Repainting kitchen cabinets

Funkstard

Current kitchen cabinets are oak and varnished. Looking to paint them a cream colour to help bounce the light around the kitchen a bit. Wondering what's the best way to do this? Just unscrew them, sand them down and away I go? What would be the best method for sanding the varnish off (some relief involved in the design of the cabinetry)

Also, there's an oak veneer on the front of the shelving which I'd like to strip off and replace with something like the colour paint I'll be using. Can you buy strips of this and iron it on or what?

Cheers

galwaydude18

Ya you can heat up the existing edging with a very hot iron and replace it with an edging that you like with a hot iron and clean off the excess edging once applied.

As for the doors I would buy new vinal wrapped doors rather than sand down solid oak doors and paint them. You will spend a huge amount of time stripping off the varnish unless you use a product like nitromers varnish remover. Be warned this is very nasty stuff and you MUST wear glove when using as it will burn your skin.. Trust me I know it will...

Then sand them until they are silky smooth and apply a coat of primer or even two and two or three coats of your desired colour sanding between every coat of paint.

looksee

I was thinking of the same thing, but there are quite a lot of panels on sides of presses that you can see and which I don't think would take paint. This would be the case if I put new doors on too. Any suggestions?

ab20

My personal opinion for what it is worth. Painting alread varnished doors I think is definitely a no no. Second - If you have exposed gables that need painting then you are going to have to get some warm water and sugar soap and wash them down thoroughly to get rid of the grease. Third - I am certainly sure that removing edging and replacing edging with the units in-situ is not a good idea, you will never get it right and the finish will not look too good. If you are adamant on painting the units and doors go to a good paint supplier and ask what type of primer or paint with built in primer you should get for the doors and units. And a final thought. For the time and effort that will go into what you are proposing just be aware that it may not turn out to be what you thought it ought to so prepare yourself for some disappointment. At least that way if it turns out better then HAPPY DAYS! Best of Luck. If you want any advice on Refacing or Remodelling your Kitchen PM me.

looksee

ab20 wrote: »

My personal opinion for what it is worth. Painting alread varnished doors I think is definitely a no no. Second - If you have exposed gables that need painting then you are going to have to get some warm water and sugar soap and wash them down thoroughly to get rid of the grease. Third - I am certainly sure that removing edging and replacing edging with the units in-situ is not a good idea, you will never get it right and the finish will not look too good. If you are adamant on painting the units and doors go to a good paint supplier and ask what type of primer or paint with built in primer you should get for the doors and units. And a final thought. For the time and effort that will go into what you are proposing just be aware that it may not turn out to be what you thought it ought to so prepare yourself for some disappointment. At least that way if it turns out better then HAPPY DAYS! Best of Luck. If you want any advice on Refacing or Remodelling your Kitchen PM me.

I know you are right, though I am not sure about the reasons for your argument

Piriz

i'd look into using ESP (Easy Surface Preparation) (sold in Atlantic and Homebase i think).
Also i def wouldn't take off the edging either..
If you would like a taxi to your local hardware store PM me:D

Webbs

We painted our kitchen units recently and are delighted with the result. Now ours arent varnished but were your bog standard B&Q beech effect units (melamine I guess).
While it took a few days it wasnt as bad as I thought. We took off all the doors and drawers and took off all the furniture. A wash down with sugar soap and a quick sand with fine sandpaper was all we did then primed with Dulux supergrip. Another quick sand down was followed by couple of coats of oil eggshell sanding where necessary to ensure a smooth finish.
One thing make sure you keep the doors horizontal when painting and drying preventing any runs.

Ortensia

We had this done professionally and he didn't remove doors. Washed well to degrease and a primer applied first. Transformed the place. Needs a few touchups after 2 years.

michael999999

im a qualified painter.you should wash down the kitchen,then get e.s.p. and apply it with a rag and leave to dry.then you simply apply a couple of coats of undercoat and then a satin or gloss finish.

Funkstard

michael999999 wrote: »

im a qualified painter.you should wash down the kitchen,then get e.s.p. and apply it with a rag and leave to dry.then you simply apply a couple of coats of undercoat and then a satin or gloss finish.

So no need to sand the varnish off the doors?

