You get orange peel from using a roller. I know because my husband made that mistake when he painted our bathroom vanity white. We just did our kitchen cabinets and used a high quality paint brush and high quality paint. Still see some brush strokes, but vastly improved over the orange peel from a paint roller.

That said, you're never going to get what you want by trying to improve what you have, DIY or handyman. Get new painted doors and hire a professional to paint the boxes.

Oh wow thanks the picture nosoccermom ...I take back what I said and agree with Sophie on this one! And ditto if that is your inspiration picture then I would do all new cabinets. Beautiful cabinets in that picture by the way!

You could also pay that handyman to cut cabinet grade birch plywood slab-look doors and paint those. Saved labor costs will pay for the birch plywood. Easier to spray those doors also.

Looking closer I see that pic is of the door...I thought it was the side of the cabinet where the wood looks like it's splitting at the corner. Are the boxes in good shape?

That picture I showed was more for the warm color than anything else. My inspiration is more like what irmaly from Part I did; he had cabinets similar to mine and did the work himself and made them look like this:

Yes as stated above, orange peel is from rollers - don't use them on wood. Brush is fine, as is a spray. But agree with above - if that pic is of your cabinet, I'd not waste a cent or a minute on them. Replace.

Too much work time for a exposed hinge low end final goal. It would be better, imo, to consider new doors and filling the hinge holes on the frames. If that doesn't work once you evaluate your boxes I'd go with Ikea boxes with all lower large drawers.

UPDATE: The handyman informed us today that he has been given a date to go back to work and will no longer be available to do this project, so it's up to mostly me now. And DH will do what he can as time allows.

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So far I'm getting pretty good feedback here. Thanks everyone!

Brush roller -- I wasn't very clear when I described the orange peel appearance; I knew that it was caused by brush rollers. So I suppose that means no brush rollers for me.

mtnmom9, Wow, I didn't realize I could get cabinet doors to that degree of customization for that cheap. Although the cheapest option is MDF doors with alder frames. I don't know if I want to go with MDF, as it gives off formaldehyde. If I went with alder its an additional $15 per door. After putting in the dimensions on one of the doors I need, I came to about $40. So I guess the question becomes, is my time worth more than $40--I don't know, it depends on how much time it would take to do all that work to one of my doors. It does open up more options that I didn't know I had though. Thanks!

rantontoo, Yes, there is that. And I may go that route. In which case DH would be cutting the doors.

nosoccermom, That's ok, it's helpful for others to see my terrible cabinet doors. And I have 16 cabinet doors and 4 drawers, but we are very likely changing the layout some, so we may end up with one less drawer.

MaWizz, I don't think it's actually splitting there, I'll take another look when I get home. The boxes are in far better shape than the doors, but attention to detail was not something that concerned the person who installed them. I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

Chess, It looks like your cabinets were in much better condition than mine. But that transformation you did is pretty much what I'm after with mine. By the way, what did you use for filler, and what was the biggest hole that you had to fill?

dan1888, I'm actually going to be replacing those exposed hinges with self-closing, soft-closing hidden hinges.

More pictures as promised. That one picture looked like peeling but no, none of the doors are peeling. And the boxes are quite solid. But there are heavy grain patterns, dings, uneven cuts, gaps between boxes and wall, etc.

I've been trying to figure out if the boxes are solid wood, and I think they are but not sure. I know the doors are plywood for sure.

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Better buy a 55 gal. barrel of wood filler. ALL the grain is going to show even after 10 coats of paint. I am the queen of reuse, reduce, recycle but these are even worse then mine were and I replaced. If you are going to buy good paint, new hinges and I presume hardware, etc. don't spend it on these cabs.

On the other hand..

If your house is 200 years old and you are going with the antique farm house look, you are in luck. But don't paint them. Don't change the hinges or hardware. A good scrubbing and new coat of varnish and they will look beautiful.

Can you remove those cabinets?

