Painting Wood Cabinets

[fouroheight68]

I'm starting my garage overhaul this weekend, and one item on the list is painting the existing wood cabinets. These are 24 year old kitchen cabinets that the previous owner hung in the garage. They are physically in fine shape, but cosmetically need new finish. What is the best way to paint these? I was thinking to wipe them down with mineral spirits, sand them with 220 to roughen up the surface, rattle can prime and rattle can paint. Should I rent a sprayer instead? What paint is reccomended?

 

[67carl]

As I'm going to be doing the same thing shortly I'm keeping an eye on this. You can probably find this question asked and answered by doing a thread search. My plan is rather than rattle can paint I thought I would try using a HVLP spray gun. Never used one but thought this would be a good opportunity to try. This one from HF has gotten good reviews and it's cheap enough to give it a try without losing too much...

http://t.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hi...ravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html#.UytTRX-9KSM

Also, welcome to Garage Journal!

 

[48RON54]

I have been looking at my kitchen cabinets and thinking the same thing. Finish is shot. I can't afford new, so slapping a coat of white paint on them is I think my best option for now. I'd like to hear what others have to say on this topic as well....I was just going to brush/roll paint on but have been worried about how the finish will look.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I plan to paint my cabinets as well once I figure out a scheme, though red will likely be it. Spraying them in place might be tricky, and I think I'd probably recommend rolling on the paint instead. Semi-gloss would work well.

I have paneled doors since they are kitchen cabinets, but I think I'll see about replacing them with MDF simple panels with aluminum trim. That would be very easy to do and really make them look more industrial for a garage environment.

 

[blacksporty]

I did my kitchen cabinets with the Rustoleum Restore system, no sanding needed and been holding up in the kitchen just great for almost 2 years now. I think it would be fine for a garage...colors are more for in the house than garage though.

 

[Bondo]

I have been looking at my kitchen cabinets and thinking the same thing. Finish is shot. I can't afford new, so slapping a coat of white paint on them is I think my best option for now. I'd like to hear what others have to say on this topic as well....I was just going to brush/roll paint on but have been worried about how the finish will look.

Ayuh,.... Rustoleum, rattlecan industrial enamel,....

'bout 9 years ago, I bought a rental house, because it was to close to the house next door, I'd bought 6 months earlier,...

Anyways, it involved rehabbin' it for as close to a $00.00 budget as possible, caused I'd blown every nickle I had, buyin' the 1st house,...

To get 1 more lap outa the '50s vintage tin kitchen cabinets, I tented 'em right in the kitchen, 'n sanded, primed, 'n painted 'em,....

This is a fairly recent picture of 'em,...

Oh,.... btw,..... get 1 of those pistol grips that snap onto the can,...
Yer shootin' finger will Love ya for it,...

 

[countryroad82]

For me I don't hardly go much farther than wiping it down when it comes to prep work when I paint cabinets and such. I painted all the cabinets in my shop with Rustoleum, they are all metal, I wiped them down with lacquer thinner is about all I did (I just wanted one color then, didn't care if it lasted as I was in a hurry) and I sprayed them with a paint gun. That was about 7 years ago, they still look good, they get used just about every day, and sometimes they even get a scuff or 2, but not many. I just painted a small metal table and wood bookshelf for my wifey and I used about the same amount of prep work lol.

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

As I'm going to be doing the same thing shortly I'm keeping an eye on this. You can probably find this question asked and answered by doing a thread search. My plan is rather than rattle can paint I thought I would try using a HVLP spray gun. Never used one but thought this would be a good opportunity to try. This one from HF has gotten good reviews and it's cheap enough to give it a try without losing too much...

http://t.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hi...ravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html#.UytTRX-9KSM

Also, welcome to Garage Journal!

I did my house kitchen cabinets with the HF gun I put a primer on first on the oak cabinets but first washed them down with TSP and some where lightly sanded then after primer I put a semigloss yellow for the wifes choice. Job came out great very time consuming I cut up dozens of 2x4 blocks and put long drywall screws threw the blocks to support the doors while I painted

 

[Mach5]

I've been thinking about picking up some cabinets second hand to put into my garage, and was thinking that rather than try to refinish in wood tones (i.e., varnish and clear coat) that I'd paint them. So, this is a timely topic for me, too. I was thinking I'd just roller the cabinets. Seems most interior house paint these days is latex, which bonds well and is fairly durable, but I was wanting to end up with a higher gloss finish that would make the cabinets look like metal instead of wood. Anyone have a favorite product that achieves this result?

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear how others fair with HVLP sprayers, too, as that might be an option for me to paint prior to installation.

