Please remind us what kind of wood this is, and what kind of finish is currently on it...?

Oh gosh, I don't know if it's ash or oak but here's a picture if that tells you anything.

{{!gwi}}

I can take a closer up picture if needed.

Laurie

Looks like oak, stained and varnished.

Are they very dirty? Is that why you're thinking of using ammonia?

If I were painting these, I would remove the doors and drawer fronts, remove all the hardware (hinges and knobs), and sand all the wood surfaces -- just enough to break up the surface of the varnish.

Use medium sandpaper, then go over the whole thing with steel wool. Sand with the grain, and don't sand too deep. Oak is an open-grain wood, and you don't want to open up the grain too much.

You will be painting the backs of the doors too, right? I would begin painting there -- because if you don't like how the work is progressing, it won't show.

What kind of paint are you using? Is it glossy? To avoid drips, paint each surface as it's laying flat, and allow each surface to dry before you paint the next surface. Try to work in a relatively dust-free environment.

If the paint is glossy, it's a good idea to get a really good paintbrush, because the cheap ones will leave brush marks.

Hope this helps...

I just always heard you should clean the cabinets good before you paint. I haven't cleaned them in awhile so they probably are pretty dirty. So do you think I should use the ammonia or something else?

My husband has some saw horses in the garage, so I was going to set them on there to paint and I will be painting the backs also. I'm going for an antique look, so I'm using an eggshell finish instead of a shiny one. What's a good amount of time to wait between coats?

Thanks for the tips!

Laurie

Laurie,
My previous kit had the same oak cabinets. I painted them and glazed them.

I used the same primer you got. SW waterbourne latex paint but I used antique white. Ralph Lauren tea stain.

I would mix the ammonia with water. Sand - I used an orbital sander. Clean with cloth to remove dust. I used one of those small rollers and rolled on the paint. Then I used my brush (purdy) to get in any crevices. Nice thin coats - not gloppy- if you put too much paint on it will drip on the other side = goops!! After the primer I did a light sand with finer grit sandpaper by hand. After wiping down with a clean cloth then 2 coats of the latex paint with the roller touched up in corners with a brush. The SW waterbourne is supposed to be "self-leveling" to help eliminate brush strokes. I rolled cabinet bases/stiles and touched up in the corners with a brush.

I had these cabinets for over 2 years and they did not chip!! I did not use grain filler. You could see the grain but it didn't bother me at all.

Good luck with your adventure!!

Smiles:)

Laurie

straight ammonia will remove the varnish... l-o-n-g ago when I was a teen and lived home , I decided to 'help' my mom and clean her kitchen, cabinets and all...I had no clue in what I was doing..so I used straight ammonia and started washing the cabinets down...well..the varnish came off! I don't know if my mom did the varnish her self ..but I had to do all the cabinets so she wouldn't notice.. soooo...if you wash it down with ammonia, you may be able to get the varnish off with out too much sanding...
(wear a mask)

and to clean them before painting, after sanding..use mineral spirits.. you have a lot going on there!!! Ree

That's what the ammonia is for, to remove the varnish, and then put a coat of oil-based paint/primer on (you can use Kilz). If you cleaned really well with the ammonia and let them dry, brush off really well with a tack cloth, you can just use the Kilz paint. It is up to you if you want to use the wood filler. I like the black and brown cabinets without the use of the wood filler. Girl with Aspirin's looked great in dark brown with the striae of the wood showing.

I am currently doing all my kitchen cabinets. I used a TSP substitute to clean/degloss the cabs. Then I lightly sanded with an orbital sander (#180 grit), primed 2 coats w/ Zinsner Bullseye 1-2-3. I did not do the grain filler b/c I read you have to smear it on and then mash it into the grooves w/ a credit card or some other thin/flat surface before sanding smooth. I have 27 cabinets to contend with and frankly, that just sounded like too much work. Primer can says wait 4 hours between coats but I let sit overnight. The paint forum was very informative for me. Do a search on Cabinet Coat and there are plenty of helpful tips- like placing cabinet fronts on top of dress boxes on your work surface to make painting edges easy.
Good luck- I am still in the priming phase!! I bought SW Pro Classic paint this morning.....stay tuned!

There is no need to remove the varnish. All you have to do its lightly sand the wood to rough up the finish a bit so that the paint will stick to it. Start with medium grade sandpaper, then finish with steel wool.

