummm... just about anything other than what you've suggested. Personally, I've never used Behr because I've seen too many horror stories here from people who have. So, take what I say with a grain of salt since I have no actual 'knowledge' of the product. Generally speaking, though, you get better products and advice at a paint store than a paint department. I used to use Benjamin Moore paints but have since moved and the Sherwin Williams store is now closer, so I'm transitioning to their stuff.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 12:16 PM
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Stickshift, I should have been a little more specific. There are 4 grades in quality of BEHR paint. I usually use the 2nd best grade "ultimate premium", I believe it is called.

I have heard the lowest grade, and even the grade above that aren't great. I'm sure there are horror stories. However, I painted the entire inside and outside of my house about 7 months ago with the ultimate premium grade, and I was very satisfied with the results.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 12:24 PM
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I'm not saying everyone who ever used the paint hated it and I also said I had no actual experience with it. Use it if you want, there are people who like it.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 12:29 PM
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Thank you very much for your comments. Maybe I will try out another product as people here are very knowledgeable.

Maybe I'll use Glidden from Wal-Mart...I'm joking!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Old 04-13-16, 01:18 PM
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I too have read all the bad stuff about Behr paints. So much so that I started to think a lot of it was simply the same old stories being oft repeated by a different story teller. Or maybe it was stuff planted by the competition as they saw their sales suffering. I don't know.

I do know that I have used a lot of Behr paint and have not had a problem. Maybe it's because I'm a DIYer and just don't know any better. I have also used Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams and to be honest I can't really tell the difference. However, the last time I was in a BennyMoore store (years ago) I was waited on by a pimple face kid that didn't have a clue.

I painted a LR/DR a few weeks ago with Behr and thought it came out fine. In the past year I've painted 3 bedrooms and a bath and a lot of trim all with Behr paints. I have never painted kitchen cabinets but I would probably use a semi gloss.

I have used Glidden paint - just once though. It was the cheap WalMart stuff.
I think that they may make a better quality line.
 
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Old 04-13-16, 01:23 PM
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Most every paint manufacture has a cheap line and a quality line [usually some in the middle] Cabinets tend to see more wear/abuse than a lot of other places in the home. I've seen cheap latex enamel chip/peel on woodwork and it's worse on cabinets. I know with the proper prep that a waterborne enamel like SWP's ProClassic waterborne enamel will produce a nice looking long wearing job. I've not used much of Behr's coatings to know how well [or poorly] it might preform.
 
 

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