Well I have painted the kitchen cabs and painted and glazed the bathroom cabinets (see link) . The Paint color was BM White Sand ( though I used Cabinet Coat in that color) and the glaze was a greyish/tan from BM ( forget the name). Overall I am happy with them. The only thing I don't like is that after I glazed the bathroom cabs I applied Minwax Waterbased Polycrilic in Satin to even them out and to protect the glazing. The poly makes the cabinets very shiny and I don't really want that high sheen in the kitchen though I prefer the glazed look over the plain off white. Does anyone know if I can just glaze and not poly over it for the kitchen cabs? I'm under the impression that i have to poly so the glaze doesn;t come off and to even it out. Thanks- Here is a link that might be useful: Chooch's painted/glazed bathroom cabs

Oopsie, I plan on talking to him. Because I have seen his temper I'm afraid of what he may do, not sure why? When he let me know that the wood grain was going to show thru in the front of the cabinets, said how that wasn't included in the sanding and spackling, I agreed to give him 200 extra, even though DH and I knew it was included, wanted it done right. When he let me know his estimate for painting skylight, sofit and walls didn't include ceiling, he thought it was going to be another extra. Who would expect a job with (new lighting,under counter lighting, granite counertops, carpentry, crown molding, floor, added pull outs, new appliences)not to have ceiling painted? At this point I just want to pay him for what he has done and get him out of my house. If I have to stay home with him while he paints the inside frame with 2 coats of paint, I will sit in the kitchen and watch. Is there anyway of me telling if he did the agreed on 2 coats of paint on the front part of my cabinets? Since he told me several times it wasn't necessary to give 2 coats of paint, I feel he didn't do it,even though he said he did, obviously I don't trust him any more. When he paints the frames he will have to cover my granite, and will also have to take the doors off (inside hindges), do I tell him this, or assume he will do this the proper way? I'm afraid the quality of this work won't be the same, which is why I ageed to the price he gave me. My mistake was looking at his own house as an example of his work, in my home he cut as many corners as he could, in his own home he cut no corners. He has also told me several times that for the "money I paid him and for my doors I could have had a new kitchen", till I asked him never to say that again. He has made other comments, which have done what they are suppose to do, shut me up and get me out of the kitchen! Thanks in advance for your help.

When one mistake is made, it’s best to not compound it by continuing to make more mistakes. In this case, unfortunately, you did the “cheap” option- DIY painting, without doing adequate prep since you skipped the deglossing/sanding and priming (cabinets need deglossed, sanded, and a high bonding primer applied 72 hours before painting. Then you need to be gentle with cabinets for a month while they fully cure). Painting over paint that is already peeling from the surface, is not an option- that will only create more weight on already non-bonded paint and cause it to peel even faster. You need to hire a professional, IMO, you are spending valuable money on materials, and also your time time (and time is money) only to do the job wrong. Even if you knew what to do, you wouldn’t have the physical practice to do it professionally. However if that isn’t an option, then if you’re going to DIY, at least use a chemical stripper to strip the cabinets down (wear hand and eye protection), then clean, let them dry, then sand cabinets, wipe off dust, apply a high bonding primer, wait 72 hours, then paint 2 full coats. Continuing to do the cheap route, will only continue to make your problem worse and cost you even more money later. It’s like saying “I didn’t replace a hose on my engine so now my car is shaking. But I don’t want to replace the hoses right. Can I just change my oil?” The answer, of course, is no, you need to do things the right way or it’ll cause more expensive problems later. I am big on investing myself, renting and flipping homes, etc, but taking shortcuts on prep is not a way to save money- it’s a way to quickly lose a lot more money. There’s no getting around doing them right. If cash isn’t available, perhaps find a contractor who can take payment after house is sold- or use credit card to hire contractor- etc.

This past winter we painted a cabinet in our of the bathrooms. We did the full preparation and have no regrets. Sanding was not difficult - used a 60 or 80 grit making certain to get the inside corners really well. Then with a tack cloth removed all the dust. Additionally we cleaned the surfaces again using Dirtex just in case some hairspray was still clinging. We actually removed the doors and uninstalled the cabinet, enabling us to paint let dry and turn so we could work horizontal surfaces. For priming (we used BIN), the inside corners and edges were painted with a foam brush and then everything rolled with a foam roller. Surface was very smooth and we top coated with a self-leveling enamel. The finished project looks factory fresh. It really wasn't a bad project, they all take time to be done correctly. Good luck.