If you are very low on funds but have a little bit creative, you can have a sweet kitchen, if not quite your inspiration pic:)

Make a detailed measured plan of you kitchen. Head to your local Restore and see what they have in the way of cabinets. You at least need to start with decent boxes. You will need to have some reasonable math skills to pick out cabinets that will fit your space. Small gaps between cabinets can be filled with filler wood pieces if needed to make everything come out even.

I did this basement kitchenette for $1000 (no appliances and the plumbing and electrical were already done). $600 was labor for setting the cabinets and installing the sink. I used some of my original cabinet that had been in the garage - refinished them, and made the shelves from fir joist.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~65270573

Here is a pretty white kitchen also done very inexpensively - less than $1000. The sink base was bought at Lowes and then shelving was added. A curtain and crates replace doors and the uppers are salvaged cabinets. Here is the blog post on this kitchen:

http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2012/09/building-vintage-farmhouse-kitchen.html

You can paint stock cabinets from a home center store or Restore used cabinets. You can use curtained cabinets, and baskets and open shelves in place of some doors - and you can order the shaker doors as noted above. You can use a dresser to make an island or add additional prep space. If it is in your budget, I bought a similar wood hood as in your inspiration pick unfinished, and finished it to match my cabinets. The cost of the hood and vent insert together was $700 and I paid a handyman $250 to install it.

Curtained cabinet, baskets, shelves:

Extra work space:

Your cabinets are too old and warped. You're time is worth more than it will be worth to try and make these cabinets look good. They never will. Sorry.

What you're looking to do will take you the better part of a year working just weekends and maybe even working during the week too and in the end you'll have old, warped cabinets with white paint on them.

I respect reuse, re-purpose, recycle.... but maybe it's time for something else.

Those old built in place cabinets have done their time. They cannot be rearranged. They are not constructed to be moved. There is no real back to them, or separate box. They are not salvageable. They have earned their status as firewood.

Time for new everything. IKEA trip!

The close-ups are even worse than the distance shots. Extremely poor beyond amateur backyard build quality. There is negative return on attempting to do anything with those. You can't ''rearrange''. That isn't how those old things were built. You can joyously sledgehammer them to bits and throw them in a dumpster.

Any box store on the shelf particle board laminate cabinets would be a better choice. Especially since you only foresee living there a few more years.

It's not worth trying to paint those cupboards. Ask me how I know.

swiss_chard_fanatic - orange peel surface will happen when you use a paint ROLLER on wood. I don't know what a "brush roller" is. Using a good paint brush will NOT leave any "orange peel" type of surface. You might get brush marks if you are not using the proper technique. I painted all of my cabs with a brush. Actually about 3 or 4 of them - but they were good brushes, not crap, They turned out beautifully. As for filler - I had no need of any in my cabinets - they are solid knotty pine, no holes or gaps that needed filling. I had dents/small gouges and the like, but that was all taken care of with sanding. However I did have two large knots with deep holes, in the doorway trim above the stairs. I had never even noticed them until prepping them. I used Plastic Wood - it sands just like wood - very easy to use.

All that said, there is just no way I would even attempt trying to do anything with your existing cabinets. They are beyond repair, in my view. I really think you would be much better off taking the advice of others here to replace them.

Then how did irmaly in the Part I thread do it? He started with this:

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And he transformed his cabinet doors into this:

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His cabinets look a lot like mine.

cpartist, Do you think that irmaly's white cabinet looks like old, warped cabinets with white paint on them?

I don't know how long you plan on staying in the house, but I do know that as a buyer if I saw those cabinets painted, I'd be deducting in my head how much it would cost me to do a complete gut and remodel of the kitchen.

I'm a huge fan of Ikea cabinets for what you need. It's what we used in our first house many, many years ago. For the time and effort you'll put in refinishing the cabinets, you could have new beautiful cabinets from Ikea that will hold up much better.

A thousand hours of filling and sanding, and yes, they look like ratty old cabinets that someone did a stopgap on to get by. You can see the warping at the edge from just that pic, and you bet there are no close-ups shown. Because it can't pass scrutiny any closer.

I read one of your other threads on how much to spend in the kitchen, which helps explain the budget pressures you're under. Irmaly's cabinets look great, but we can't see the close up, and I don't think it's a realistic result for a novice DIY.

