Painting kitchen cabinets?

2»

Comments

  • kay41_2
    kay41_2 Posts: 179 Forumite
    Buy a small palm sander and you can do the sanding in seconds flat, makes loads of dust but makes the job much quicker. Use fine grade paper for the final sand. Also, you could use a small gloss/radiator roller to put the paint on rather than a paint brush - you get a really good even finish - don't bother to clean the roller out, just chuck it as they are pretty cheap. I redid my wardrobe doors about seven years ago and the finish from the small roller is excellent.

    It might also be worth seeing if there is a local cabinet making company or joinery company nearby who could sand and spray the doors for you for a brilliant finish. Don't know how this would work out financially but they would advise you on paint to use etc.
  • I painted the kitchen cupboard doors in my old house - melamine primer, then ordinary emulsion, and finally a coat of varnish. I also did the kitchen tiles using tile primer and then the three colours of emulsion I had used in the kitchen (doors, trims and walls) and also finished them off with a coat of varnish. The place still looked fantastic when I sold up 18 months later!
    "Life may not always be the party you wish for, but whilst here you may aswell dance"!!!
    Murphy's NMPC Memb No 239!
    Dippychick's De-clutter club Member No 6! - onto room no 2!
    My Avatar? Arnie and Casey, proud parents to Storm and Tsu born 19/01/2009!!! - both now in new homes and called Murron and Burger!
  • bootman
    bootman Posts: 1,985
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    I painted mine with Farrow and Ball eggshell. Its really easy paint to use for this job. 2 coats did the trick with no need to undercoat.
  • CFC
    CFC Posts: 3,119 Forumite
    If replacing the doors alone isn't an option because there's so much finish of wood in other places, you might get a better finish with replacing the doors and just painting the other bits, providing the paint matches the new doors.

    I suspect unless you're a very handy person you will see the brush marks and they would be much more noticeable on the doors than on small bits and pieces.
  • We painted ours (Antique Pine effect) with Crown makeover paint in Natural Hessian, first gave them a good sanding with some coarse sandpaper.

    They all took about 3 coats each, but it doesn't take too long as the paint is touch-dry in 2 hours.

    The effect is a much lighter kitchen that it was before (too orange).

    Though the next time we are planning on totally updating the kitchen, we only painted the cupboard doors, as we couldn't afford to do it this time.

    Hope this helps,

    Kezbabybabe
  • Avoriaz
    Avoriaz Posts: 39,110 Forumite
    Van, I sympathise. We bought a lovely house in 1985 but the previous owners had installed a kitchen with dark wooden oak doors and orange/brown units and contrast panels. Horrible is not the word.:eek: We lived with it until we extended in 1993 and bought a completely new kitchen in a white lacquered finish which is so much nicer. Amazingly we sold the orange kitchen units for quite a reasonable sum.

    It might be possible to bleach your wood to give a paler or lighter finish.

    Years ago there was a fad for bleaching old pine doors that had been painted. The doors were removed, taken away and dipped in baths of acid. This stripped the layers of paint and lightened the wood

    Maybe it is still possible to get this done, though I don’t know if it can be done in situ if you need more than just the doors doing.

    I think I have seen products sold for bleaching wood but I have never done it myself.

    Have a search on google.
  • Peartree
    Peartree Posts: 788 Forumite
    Can I recommend that you don't waste money on the so called specialist 'makeover' paints which are expensive and come in limited colours. Buy a melamine primer (I get own brand from somewhere like Wickes or Wilkinsons) and then use any oil based paint you want. I always use an eggshell. I think the trick, if painting (although I agree with other posters on trying to do something with the wood, if it's good quality, rather than covering up with paint) is to do several thin coats - a gloss roller is good for this. You may also want to seal at the end with a varnish. However,if you don't start with very, very thoroughly degreased surface, nothing is going to stick.

    I also love the Farrow and Ball type colours but, unfortunately, with the amount of painting I've had to do my budget doesn't run to it for large jobs. However, I have taken a colour I like from those ranges (you could get a sample and paint it onto some white card) along to one of the places that will analyse the colour and mix up exactly the same colour for you. If you do this in an eggshell it comes out pretty well - it's not quite the same 'flat' finish but it's not far off and is a much more affordable option if you're doing several coats. I always go to the Johnstones' trade centres for this.

    Some of the other options suggested are very good but bear in mind just how much ESP or bleaching kits you would use - it can work out very, very expensive.

    Good Luck.

    Peartree

    PS Should point out, as have mentioned on another similar post, that I did painted cupboards in last house with good results but it took such an lot of time and effort that this time I just bought replacement doors and sacrificed quite good wooden ones!
  • astonsmummy
    astonsmummy Posts: 14,219 Forumite
    Hi
    How do you tell if the doors are real wood or fake?
    I live in a housing association house if that makes any difference?
    :j Baby boy Number 2, arrived 12th April 2009!:j
  • Peartree
    Peartree Posts: 788 Forumite
    I'm not sure if it matters too much whether it is real wood or fake if you want to paint over. Quite often, the real wood doors have a really thick laquer on them anyway so it doesn't really make a difference when it comes to painting them - you've still got a 'shiny' surface that paint won't stick to. If it's unsealed wood, I'm sure you'd know. Even the doors that look like beach, or oak, are most likely to be some sort of laminate finish.
  • sandieb
    sandieb Posts: 728 Forumite
    I painted a laquered horrid orangey pine dresser with Farrow and Ball eggshell - sanded the top and left it natural pine, as were the door and drawer knobs. I'm delighted with it. The paint is excellent and I can't recommend it enough - it took 3 coats on a lightly sanded surface.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards