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How do you re-paint kitchen cabinets?

17 years ago

This may be somewhat off topic, but I've read how many of you have painted your cabinets and love them. Well, 10 years ago we repainted our cabinets white, and I'm not loving them now. I'd like to update the paint job and the knobs and hinges. Where do I start? There's probably 4 coats of white paint on them now. Anyone have a link or directions on how I can do this?

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Comments (4)

lucy
17 years ago
What kind of paint is it - enamel, melamine, latex, what? And what do you want to put on there?
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cinlo
Original Author
17 years ago
Currently, it has latex. I'm open for suggestions on what to use next. Thanks!
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Comments (13)
forget staining them. as mentioned above, it's actually more work than painting. you have to get them down to raw wood again before applying a new stain. (if you want it to look good) If you were thinking about doing a darker stain, you could do what they've done here to resemble a dark stain. General Finishes Dark Chocolate paint, and 2 coats of their clear coat. (you still have to sand and prime prior to painting) this is from a poster here on Houzz who shared this. right now, your backsplash, tile flooring and countertop are at odds. It's very busy with those 3, and all the other stuff you have going on in there. you have a lot of knick-knacks, plaids, stripes, tile pattern on the floor, granite movement, mosaic tile movement, etc. they really compete with one another. I'd remove the backsplash and that 4" granite piece up the back. Remove everything on top of the cabinets. Pare down half of what you have everywhere else. Paint your cabinets and get new hardware. I'd paint out the trim and baseboards to white, but that's me. on these first few pics, notice how these owners dealt w/the small space above the cabinets by have boxes built to fill in above it. If you're painting, this is easily done. Before/After. paint color is Shoji White with glaze, and Annonymous on the island the one above, and this one, show how removing old tile and the 4" granite piece up the back, make a big difference in look. you could always do a nicer crown molding on the tops of your cabs. look how nice it looks w/the white cabinets, darker wall color, and no stuff collecting dust on top! Maria Kilim before/after. she painted all the oak trim/baseboards, windows, etc. If you want to paint, hire a pro Cabinet Painter, not house painter. ask them how they prep the cabs and how they plan on painting. It's a ton of work to do and cost is going to reflect that. If someone gives you an estimate of 2-3k to do yours, don't fall for it. Read this if you want to know just how much work it takes to get professional looking painted cabinets. https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like
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sarschlos_remodeler
17 years ago
Start by sanding the cabinets to give you a smooth surface (particularly important in areas where the paint may be chipped or peeling). Use a vacuum and tack cloth to wipe off the dust. If you are not going to remove all of the current paint, you will need to use a latex-based primer and paint to get the new paint to adhere to the door. But make sure you at least remove all flaking, chipped, peeling areas and use a light grit sandpaper to rough up the surface. Then clean the door with tack cloth and vacuum.

The paint forum has recommendations for specific kinds of paint that are particularly good for cabinets. I did ours before I found GW so I used regular ole latex paint from Lowes and applied several thick coats of poly on top, but I also sanded our cabs down to bare wood before I started. Make sure you have a really good brush. I prefer Purdy. For flat surfaces, I used a 2 1/2" straight edge, but for the grooves, corners, and edges I used a small angled 1 1/2" brush. Don't thin the paint, but use small amounts of paint on the tip of the brush only (helps control drips). Do one side at a time. Let that side dry several days before doing the second side. Make sure you flip the doors between coats: Do the first side, let it dry for several days, then do the opposite side, let it dry for several days, put the second coat on the first side, etc. This way you can make sure you get an even color saturation on the whole door. Make sure you sand any drips, lumps or bumps and use the tack cloth to clean between coats. If you want a poly on top (I did that in order to make it a truly scrubbable surface, but I was using red paint, so color saturation was an issue), use fairly thick coats of poly -- that helps blend any brush strokes that might be visible and gives it a factory-look finish.

Good luck. It took us 3 months to complete our cabs, but it was worth it!
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patty_cakes
17 years ago
Being that they're already white, why not do a glaze and add additional mouldings? Paint the mouldings the same color and place them in areas where you feel they would fill in a 'gap', or add interest. I added a braided trim moulding to my cabinet doors, and also a fluted moulding in between the cabs where there was enough space. You can also add 'feet'~i've seen bun feet used as well as brackets normally used to hold drapery rods.

Glazes can be bought in just about any color, but I would opt for something in a coffee/taupe/ocre/umber shade, depending on how light/dark you may want the outcome. All you do is brush it on and wipe to the degree of color you desire.
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