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Prime Previously Painted Cabinets?

13 years ago

I am updating the guest bath in my house and will be repainting the vanity,cabinets and door. I am going to use FPOE in cloud dancer. I've reviewed the steps in how to paint posted previously. Thank you, thank you. However, since the cabinets were already painted do I still need to prime them after I clean and sand since they were already painted? The color change is not significant. TIA.

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Comments (6)

Faron79
13 years ago
TOO COOL!!

What paint-series of FPE are ya gonna use?!

If your vanity is thoroughly cleaned, thoroughly sanded with ~100-120 grit paper to an even dullness, and totally de-dusted...

You're ready to hit the FPE!

>>> This ASSUMES the existing paint is sound, holding well, etc...

I used their Eurolux Matte (more like an Eggshell!) in my downstairs bath. Color is Brown Cafe.
You will absolutely love this stuff!

Faron
dancingqueengw
Original Author
13 years ago
Faron,
Thank you. It's FPOE Eco Satin, color is Cloud Dance. I will do the prep work. I also have a window to do but that will have to be done later:( it's 3 below in MN! I am excited and a little afraid to use this paint but I trust the feedback on this forum.
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Hi Dennise, If you've got chips/dings and peeling in some areas, something went wrong somewhere. I am getting tiny little pin size spots here and there on my kitchen cabs. At the risk of repeating myself ('cause I've said this often): I made two terrible blunders out of sheer fatigue. I didn't clean well and didn't sand well. Primer pretty much didn't stand a chance. CC is self-priming in that it doesn't need primer. However, it takes many more coats to cover bare or previously stained wood. (I know this because I tried an experiment with it once on a cherry stained plant stand.) So it's cheaper to use a different primer, then apply CC. The first project I ever used CC on was rental property cabinets that were previously painted. The can said no primer needed so I didn't use one. They have held up very well. However, those cabinets were in good stable shape to begin with. The only reason we were painting is because it was older (probably oil-based) paint that had yellowed over time. Because you've got issues with peeling, I would definitely use a good primer before recoating with CC. And sand those peeling areas (180 grit or so) till you get no more peeling paint. Otherwise it will just peel again and come through the top coat. hth?
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If it was for my kitchen, I'd be cleaning, filling chips and lightly sanding the whole unit, and then priming it all before putting on paint. Painting cabinets is a pain, and I'd do that bit of extra work to give my end results the best chance of turning out good. BTW - the sanding is LIGHT - only meant to rough up the paint good to help get a better bond with the primer. I am so sick of painting cabinets - and I've still got a lot to do!
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That is unfortunate to hear that the painter/wood installer you hired, did not sand or prime your cabinets before painting. We always recommend that you check the license/insurance of who you hire before hiring them to avoid this issue. He is most likely not licensed. A simple license check with your state will prevent many of these issues from ever occurring in the first place. Because he did not degloss, sand and prime the cabinets (and then wait the appropriate amount of time for the primer to cure) before painting them, then you will unfortunately need to strip the cabinets and start over. Our company specializes in painting cabinets as well as stripping cabinets- We have fixed a LOT of jobs around our area, where homeowners "went cheap" and hired an unlicensed/unqualified painter and paid the price. This is very, very common. We probably do 2 jobs a week to fix the mess of someone cheaper. I really don't understand why more people do not just hire professionals the first time, why tempt fate... but I digress. There is no quick fix here- you will need to do things the right way from here on out, unless you want to experience this problem all over again. So again, you'll need to have the cabinets completely stripped then cleaned, prior to sanding, oil priming and repainting. Or you could just buy new doors entirely, and negate needing to do the stripping and cleaning work for the cabinet doors. (You'll still need to sand, oil prime and paint them.) I recommend hiring a professional to finish this job, as most likely this guy is just going to do things wrong again. They always do. If he isn't smart or diligent enough to even do a basic google search or crack open a textbook to understand cabinets need to be primed, then do you really think that he's going to magically become a cabinet aficionado the second time around? Most likely not. And if he does a bad job stripping the cabinets, he may cause further damage, like deep scratches, uneven stripping, etc, along with wasting more of your money on materials and time.
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Faron79
13 years ago
Well I'm in Fargo, ND!

Did'ja hear the forecast for late this week?! We may be -25 Sat. nite they said tonight!!! YIKES!

I sampled some ECO at the store where I work. JEEEEZZZ that's some nice paint! VERY dense/smooth looking finish.
* FPE suggests priming b4 applying ECO, but as long as you sand thoroughly...
* NOTE: 16hrs. between coats of ECO, per their "Specifiers Manual".
* You'll be looking for other stuff to paint after using it!

Faron
kathec
13 years ago
I'm curious if this is the same process if you aren't using FPE?

I have cabinets painted in a factory finish. I'm changing out hardware, going from pulls to knobs and a slighly lighter color. I've filled in the holes with filler. I was going to use a liquid de-glosser followed by an oil based primer followed by Cabinet Coat. I'm still a few weeks away from painting so there's plenty of time to change directions.

I WISH I could do FPE, but the nearest dealer is a 4 hour drive. I'm not confident about choosing from a deck when it's the room I spend the most time in. It's also one of the trickiest light-wise, one east facing window and mostly north facing light and flourescent lighting, oi vey!

Although I have no qualms about picking one of their door colors that way. I don't have to stare at it all the time.
dancingqueengw
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Faron. I am using my small hand sander but I NEVER want to do all these cabinets again so am willing to also prime. I wonder if I can use a non FPE primer? The only store that has FPE is an hour away and it's too darn cold to go that far. (-14 but I'm sure it's worse in ND). What do you think? I have a Menards near by and would be willing to get a really good primer there. I do not want to use oil based anything as I'm just not good with it.

One thing the guy at the FPE place told me was to put the bucket of FPE inside another bucket with warm water. Apparently it keeps the flow going better.

Good luck Kathec. I am not sure but I think FPO can mail samples but depending on where you are and timing that might not be effective.
kathec
13 years ago
Thanks dancingqueen. I'm in Bethesda for a couple days and found a FPE dealer. I paid them a visit today. The fandecks are very expensive, but I've got a couple of their cards. The sheen is just amazing. It's definitely worth considering.

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