Cheers for all the replies. Sounds like there's a bit of work involved, but think the result will be great if all works out so might as well give it a go.

Also for one of the first replies - what are vinyl wrapped doors?

Wally Runs

Easy Surface Prep, available at all good decor and DIY stores . International Paints are one brand but there are others.
I did this myself some years ago on plain oak veneer and it worked out well. I used an eggshell finish.
Whatever else, be sure to take your time and apply the coats slowly and with a quality brush or roller with quality paint. A rushed job will be looking at you forever. Save the paint for touch-ups down the line.

Funkstard

Wally Runs wrote: »

Easy Surface Prep, available at all good decor and DIY stores . International Paints are one brand but there are others.
I did this myself some years ago on plain oak veneer and it worked out well. I used an eggshell finish.
Whatever else, be sure to take your time and apply the coats slowly and with a quality brush or roller with quality paint. A rushed job will be looking at you forever. Save the paint for touch-ups down the line.

Just did a quick search and ESP sounds great - have quite a large surface area to cover (blank side panels etc.) and not having to sand them would be a godsend.

As an aside though - is there anyone who would recommend sanding over using ESP?

Webbs

If your looking for a white/cream colour you could try 'Pointing' by Farrow and Ball in oil eggshell is a great colour. Really light without the harshness of a pure white.
Oh and we used the small gloss rollers to apply the paint, gave a much easier and better finish than brushes.
Best of luck with the project

Stevie Dakota

Webbs wrote: »

Oh and we used the small gloss rollers to apply the paint, gave a much easier and better finish than brushes.

I've always found rollers give a slightly 'hammered' finish which I don't like, when using rollers I would always smooth the paint after with VERY light brush strokes.

Webbs

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

I've always found rollers give a slightly 'hammered' finish which I don't like, when using rollers I would always smooth the paint after with VERY light brush strokes.

Yep am sure that would work great as well, me and my ham fists never managed it though, so stuck to the foam rollers and as you said as light a touch as possible is the key (I think the quality of paint also helps)

looksee

Wallyruns, did you paint the facing edges of the carcasses and the end panels?

Funkstard

So, I know what I'm doing with the faces. It's just the veneer for the edging of the shelving that I don't know about. I can't repaint them as some of it is in bad condition and has chipped off etc. If I could buy strips I'd be fairly confident that I could refix them easily. Where would you pick strips of it up?

Cheers

philboy

Hi,

These are instructions I wrote for a friend a year or so ago. Obviously, the colours are changed to whatever you prefer. I think you mentioned cream which is what the colour is below. Its a fantastic colour for kitchen units.

List of equipment:
2 X 2" or 1 1/2" brushes
1 artist brush (for wkward places i.e. around hinges etc...) - can get cheap set in euro shop for €2 that do the job.
sugar soap + scourer pad/heavy sponge,
ESP (Easy Srface Preparation) primer
1 tube of white decorator's caulk + caulk gun
1 litre of undercoat in bleached oak colour
3 litres of satin colourtrend bleached oak colour
2 sheets of 180 grade sandpaper

---

Method:
Remove handles/knobs from the doors & presses of the units. Lightly sand any areas of the units that ar rough or have lumps sticking out of them.

Start off by washing down the units thoroughly with sugar soap to remove ALL dirt/grease/grime. This is the most important part, if all of the grease etc... is not removed paint won't bond correctly and will chip off easily. Wash off all excess sugar soap with water on a sponge.

When units are dry, fill in any gaps in the wood or cracks with the caulk and wipe clean to a smooth finish. Remove excess caulk.

When caulk is dry, apply the ESP with a lint free cloth (instructions on the back of the bottle) & allow to dry.

When ESP dry, apply the undercoat, go back over what you have painted to check for runs or blobs of paint that have gathered and smooth out before it drys.

When undercoat has dried (allow minimum of 4 hours), you can apply first coat of satin paint, make sure to go back and check press numerous times up to 2 hours after press painted to check for runs. As satin is an oil-based paint it will run a lot more than undercoat and is harder to work with.

2 Coats of Satin must be applied. NB: Very important you must allow each coat of satin paint a day to dry before you apply the second coat.

In total: 1 coat of undercoat + 2 coats of satin.

Wally Runs

I painted whatever was exposed (not underneath). A change of handles works a treat too.