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Anyone regret painting their kitchen cabinets?

14 years ago

I finally found a painter who I think will do a great job on my cabinets but I'm getting cold feet. Anyone have any regrets or problems with their painted cabinets? I'll be painting mine BM White Dove. Thanks for any input.

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Comments (8)

gsciencechick
14 years ago
There was a thread on this a couple of weeks ago. You might just want to run a search.

In general, most people were very happy with painting.
prill
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, you're right. I think that was specifically about oak cabinets.
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Comments (3)
Hi cate, Thanks for the compliments! What we did was clean the surfaces to be painted, doors, drawer fronts and gable ends. We used tsp, scrubbed, rinsed and dried. Everything was dismantled and taken down except for the parts that didn't have gable ends to be painted. I was left with about 1/3 of the cabinets during the painting process. We sent them out to be painted with a spray lacquer and were charged $2000 for the whole job, that included getting our kitchen chairs (also golden oak) painted black. The edges inside we painted ourselves, cleaned and primed and then painted with the same navajo white as on the cabs. Any other questions, feel free to ask, I won't be around for the next few hours but I'll check in again when I'm back.
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Laquers, CV's, pre cat's., any solvent based materials are never brushed. They all contain hot solvents that flash off in seconds. You wouldn't even get halfway down the door with the first brush stroke before it would dry. It wouldn't be pretty. They do make a brushable lacquer but this is hardly ever used and no reason to. If you're going to hand brush something you would use a different type of paint. The thing is I could tell you what I think or what I would use but it comes down to what your painter is comfortable and experienced with. Regular lacquer is not good in a wet environment. It will lift if exposed to water for any length of time. Pre-cat. is not bad but personally I would use conversion varnish because it's harder, practically water-proof and essentially the same process as using the pre-catalyzed lacquer. This is the finished used by all major cabinet brands. One reason someone might be reluctant to use it is pre-cat. is shot right out of the can as is where as CV you add a catalyst and it's only good for about 6 hours (pot life) so if you don't clean your equipment well you're in a lot of sh%#t. This is why it's a harder finish. You'll find out just how hard if you get lazy and let it sit in your gun overnight. Nothing breaks it down. You asked about the smell. Everything except water-based is going to smell. If you have asthma you don't what to be anywhere near the others when they're being sprayed. The smell pretty much dissipates overnight. Depending on atmospheric conditions it may linger slightly for another day or two. The majority of the spraying (the doors) should be done in the shop anyway. John P.S. I wish I could just paint our cabinets for you so I don't have to keep writing these long answers. It's not that I mind it's just I don't type that fast or spell that well.
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We have a KD and I am so thankful for her. In fact, I found her here on Gardenweb! My DH and I had spent probably 70+ hours on the layout and it was quite good if I do say so myself, but she made it a ton better. She came up with ideas I never would have envisioned, no matter how many books I read on the subject (and there were a lot) or places I would visit. She made it more functional and prettier, and anticipated potential problems that neither DH and I nor our architect saw coming. We pay her by the hour, she is not associated with a cabinet company, and just gives us really good advice. We already knew what we were going to do with the general finishes (white shaker inset cabs, blue Cornufe, lots of drawers, Shaw's sink, soapstone counters, Thermador column refrigerator and freezer, etc.) That hasn't changed and it isn't the part we wanted help with. It's the function and form that we wanted to get just right, and I think that she has done that. That being said, I honestly think we would have had a very nice kitchen on our own, it's just going to be a lot better because of her. Also, we talked to MANY other designers and even worked with a designer on the kitchen for a couple of hours before we found our current one, and none were very helpful. You have to find the one that works for you. And if you don't, you may well be better off not using one at all!
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I'm considering going 2 tones with my remodel. Both dark lowers/white uppers or light perimeter/dark island are both in the running, depending on whether I go with an L or U layout. Like you, my partner prefers dark, or at least he prefers wood, while I prefer white. I also think it might help the kitchen look less top-heavy, which is a larger issue with some layouts than others. I'm just a little concerned about whether 2 tones is best in a smallish kitchen. Here's an inspiration pic I ran across on GW. It's Bossanova's coach house kitchen, and it's black and white. I like how she pulled that little detail of black into the crown. Other examples I have seen will sometimes pull a bit of the black into the upper trim. I like everything about this kitchen, including that it is small but looks so sharp and functional. I'm not sure what I'd do for backsplash, though. I hope this gives you inspiration. Keep posting - and make sure you share pictures!
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pluckymama
14 years ago
prill, I think your kitchen will look awesome painted white.
prill
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks pluckymama - it's the big jump off the cliff, ya know? Did you pick your backsplash?
paintpanther
14 years ago
prill, our cabinets was an oak brown color before and now white, we painted ourselves. you have no idea what a difference it made, i am very happy, no regret even with our amateur paint job =)
elizpiz
14 years ago
Priscilla, although our cabs aren't white as so many are on this forum, we love them and the look of the hand painted finish. Our cabinet maker was going to power spray them with a "distressed" look but in the end we had them hand painted by a wonderful local paint company. Although subtle, I find there is a big difference between the shop-painted and hand painted finish.

I'm sure you will be pleased with the end result. Did you find someone you were happy with? I seem to recall that you were having trouble finding a good painter.

Eliz
prill
Original Author
14 years ago
Eliz - thanks so much for your support. I'm surprised. I always think that people with new cabinets have them factory finished. It's encouraging to find out that you had them hand painted. I looked for your paint color on the link you posted with your finished kitchen, but I couldn't find it. Your kitchen is just beautiful.

I'm so glad I found this forum. There are so many great ideas here and wonderful people. Yes, I did find a painter I think will do a good job.
elizpiz
14 years ago
Priscilla, thanks for the compliment...we are so enjoying our new kitchen!

The paint was supplied by the company that did the work. As I mentioned, they're a small local company and they produce their own milk paint and low VOC products. We used their varnish for our hardwood floors, which we re-varnished as part of the house overhaul, and it's a wonderful product - very low sheen.

It's really hard to tell (in both the photos and real life!) but the perimenter cabs and the island are actually two different colours. The perimeter cabs are Tapestry and the island is Cartier. We thought that there would be more contrast and have even debated having the island darkened, but will probably leave it as is. I've linked their site below.

I know what you mean about GW - here I am, months after being done, still checking in every day! I am hooked and love seeing the new projects take shape.

Can't wait to see the pix of your cabs - good luck!

Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: Homestead Paints

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