I think what's getting so much push back here is your expectations. If you're not staying long and market doesn't support even Ikea upgrades, I think I'd save the money and labor for my next home. Maybe if I just hate hate hated, couldn't keep living with the dark stained wood, I'd consider a quick sand and paint with the goal of making the kitchen slightly more liveable and not expecting it to look anything approaching inspiration images. Forget attempting to fill the holes, add shaker trim, transform bullnose to square, new hinges, etc.

caligirl5, Yes I do have high expectations. My expectations are what they are. We will be living in the house for up to 10 more years. I cannot live with the kitchen as it is for another 10 years. And if I'm completely honest, I cannot even live with the kitchen as-is for another 1 year.

A quick sand and paint will not be anywhere near my expectations. Also, particleboard is not something I'm willing to consider due to the low-grade level of the product. At least what I have now is either solid wood or solid-wood-plywood mix. I've had particleboard furniture in the past and it feels cheap, doesn't last long, gets beat up very quick, falls apart, and must be thrown out.

The most I'm willing to consider doing is pulling out all the cabinets and replacing them all with new plywood ones, but only if the cost does not exceed $2k.

Otherwise, I will be putting in "1,000 hours" of work into these existing boxes to get them to meet my expectations.

Painting will take forever and still look less than perfect unless you have them sprayed. I don't think the results will be worth the time you invest. If the boxes are sturdy, I'd look into buying new doors and drawer fronts (get them already painted) and just replacing those. I'd also get a ball park price on new cabinets, just to fully consider your options.

elohbee, They will definitely be sprayed. I'm looking at options now for purchasing plywood cabinets, should I go that route.

Also, particleboard is not something I'm willing to consider due to the low-grade level of the product. At least what I have now is either solid wood or solid-wood-plywood mix. I've had particleboard furniture in the past and it feels cheap, doesn't last long, gets beat up very quick, falls apart, and must be thrown out.

The most I'm willing to consider doing is pulling out all the cabinets and replacing them all with new plywood ones, but only if the cost does not exceed $2k.

Otherwise, I will be putting in "1,000 hours" of work into these existing boxes to get them to meet my expectations.

Particle board and MDF that good kitchen cabinets are made from are two different things! You're being a snob without even taking the time to do proper research. My sister has a kitchen that probably cost her close to 6 figures and her cabinet boxes are MDF and if i hadn't told you that, you'd never be able to tell. Your lack of knowledge about what are quality cabinets is showing. In fact your cheap plywood cabinets are lower quality than good quality MDF.

Sorry but you're being penny wise and pound foolish not to consider something like an Ikea MDF cabinet. The quality can't be beat and is 1000 x better than what you have there and will last well past the 10 years you intend to stay in the house. Can't say the same for your warped plywood cabinets though.

Do what you wish but I would rather have a gorgeous Ikea kitchen than a half baked paint job on cabinets that are ready for the junk heap.

cpartist,

My understanding was that Ikea sells particle board cabinets. I know there is a difference between particle board and MDF. I've had particle board furniture that went to pieces. I don't have a lot of experience with MDF.

The plywood cabinet boxes that are currently in my house are not actually warped; the doors are slightly warped however. The boxes would continue to last another few decades as-is.

http://greendemolitions.com/product/new-rochelle-blonde-maple-kraftmaid/

http://greendemolitions.com/product/old-greenwich-golden-cherry/

The second includes appliances! There are A LOT of amazing deals around.

Cabinets use a much better grade of particle board or what they call MDF. It's not the same at all! Plus you have more options for things like all lower drawers.

I had Ikea cabinets and they held up for the 6 years I lived there and from what my son says, they are still there 20+ years later. (He knows the person who bought our house.)

My youngest sister put in an Ikea kitchen in her last two houses and they held up for the 10 and 12 years she lived in each respectively.

Sincerely, for $1400 you could have new, cream colored shaker style doors/ drawer fronts, soft close drawers, Blum hinges and interior hardware, 25 year limited warranty cabinets today from ikea. With some effort demoing, assembling and installing you could have new cabinets ready for countertop by Labor Day Weekend.

