Proper paint and prep for kitchen cabinets?

[pandus13]

Hello BITOGers,

What would be the proper prep sequence and the recommended (best experience you had with) paint for kitchen cabinets in a kitchen that will be used?

New cabinets or new doors/fronts are not in the budget.

Thank you for all recommendations.

 

[dave123]

Will you spay them
What is the actual substrate
What currently are on the cabinets painted or are they stained and top coated

 

[maxdustington]

I was just on a super high end job and the painters were the best I've ever seen.

They would sand trim up to 600 grit and then thin the paint when they applied it. It looked like an automotive finish.

120-220-320 with a tack cloth in between should be enough. I'm not sure what a "kitchen that will be used" means other than foreshadowing a low effort job with poor results. If you don't care, wipe it with alcohol and rattle can it.

 

[pandus13]

I have no experience with spraying , nor equipment, and (more importantly) no idea how to do a pro-job in masking the insides, outsides and area.

So I guess it will be brush.

Former owner did a botched job at a badly brushed stain and some wipe-on poly.

Around Thanksgiving I did:
-some cleaning
-scoring with rough pad (brillo?)
- I primed (Zinser 1-2-3) and did one coat of cabinet paint (white; currently not wife liked anymore) from Menards/Dutch boy.
Coverage is not constant, depending on who painted them (Wife really wanted the turkey in the new painted kitchen)
So I plan to do some sanding/scouring for the ones with bad adhesion, and paint the uppers in some eggshell/greige and lowers in grey.

I could setup shop in a 2 car garage.

Doors and front - wood (maple?)
boxes - combination of plywood and laminate

P.S. my only experience with painting a full kitchen is using General Finishes java gel stain used as an oil paint on full kitchen + 3 bathrooms. it leveled nice after 2 coats.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
I was just on a super high end job and the painters were the best I've ever seen.

They would sand trim up to 600 grit and then thin the paint when they applied it. It looked like an automotive finish.

120-220-320 with a tack cloth in between should be enough. I'm not sure what a "kitchen that will be used" means other than foreshadowing a low effort job with poor results. If you don't care, wipe it with alcohol and rattle can it.

Automotive finish - NICE!

RE: Kitchen that will be used - we cook at home and really use our kitchen, it is not just for show.
Just curious what paint would be good these days to handle kids and tear-and-wear. I don't think me picking up big box latex high-gloss may be up to par....

Thank you

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by pandus13
Automotive finish - NICE!

RE: Kitchen that will be used - we cook at home and really use our kitchen, it is not just for show.
Just curious what paint would be good these days to handle kids and tear-and-wear. I don't think me picking up big box latex high-gloss may be up to par....

Thank you
I'm sorry for assuming your lack of craftsmanship!

Another thing I noticed on that job was the thickness of the paint. They need to build it up and sand it down to get a nice finish. The extra coats + sanding made them look a certain way that I can't explain but you might recognize it. When a DIYer paints, you can sometimes tell that they did a single coat because you can still see either the colour or texture of the wood through the paint. That means a dent will break right through into the wood and show a contrasting mark that looks cheap.

I was on a different, not as high end job that had a really nice third floor reno that was being left while the second, third and basement were getting gutted and redone. The third floor was the kid's floor and was pretty beat up. I noticed that although there were plenty of dents and dings in some built in toy boxes, the paint absorbed almost all of them without showing any wood. You could only tell the extent of the damage when you got close and examined them.

If you want durability, do multiple thin coats with sanding in between. You don't have to go to 600 obviously, just build up a little paint and get a nice finish on something you are probably going to look at thousands of times.

 

[skyactiv]

Use an Alkyd unless you wanna go all out and do a lacquer job.

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/interior-exterior-paints-stains/product-catalog/awiap/advance-interior-paint

 

[928]

It will take a LOT longer & include many more steps than you think. I wouldn't sand it past 320 or 400 max ( you need to have something for the new finish to bite on) . Use the best brush available- cost no object. Don't shortcut or rush it, you will get out of it what you put into it. Also use this sandpaper- it won't leave scratches


https://www.rockler.com/norton-prosand-sandpaper-20-packs

 

[walterjay]

I had my cabinets refinished white two years ago. They used Sherwin Williams latex/acrylic paint. It is not holding up well at all. Do not use a water based paint. If I were to do it all over, I would do it myself and experiment with the type of paint that is used on boat hulls. You want the toughest stuff you can get. And as stated do good prep work. No shortcuts.
I redid my island cabinets with Benjamin Moore paint, the one they recommend for cabinets (the Advance) . It is a little better but still not holding up as I would like.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted by walterjay
I had my cabinets refinished white two years ago. They used Sherwin Williams latex/acrylic paint. It is not holding up well at all. Do not use a water based paint. If I were to do it all over, I would do it myself and experiment with the type of paint that is used on boat hulls. You want the toughest stuff you can get. And as stated do good prep work. No shortcuts.
I redid my island cabinets with Benjamin Moore paint, the one they recommend for cabinets (the Advance) . It is a little better but still not holding up as I would like.

Can you explain why the 2 paints are not holding?
peeling?
color change?
too soft for cabinet cleaning/scrubbing?

 

[doitmyself]

I've got a cabinet paint project on my bucket list. Spend some time at the Sawmill Creek forum (search project finish area) and determine which product has the best pros/cons to meet your needs. You have to wade through the professional threads to avoid the ones about spraying and catalyzed finishes. BM Advance comes up quite a bit with just a few other cabinet paint products (Cabinet Kote, ProClassic, Emerald, etc.) It seems that the most durable paints are the most difficult to use. For instance, the BM Advance reviews indicate that it takes a long while to fully cure (21+ days). Clean, clean, clean, degloss, clean again, prime, wait/sand/clean, 1st. coat, wait/sand/clean, 2nd. coat, wait. One day dry time between coats (per label). 3 days to paint and at least another 4 days before you rehang doors (carefully). Then, treat them gently for a few weeks while they cure. Yikes. I've painted workplace cabinets but never kitchen. Alkyd based satin enamel 20 years ago and they still look good.

You might want to take a vacation week and send the family to the mother-in-laws.

 

[mightymousetech]

Having the doors powder coated really is the best.