# Refinishing/painting kitchen cabinets



## Cobrakillert (Mar 2, 2011)

I just purchased my first house and the kitchen needs a bit of work. The house uses oil heat and electric appliances. It was built in 1964 and is very solid, I'm lead to believe that this is the original kitchen. 

The boxes/frames are pretty solid but are outdated and need a bit of attention, especially the doors and drawers. I was originally thinking of completely sanding/stripping the frames down bare, refinishing/staining them and adding new doors, drawers and hardware. But after some research, this may be tougher than it seems and may not yield the most uniform results as these cabinets have been stained the way they are since 1964! Correct me if I'm wrong...

After doing some research, I think I may paint the cabinets (as well as new doors, drawers and hardware) instead of stripping and staining. I think this will be easiest and yield the most uniform and best results :thumbsup:

What would be the best route to go about painting the cabinets? I plan to go with a nice rich espresso type color with stainless hardware.

I've searched online for refinishing products and a source for doors but most of the websites were very vague and outdated. Could anyone direct me in the right direction?

Below is a pic of the kitchen from the sellers ad in it's current state as well as a pic of cabinets painted similarly to what I would like to do...


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## Cobrakillert (Mar 2, 2011)

I've been reading up on the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation kit and it looks pretty promising...anyone have any experience with it?


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## marianlibrarian (Mar 5, 2011)

*Kitchen updating*

I am currently updating a kitchen and I am hiring a local cabinetmaker to make new doors for the uppers as they are missing. I am taking the lowers off and having him drill the hole for european hinges unless he charges too much--then I will get a bit from HD and use their contractor pack of hinges (Liberty brand). But I got lucky as my doors don't have an interior lip--just flush on the back. Concealed hinges go a long way to updating the kitchen.

Clean, clean, clean is the best tip for painting. Actually--CLEAN SAND PRIME. If you don't get every bit of grease off the paint will float on the grease and chip or scratch off with impact. TSP is often recommended because it doesn't leave a residue as much as others. Then scuff up the surface with sandpaper or even a coarse steel wool--a good bet is to use steel wool and liquid sanding stuff which is sort of a very mild stripper so it breaks down the hardness of the paint/varnish so the primer sticks. But you need to read the directions because you need to put a coat on after it has worked and before the surface dries back to it's original hardness. Prime. I have had good luck with a Zinsinger product on a rent house kitchen but I am not sure if I used 123 or bullseye--some swear you need to use the oil or laquer based primer so maybe follow that advice. It isn't any harder to use than latex and it makes a nice smooth base and it sticks to anything. Get a contractor pack of weenie rollers (foam) and throw them out after use and have some paint thinner handy as water won't clean up any boo boos.
I used Behr satin enamel and was pleased with it. I hate the shiny look. But it cleans up easier, so you may want to use semi-gloss. I don't know why the forum guys hate Behr. Their pro site lists solid contest and it is the same within 1-2% of SW; I don't think it specified whether titanium dioxide or other medium so maybe that makes a difference, but resin is resin, as far as I have read.
If you can keep your doors and install european hinges, I think your cabinets might look nice with an espresso color and both HD and Lowes sell the bar pulls in contractor packs now. And glass tiles for as low as 5 bucks a foot for the backsplash. I bought some for a rent house that had green, amber, and silver glass with ONXY acents for 5 bucks at HD.
Good luck.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Cobra, if you are replacing the doors you need a carpenter, or, if you're handy contact a cabinetmaker to design and make doors and install them yourself. I don't recommend that. And don't skimp on the carpenter. Hire good quality, $$$, else you'll get junky doors. Are you refinishing or painting? I can't speak to the Rustoleum product you mentioned. To prepare and finish cabinets:

Remove all doors and drawers, then remove all hardware. Don't forget to number the doors.
Wash everything down with a mix of Trisodium Phosphate and water.
Sand all surfaces down with 150 grit sandpaper. You can use a palm sander for more productivity.
Clean all dust off. Dust off with a brush or vacuum. Wipe with a tack cloth or damp rag.
Apply a good quality bonding primer, like Zinsser Cover Stain or BIN pigmented shellac. I like the finish provided by using a small mohair roller to apply primer and finish.
Give the surfaces a between coat light sand with 180 or 220 grit paper.
Apply two coats of a quality latex or oil enamel, at least a satin finish. Do some research or ask here. Do a real fine sand with 220 between coats of finish and dust off. Keep your paint clean, use a strainer or old nylon to clean it if it gets dirty.
Put it all back together.


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## 604-PAINTER (Mar 2, 2011)

Cobrakillert said:


> I just purchased my first house and the kitchen needs a bit of work. The house uses oil heat and electric appliances. It was built in 1964 and is very solid, I'm lead to believe that this is the original kitchen.
> 
> The boxes/frames are pretty solid but are outdated and need a bit of attention, especially the doors and drawers. I was originally thinking of completely sanding/stripping the frames down bare, refinishing/staining them and adding new doors, drawers and hardware. But after some research, this may be tougher than it seems and may not yield the most uniform results as these cabinets have been stained the way they are since 1964! Correct me if I'm wrong...
> 
> ...


hi cobra

we do 3-5 cabinet jobs a month and you have some good advice already.
a couple of *musts* though. you have to use a good oil based primer. dont believe any retailer who tells you otherwise. we have tried every latex primer on the market including pre catylized lacquer primer and they all get their butt kicked with various forms of amboring and bleed through..not to mention lack of adhesion. if you're not spraying then as one of the posters said the high density small foam rollers is the way to go. we typically use 200 grit sandpaper to start off then advance to 400 grit before final spray coat. for topcoat i would use a pre cat waterborne lacquer. a lot of people think that you *have* to spray lacquer but thats not entirely true, you can brush and roll it just fine.... having said that it IS more translucent and will require more applications than a bulkier paint. if you dont want to do the extra work required with the lacquer then any top line oil will suffice. satin or eggshell is recommended. using latex paint as a topcoat, although easier to use and easier to clean up, wont be as durable as its oil counterpart. have fun

regards
ra
www.vancouversbestpainters.com


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