Anyone painted fitted wardrobes and got a good finish?

pinkteapot

We have fitted wardrobes in three bedrooms that are probably original from when the house was built (25 years ago) - it was the showhome for the estate. They were cream but are now a dingy cream and the handles are discoloured. We won't be ripping them out and redoing the bedrooms fully for some years, so I'm wondering if I can give the wardrobes a temporary facelift, with a paint job and new handles.

They're the usual chipboard with a laminate type coating layer. Possibly melamine? Not sure though.

I've seen people talk about using a primer (Zinsser???) but then I'm not sure what type of paint you'd put over that?

Alternatively, I've seen Ronseal one coat cupboard paint, but is this too good to be true / hard to work with? I can't stand one-coat wall emulsion (too thick).
http://ronseal.co.uk/home/kitchen-and-bathroom/one-coat-cupboard-paint/

I'm worried about them looking utterly terrible. :rotfl:

Anyone had any success doing something similar? Are we better off just living with them until we fully replace?

googler

I used this stuff on some small Ikea doors which were melamine/plastic covered. Really good finish if you apply multiple thin coats rather than slapping it all on at once, BUT I did this in the garage, and despite creating a 'spray booth' by draping plastic dust sheet around the area, some overspray still found its way onto other items. I originally picked it up in the specialist paints section of B&Q, and ordered more direct from the maker

If you're going to try this kind of stuff, I recommend covering EVERYTHING else in the room with plastic dust sheets or similar; furniture, carpets, walls - everything except the ceiling. Or take the doors to a garage or similar. Make sure the surfaces are absolutely clean, too. No primer needed

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/universal/universal-gloss-spray-paint

Grenage

Chipboard, or MDF?

I've used a heatgun and removed the plastic coating from various panels, and painted MDF; it all turned out very well.

pinkteapot

Hmmmm, thanks guys. I don't trust myself to use spray paint or a heatgun!

Happy to do a light sand (if needed) and apply multiple coats of something. I'm a competent DIY painter now but can struggle with brush-marks with paint that's very fast-drying....

I don't know exactly what type of fake wood is under the laminate, but they're pretty decent quality (heavyweight) Hammonds fitted units.

Grenage

The doors are most likely MDF; I would be surprised if a hair-dryer wasn't sufficient for the task.

What you can do it get a piece of scrap MDF from somewhere like B&Q (they often have offcuts for under a pound), and paint it as a practice run.

I used an undercoat, a very light sand to de-nib, and a couple of top coats.

googler

pinkteapot wrote: »

Hmmmm, thanks guys. I don't trust myself to use spray paint or a heatgun!

OK, I was going to add that if using the paint I indicated above, in addition to masking everything around, a face mask and goggles are mandatory ... and work clothing that you won't mind if it takes on a slight tint of the paint.

Waterlily24

We put our old kitchen units in my craft room and hubby used melamine primer first and then painted them with eggshell paint. They look nice. The doors and drawers are different colours (pinks and blues lol)

jellie

I've painted kitchen cupboard doors and melamine bedroom drawer units using easy surface preparation (ESP).

Kitchen doors were then painted with ordinary emulsion and varnished, bedroom drawers were painted with satinwood.

Both very successful - ESP does stink though, but it's a liquid put on with a cloth so very easy to use.