Take a moment and google " ikea Sektion review" and do an image search for "ikea Grimslov" before you refuse the IKEA option.

If you post a detailed drawing of your space including the window and utility locations I'll happily draw plans up for you.

I'm a big fan of reuse and upcycling, but those are chewed to heck and probably can't survive being removed to be improved. There is nothing about your cabinets that can't be fixed by gasoline and matches.

I'm another vote for IKEA. they make excellent products.

"MDF gives off formaldehyde" ... so do beets, pears and liver. Even your own liver makes formaldehyde and delivers it right to your bloodstream.

I second the recommendation that you look at restore type places that sell previously used kitchens. They are stocked with some very good quality stuff - often it was high end custom cabinetry. If you have the skills and time to retrofit it for your kitchen, it is an excellent option.

Also echoing what others have said, ikea are of very good quality - you really shouldn't dismiss them. A lot of the bargain is that you are doing the labor - which is something you certainly seem to have the desire to do. Re-painted crappy cabinets may show OK in photos, but in real life no one is fooled as to what they are.

IKEA cabinets have very low formaldehyde levels. They also have very low vocs. Another vote for IKEA.

Another vote for IKEA.. Good quality, fast to do, long lasting. Happy ending.

Perhaps you would be interested in the real world performance of plywood vs cabinet grade furniture board.

Plywood vs Furniture Board · More Info

You see the plywood delaminating up to about 8"? And the furniture board with maybe 1/4" of one corner swelling?

Both are destroyed. The problem with particle/furniture board is the ordinary quality level is lower than plywood. Strong assurances and guarantees with a good product can overcome that. Like what Ikea does. Otherwise plywood will be preferred. After all if they don't show us anything who knows what's being used.

Actually, the particle board would continue to supply adequate support for the weight of the cabinets and even a stone counter, whereas the plywood would be risky to leave in place and ask it to perform the same work. Any American produced factory mid grade and up cabinet line uses the 40 lb+ Carb II certified furniture board in their products. The less costly lines can vary. But any company should be happy to share the information about their construction materials. All anyone needs to do is ask! Ask even IKEA about the pressure rating of their furniture board. Don't assume.

Good reading and viewing here - http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4587257/my-ikea-kitchen-11-years-later?n=55

No Cookskitchen that's not even a good comparison as that piece that's lifting on the plywood is the fake wood look veneer sheeting over the plywood like you would see on an end panel if no decorative wood ends used and the other is just particle board with out anything on it which you wouldn't put anywhere like that. I'm sure it you put that fake wood look sheeting on the particle board piece it would do the same. Geez I thought grade school science taught us how to properly do experiments.

You can do the labor yourself for an IKEA kitchen...a lot less labor than trying to make what you have look better. Maybe DH should read this thread???

Look deeper than the surface laminate peeling. All of the ply layers are coming apart. Yes, standard cabinet construction would have plain furniture board sides in the middle of a cabinet run, where cabinet joins cabinet. If the end isn't exposed, no finishing of any kind happens. It would be raw ply, or raw furniture board. This is straight off of a production line in a plant, not staged at all.

This wasn't a double blind "science" experiment, obviously. But it does show what happens when good quality furniture board encounters water for 8 hours. And, good quality ply.

This is my IKEA kitchen (with Barker drawer fronts & Barker uppers). Just go to an IKEA. Better yet, try reclaiming 1 cabinet door, and then go to an IKEA.

You could try one cabinet door and see how it goes.

Note that wood filler will crack over time as the wood moves if you are intending to use it to fill cracks between wood pieces. You'll need to use caulk to avoid that and caulk can not be shaped and molded like the woodfiller.

I had the plywood style cabinets you have, but in much much better shape and was just going to do a replace the doors and hardware and re-configure a bit because I saw in person how the added wood to the doors looked after a few years in my friends home (looked nice when just done and they did spend a lot of detail work on it). However since my boxes were built in large pieces I couldn't reconfigure and ended up completely replacing the boxes too.. This was my old house.