I have painted and refinished lots of wood, and I have never used ammonia. Really, if you're sanding the wood, you have no need to clean it. Any dirt on there, you'll be sanding it off anyway, right?

Please don't use an orbital sander on wood -- it will leave circular marks. Sand by hand, back and forth, with the grain and not against it.

patricia - Where can I see a picture of Girl with Aspirin's cabinets?

Ree - I've also been working on my son's room, but that's almost done.

Laurie

The only difference in sanding and using ammonia is that you acccomplish the same. The reason for sanding is to remove the varnish and the reason for using ammonia is to remove the varnish so that your primer sticks to the cabinets.

I don't know where GWaspirin's pictures are. They were once on the finsihed cabinets but have been removed. They really looked GREAT.

I too have done a lot of wood painting and did faux finishes and antiquing furniture professionally before I started the wallpaper and then with the multiple sclerosis, kind of stopped all that.

IME, sand then tinted primer (lots of coats) helped. I always use flat black paint because it looks more 'furniture like'. Then I use varnish (water-based) on top to make it easier to clean.

I found Girl with Aspirin's kitchen pictures-- the cabinet transformation is amazing!

Here is a link that might be useful: Girl with Aspirin's Kitchen

snickysnacker - The grain filler sounds like way too much work, so I don't think I'll bother with that.

The SW Pro Classic paint has been mentioned several times, but that's not what I got, so I hope mine turns out okay. The color I picked out came from the exterior paint section, but I thought they could mix it in any one of their paints. When I asked him which paint would be best for bathroom cabinets, he told me it only came in that one kind. It's All Surface Enamel for interior and exterior. He said he has a mildew additive in it which would be good for the bathroom.

bellaflora - I was wondering if I should put a varnish or something on top to protect it. The guy at SW said the paint I got is washable and scrubbable. Should I still add something for protection?

jesemy - Thanks for the link. Her cabinets do look gorgeous.

I thought of one more questions this morning. Do the cabinet doors need to go back to the exact spot they came from? I can't really number them since I'm paint the whole door, so how do you keep track of where they go?

Laurie

To number the doors you can incise small marks on the lower edge of the inside of the door. Often there is a small area that would be hidden unless you were lying on the floor looking up. For doors of upper cabs, look for a similar surface on the top edge of the doors. You can make the marks with a small wood chisel. You just mark them in some sensible and consistent order and they'll go back correctly. Small differences in hinge placement may make random re-attachment a pain so it really is better to know which door is which.

I often use simplified roman numerals or just slash, slash, diagonal, etc., like you would if you were doing it with a pencil. In my 195 year old barn if you slant a flashlight just right you can easily see the handmade slash marks and roman numerals made by the timber framers to make sure all the pieces of each complicated roof and collar beam mortice would fit together perfectly once they hoisted. The barn was entirely assembled using only timber pegs (aka tree "nails") from massive oak timbers felled from my woodlot. I really enjoy looking at the carpenter's marks and figuratively seeing their hands at work. And after nearly 200 years the framing is still tight, level and plumb without a smidge of metal to hold it together. I wonder if modern glue-lams and stamped plate-truss attachment brackets will fare as well over time.

Hope your project is going well.

Molly~

We painted our kitchen and will soon do the bathroom cabinets as well. I was going to start this weekend, but I'm sick, so it will have to wait.

We did not use an orbital sander - we used a "mouse" sander which is also electric but it moves up and down. It's by Black & Decker and looks like a little iron. That way we had no swirl marks.

We then primered (with oil-based Kilz) and painted (with oil-based SW), sanding (by hand) and using a tack cloth in between each coat. This was about 3 years ago and they still look great. The doors were new, however- we had bought new unfinished ones.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen pictures in kitchen album

Yes, that is what I used....a mouse sander with the triangle end. Couldn't remember the name of it!!

I sure didn't know ammonia would take varnish off...that is very good to know.

Good luck in your cab painting...I am sure they will look great!
Smiles:)

I used the same basic process as snickysnacker did. I disagree that an oribital sander will leave swirl marks. If you use it properly it will not. I even used it on my Corian countertop....no swirls showing. A mouse sander is probably a bit more DIY friendly for first time sanders. I use Krud Kutter TSP substitute when cleaning things before painting and then bullseye 123 primer.

snookums - Your kitchen looks great. You were brave to start with such a big project. Can you tell me what paint you used in your kid's bathroom?

Molly - Thanks for the tips!

Laurie