Carpentry and Woodworking - Remodeling kitchen cabinets
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ljoh832266
01-27-05, 10:49 AM
Back for more advice :confused:
Our new (21 year old home) has a small kitchen adjoining the large family room. The cabinets are dark wood with laminate sides on the end cabinets. All of our money went into purchasing the house, so we are searching for "low-cost" remodeling ideas. After deciding that we could not afford new cabinets or even having the cabinets refaced, we decided on painting them. This should brighten the small area quite nicely. HELP! Where do we start? Should we use a brush, roller or rent/purchase a paint sprayer. Do we wash down the cabinets, sand and use a primer before painting? What type of paint should we purchase? We also plan on adding door knobs and handles. We will need to purchase some kind of latching devices, because the cabinets don't stay "completely" closed. They sit ajar. Should we paint the insides of the cabinets? As you can see we are totally clueless! But we are eager and willing to throw ourselves into this project. We welcome any and all advice!
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Our new (21 year old home) has a small kitchen adjoining the large family room. The cabinets are dark wood with laminate sides on the end cabinets. All of our money went into purchasing the house, so we are searching for "low-cost" remodeling ideas. After deciding that we could not afford new cabinets or even having the cabinets refaced, we decided on painting them. This should brighten the small area quite nicely. HELP! Where do we start? Should we use a brush, roller or rent/purchase a paint sprayer. Do we wash down the cabinets, sand and use a primer before painting? What type of paint should we purchase? We also plan on adding door knobs and handles. We will need to purchase some kind of latching devices, because the cabinets don't stay "completely" closed. They sit ajar. Should we paint the insides of the cabinets? As you can see we are totally clueless! But we are eager and willing to throw ourselves into this project. We welcome any and all advice!
No Ads, Advertisements,Solicitations or Pyramid Schemes Allowed In The Forum Topics.
This thread has been edited.
Advertisements within the forum topics or within replies posted or within personal signatures or including email addresses within replies or signatures is not allowed on this web site. Surveys, Ads, Advertisements, Solicitations to market products, services or to hire person(s) to perform work is not allowed in any forum topics.
Posting email addresses for others to contact to obtain information or to market products or directing anyone to personal web sites which can market products or solicit services, etc are not allowed. There Are No Exceptions.
Members posting any of the above or similar, anywhere on the web site are doing so in violations to the policy and are subjected to suspension or banning.
No topics are to be used for personal gain using any method. Allowing any of the above degrades the entire web site for all concerned parties. Read the forum sticky note for additional detailed information.
Doug Aleshire
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Dave_D1945
01-27-05, 03:22 PM
The best cure for "cluelessness" is to ask questions and you're on the road to recovery. :)
The biggest question is what kind of laminate you're dealing with. Are the doors and drawer fronts laminated too? If they are, take a drawer or small door to a paint store (a REAL paint store - not the paint deaprtment at Home Depot or Lowes) and ask them for advice. It will probably involve some light sanding and cleaning and they can tell you which paint will work best and how best to apply it. Naturally, they'll be glad to sell you the stuff you'll need. :)
The biggest question is what kind of laminate you're dealing with. Are the doors and drawer fronts laminated too? If they are, take a drawer or small door to a paint store (a REAL paint store - not the paint deaprtment at Home Depot or Lowes) and ask them for advice. It will probably involve some light sanding and cleaning and they can tell you which paint will work best and how best to apply it. Naturally, they'll be glad to sell you the stuff you'll need. :)
XSleeper
01-27-05, 04:52 PM
Well, it depends what your time is worth, and whether you have the proper tools to do the job, and whether you want to buy them! Your cabinet doors and face frames will surely need to be sanded to remove whatever glossy finish it has. (buy detail sander, spend several evenings sanding doors. buy orbital sander, spend 1 evening sanding face frames.) I wouldn't recommend painting over any laminate, no matter how much you sand it. Perhaps you could glue a sheet of veneer to the laminate... or remove the laminate and replace it with a piece of 1/4" AC plywood, and then paint it? Once everything is sanded, you will need to prime everything. You "could" do this with a Wagner powerpainter, but if you have an air compressor, you could buy a cheap Campbell Hausfeld air sprayer at Wal-Mart for $20. You could then spend 1 evening masking off everything in sight- the floor, the countertop, the interior of the cabinets (no, don't paint the insides) your windows, etc. and spray your face frames. You could spray the cabinet doors in the garage. (don't forget to move the car and close the garage doors!)
The benefit of spraying is no brush strokes. But you have to spray lightly and evenly or you will get runs (even worse). I'd recommend Kilz Latex Primer. Then for your final coat, get a High Gloss Latex Enamel. When spraying, several light coats are better than 1 heavy coat. Keep the cabinet doors laid flat for best results. And only spray one side at a time. Perhaps do the edges first. Then when that is dry, do the backs. Then when that is dry, do the fronts last, perhaps giving them a 2nd coat since the face of the door is the most visible.
Once you've sprayed paint, you'll never want to brush again.
The benefit of spraying is no brush strokes. But you have to spray lightly and evenly or you will get runs (even worse). I'd recommend Kilz Latex Primer. Then for your final coat, get a High Gloss Latex Enamel. When spraying, several light coats are better than 1 heavy coat. Keep the cabinet doors laid flat for best results. And only spray one side at a time. Perhaps do the edges first. Then when that is dry, do the backs. Then when that is dry, do the fronts last, perhaps giving them a 2nd coat since the face of the door is the most visible.
Once you've sprayed paint, you'll never want to brush again.