In my current house we have plywood built cabinets that all looks nice on the surface, but are cheaply built IMHO. We've fixed slides twice, the doors are a bit warped, drawer boxes need some help soon. I also installed some IKEA cabinets in our dining room which holds all my daughters toys. They get as much use as our kitchen cabinets and have held up so much better as well, plus they have been handled by little people who are not careful. They are low VOC and has the nice bells and whistles of full extension soft close drawer glides and soft close doors. I really want to switch my kitchen cabinets to IKEA, but for me to do that I need to come up with a better layout to satisfy the other issues with my kitchen.

Unfortunately for you it doesn't look like cabinet grade plywood was used on your cabinets due to the roughness which is another huge difference between yours and irmaly's starting point. If you insist on keeping the boxes vs. getting the nice bells and whistles you could with IKEA cabinets, then at least save yourself the frustration and get some new doors/drawer fronts and also some new drawer boxes. In my old house I used Scherr's to replace the doors in my 2 bathrooms and for a master vanity I built and used all wood in poplar - a cheaper paintgrade wood if you want to avoid the MDF. However having MDF as the center panel in a door makes the door more stable and less prone to wood changes with humidity. I agree with most though that starting from scratch would be worth it vs. the amount of time you'll spend on what you have and then how long it will last after that. You'd also have a better starting point with new cabinets and re-configuring the space.

Sure you can do what you want and end up with it looking a whole lot better- but you said you were short on time and working with what you have is going to take a long time to make it look pristine. That is a lot of filling and sanding needed. Never mind how you plan to fix the edges so it looks good. That line would bother me to see the line between the applied wood and then the ratty edge underneath that will need a lot of work to made look good again. Sure you wouldn't see it when closed and looking straight at them, but when open or from the top or side it will be hard not to notice. Also are your existing doors the right overlap to be able to change to concealed hinges?

One way to deal with the edges and looking at your pictures from the other post it looks like you have space to do it, but would depend on overlap and hinge sizes. You could trim out the wood your trimming the edges with so that it overlaps and covers the sides of your doors. Sort of like a picture frame. Doubt you'd be able to find the right size trim to do it so you may have to make those cuts yourself using a variety of options of power tools, but this would require some skill.

I am afraid that trying to get where you want to be by keeping your current cabinets is going to be a lesson in "penny-wise and pound-foolish." If your handyman charges $20 an hour, I firmly believe that it is going to take more than 100 hours to get something close to your inspiration pictures IF no one looks closely. For that kind of money ($2000), you could have a new IKEA kitchen that you would not have to pay anyone to work on since it sounds like DH is somewhat handy. IKEA also runs sales on their kitchens several times a year...even more savings!

I suspect that you did not anticipate the negative feedback about reworking your existing cabs, but please understand that we are trying to give you the most cost-effective/optimal-outcome advice that we can based on our knowledge and experiences. To spend all that money on labor and end up with a not-much-better-looking result would be very disheartening and an expensive lesson learned.

I just learned in this thread that wood filler does not hold up long-term...that is important information to remember as you make a final decision. If you keep to your original plan, the suggestion to work on one door first to see what the end result would be is a good one.

Good luck!

rantontoo - wood filler is great and holds up long term when used to fill holes etc. Only has an issue when you use it to fill a space between two pieces of wood as wood expands/contracts and the wood filler between two pieces doesn't have any give so you'll start to see cracks.

Lyfia...thanks for the clarification!

Just a quick comment to note that the OP, swiss_chard_fanatic has not commented on this thread since August 19th when she defended her existing cabinets: "The boxes would continue to last another few decades as-is." s/he might be elbow deep in a cabinet project right now.

I was surprised that this thread has been so negative about revamping the cabinets, while the previous referenced thread was relatively optimistic.

"I was surprised that this thread has been so negative about revamping the cabinets"

Unfortunately she shared pics of her existing cabinets and truthfully they are not worth putting the money and time into attempting what she would like to accomplish with them. The dollars would be better spent on new.