did you paint kitchen cabinets?

[Anonymous]

Second above. Friend who is highly particular about house did it and used a very expensive contractor to paint. They look the right color now, but still look "painted".

[Anonymous]

I painted ours. Looks great. Used an oil based paint and primer where you didn't have to sand.

10 years later, the only areas showing wear are the utensil drawer.

It was a very inexpensive way to update the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it.

I have seen everything from a DIY job to the best painter/refinisher and they all look crappy. The homeowner always swoons and thinks they look great, but I promise, without the rose colored glasses, it looks terrible.

I hate agreeing with this, because I really don't want to, but I do. And I, too, have painted cabinets white.

[Anonymous]

We did it, it honestly looks great. But, you have to know what you're doing. Even experienced professional painters frequently don't have the skills necessary for truly good work when it comes to cabinets. I had someone in the family show us how. It took 80 hours with three people working. Admittedly, our kitchen is huge. We used an acrylic epoxy and watered it down for the second and third coats.

[Anonymous]

This is not a DIY job. Unless your kitchen is specifically MEANT to look homespun, you will never be able to match the smooth factory finish sprayed in a clean room. Site work just can't compete.

If you MUST do it, be sure your overall style is agreeable to brushstrokes, because your final paint finish will show them.

[Anonymous]

Hired a professional, changed the pulls and WALA! Your painters should be of the quality to be explain their prep methods , i.e. filling for dents, etc. No cheap paint. Lighter colors turn out better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hired a professional, changed the pulls and WALA! Your painters should be of the quality to be explain their prep methods , i.e. filling for dents, etc. No cheap paint. Lighter colors turn out better.

Wala?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not a DIY job. Unless your kitchen is specifically MEANT to look homespun, you will never be able to match the smooth factory finish sprayed in a clean room. Site work just can't compete.

If you MUST do it, be sure your overall style is agreeable to brushstrokes, because your final paint finish will show them.

No brushstrokes in mine. White, maintained the woodgrain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not a DIY job. Unless your kitchen is specifically MEANT to look homespun, you will never be able to match the smooth factory finish sprayed in a clean room. Site work just can't compete.

If you MUST do it, be sure your overall style is agreeable to brushstrokes, because your final paint finish will show them.

No brushstrokes here. We used a commercial sprayer that we rented from Sherwin Williams. Completely even and consistent. Looks like a factory finish and then we used wax and then flat poly over.

Guaranteed thst you'd have a very hard time knowing these cabinets were not factory finish unless you opened the doors since I didn't do the interior.

I used thinned out chalk paint by the way.

[Anonymous]

We paid prefessionals to do ours in a condo we own before putting it on the market. It looks nice, but I can see brushstroke and I realized I don't like the look of white on woodgrain (they are oak). I'm glad we did it because we've had lots of compliments on our updated kitchen, but I wouldn't do it in our own home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hired a professional, changed the pulls and WALA! Your painters should be of the quality to be explain their prep methods , i.e. filling for dents, etc. No cheap paint. Lighter colors turn out better.

Wala?

I think she meant "Voila"

[Anonymous]

You can DIY it successfully but with time and patience. I did it for my townhouse kitchen which had dark stained oak cabinets in good shape. I removed all hardware to paint, used primer, and then 3 coats of the self-leveling Cabinet Coat paint. Then hardware went back on. Looked beautiful and I only regret not doing it sooner, as soon thereafter I got married and we moved away (to a house with horrible painted oak cabinets, which meant we had to remodel the whole kitchen). But, I was single at the time, and could take my time with the coats and living without a kitchen. If not in that situation, IKEA may be a good choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a DIY job. Unless your kitchen is specifically MEANT to look homespun, you will never be able to match the smooth factory finish sprayed in a clean room. Site work just can't compete.

If you MUST do it, be sure your overall style is agreeable to brushstrokes, because your final paint finish will show them.

No brushstrokes here. We used a commercial sprayer that we rented from Sherwin Williams. Completely even and consistent. Looks like a factory finish and then we used wax and then flat poly over.

Guaranteed thst you'd have a very hard time knowing these cabinets were not factory finish unless you opened the doors since I didn't do the interior.

I used thinned out chalk paint by the way.

NP. I've considered doing it myself (although I don't know if I have the skills to avoid the DIY look) but I don't know what to do about the interior. If I only do the doors, wouldn't it look weird/cheap to see oak colored wood every time I open the doors?

[Anonymous]

My SIL has done that.
It looks very beautiful. Yes, it does not have the smooth sprayed factory finish, but, the brushstrokes look great, and the color looks amazing.

She painted it herself, and did not do too much prep either. She also changed the knobs and the whole look is very elegant and expensive. I think it depends on the overall decor of your kitchen. She has mad skills in decorating and it all gells beautifully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a DIY job. Unless your kitchen is specifically MEANT to look homespun, you will never be able to match the smooth factory finish sprayed in a clean room. Site work just can't compete.

If you MUST do it, be sure your overall style is agreeable to brushstrokes, because your final paint finish will show them.

No brushstrokes here. We used a commercial sprayer that we rented from Sherwin Williams. Completely even and consistent. Looks like a factory finish and then we used wax and then flat poly over.

Guaranteed thst you'd have a very hard time knowing these cabinets were not factory finish unless you opened the doors since I didn't do the interior.

I used thinned out chalk paint by the way.

NP. I've considered doing it myself (although I don't know if I have the skills to avoid the DIY look) but I don't know what to do about the interior. If I only do the doors, wouldn't it look weird/cheap to see oak colored wood every time I open the doors?

I sprayed the doors and frames. I specifically did not spray the inside. I have no problem with the look because I don't keep my doors open.

All in all, spraying gives them such a beautiful look. I've since sprayed a few pieces of hold furniture and sold the former junk pieces for over $100. With the sprayer and good wax technique ( I do surface tops with poly ) it certainly looks factory finish.