 

[mroe21877]

check out Benjamin Moores alkyd enamel paint - Satin Impervo. i redid kitchen cabs with the oil base and a foam roller. for the larger door areas you can spray outside. The paint cures hard like an enamel and is sponge washable. the base color is a cream off white which we liked so we didnt even tint it. i think i added a little floetrol to help it self flatten. turned out perfect.

i think they make waterborne too versions too.

 

[shannonw]

I sprayed new trim before putting in my garage with the cheapie hf HVLP, worked fine, it was latex so watered it down some (no science just made sure it ran off the stick good enough). Gotta do a few coats as it will be very thin.

 

[67carl]

I would recommend reading the Most Helpful reviews on the HF HVLP gun. I found a lot of helpful tips and tricks that will get you better results.

Whichever of you guys does his cabinets first, come back and post on this thread what and how you did it.

I hope to do mine in the next couple weeks. Depending on my contractor.

 

[info2x]

check out Benjamin Moores alkyd enamel paint - Satin Impervo. i redid kitchen cabs with the oil base and a foam roller. for the larger door areas you can spray outside. The paint cures hard like an enamel and is sponge washable. the base color is a cream off white which we liked so we didnt even tint it. i think i added a little floetrol to help it self flatten. turned out perfect.

i think they make waterborne too versions too.

If you want to stay away from Oil look at BM Advance.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

...Should I rent a sprayer instead? What paint is recommended?

If you have to rent a sprayer that means you don't own a compressor. Skip spraying for this one time job.

DON'T "wipe down with mineral spirits" - it contains oils. Wash them with a good degreaser, dry and sand as you planned to remove the largest glops or obvious damage

THEN, roll with one of those small disposable foam rollers with Rustoleum Hammer finish paint. There aren't a lot of colors but I've used their black (which is actually a dark charcoal) on my bench top, and their silver on some structural steel in my garage and it is rock hard. I did two coats on my bench top and the label say to wait like 5 or 7 days (eek!) but it was worth it. Hard as nails. Highly recommended and cheap as can be. The "hammer" finish makes the paint feel a little "gooey" while you're rolling it, just move fast and leave it alone to dry. You'll love it. (Photos later, I'm at work)

 

[astroracer]

I primed and painted this with a 4" brush. Used a gloss enamel top coat.

Mark

 

[Mach5]

Mark-that's pretty nice. Again I'm thinking I want a high gloss paint that will make the cabinets look like metal. For this reason I'm wondering if it might be better to use an enamel paint.

I want this not only for the look but also because I want a surface that is resistant to chemicals and staining and that is easy to clean.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[G McKay]

I wouldn't use spray paint of cabinets. It would be too expensive. I would either use a solid stain or paint them with a brush. If they are rough, you would probably need to sand them first. You might also want to primer them with a coat of Kilz before you put the final coat on them.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Close up of my Rustoleum Hammered finish as promised:



Rock hard, durable as all get out!

 

[JDishong]

Mark-that's pretty nice. Again I'm thinking I want a high gloss paint that will make the cabinets look like metal. For this reason I'm wondering if it might be better to use an enamel paint.

I want this not only for the look but also because I want a surface that is resistant to chemicals and staining and that is easy to clean.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

You may want to consider Acrylic sheet covering. Acrylic sheets cost about $5/sq ft and it comes in a few colors. You simply cut to fit then glue it to your faces. It works best for 'flat' doors. I plan to do my cabinets using Clear Lexan. I will paint the faces a color using brush or spray and then overlay the lexan sheet. This does require a mechanical fastener which adds a little more cost but the finish is high gloss with very little effort.

Of course you could always do a "auto finish process" where you apply color then clear followed by hours of sanding and re-applying clear until you have the mirror finish ... way too much work.
I am probably 3 weeks from finishing mine.

 

[BMcC]

My cabinets were old kitchen cabinets. I sanded them down and stained the cases and frames and painted the insert with Rustoleum Hammered Silver.
I used an enamel paint on the inside where the cabinets actually get most of their wear.

From my experience, I wouldn't bother with spraying them. Sand, prime, and paint with a foam roller.

Here's a link to my garage build, (I should probably update it).

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149316

 

[htchevyii]

If you want latex, they make primers for painting of wood paneling and such that adhere really well. We used it on all of our interior doors and it works great. For anything that will be touched a lot with greasy hands and needs to be cleanable, consider a gloss or semi gloss oil based product, it will last longer and be easier to clean, but nastier to apply. If you go to a professional painters forum, that is al that they use for high wear areas.