Best paint for cabinet and drawer interior?

[PCustoms]

Trying to wrap up some winter projects (damn, did I really start these 3 years ago?) and am down to the paint.

What's the best option for durable, easy to apply paints? This is for drawer interiors, so needs to hold up daily use, spills and household cleaners.

Boxes are currently primed with shellac based primer.

 

[four.cycle]

UGH.

If you absolutely have to paint the inside surfaces of drawers or cabinets that are going to be subjected to the sort of wear and tear you're going to see from sliding gallon paint cans around, spilling "Simple Green" on top of dishwasher detergent, etc....

You are going to want to go with an alkyd-base ("oil-base") type paint.

Really.

You're not going to see it, so you really don't need to be too picky about color, right?

Mis-matched paint sells dirt cheap at paint stores. Find the best brand you can - feel free to mix any whites with any yellows and pinks, but avoid greens and blues (colors will get muddy.)
My mother's garage ended up a very pale creamy mustard yellow color - looked fabulous. The drawers and cabinets took about a week to dry hard, but wore quite well for the 15+ years they were in that house.

 

[PCustoms]

You're not going to see it, so you really don't need to be too picky about color, right?

The set I'm currently working on is for a bathroom vanity, so clean white.

Wish I had fabbed my own boxes from maple. Going precut ply ended up being just as much work and they need to be painted, where maple would have been 3 coats of matte poly.

 

[PCustoms]

What's the difference between alkyd enamel and enamel?

I have a fresh gallon, plus at least another 1/2, of enamel I for trim.

To get the alkyd I'm either looking at a road trip or waiting for it to ship to store.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You are going to want to go with an alkyd-base ("oil-base") enamel type paint.

ABSOLUTELY !

A good paint store will have enamel hardener. The results are almost as good as epoxy paint.

Also look for "implement" paint (you know tractors, bulldozers, etc). Limited colors, but tough. Available in spray cans.

 

[PCustoms]

Guys, this is kitchen/bath.

Tractor paint isn't what I'm looking for....

 

[four.cycle]

the correct term is "alkyd enamel".
"oil based" is something of a misnomer in the current era, even though the base is made from petroleum products.

sorry... I thought you were talking about something for a utility cabinet - like a garage or shop.

but anywhere you're going to have hard objects sliding back and forth on an interior drawer surface: you're either going to want an enamel or polyurethane finish if you want it to hold up for any length of time.

 

[Stobal]

Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo has been my go to for jobs like this. Once cured it is very hard and it applies very well so it’s easy to do a good looking job.

 

[strutaeng]

Guys, this is kitchen/bath.

Tractor paint isn't what I'm looking for....

PPG Breakthrough is a bad a$$ paint for cabinets. I bought a gallon of black for an AV cabinet. Did 2 or 3 coats with a brush/roller. I drag my receiver over shelve and absolutely no damage. Very impressed. Dries fast too.

I used BM Advanced for my kitchen cabinets, maybe 7 years ago. But PPG Breakthrough is going to be my go-to from now on. Advance dries very slow and yellows a tiny bit on the whites, kinda similar to the old oil alkyds. Only downside is Breakthrough is pretty spendy. IIRC almost $90/gallon and they don't sell quarts, at least not at my local PPG store.

 

[PCustoms]

Two good recommendations, just neither available locally.

Sherwin Williams or home Depot are my only options. The rest of the vanity is a mix of rattle can and behr cabinet paint (had to switch when the color went unavailable for months). Tempting to get another can of the cabinet enamel, but painting drawers *****.

Trying to up my finishing game before any new projects too.

 

[GeoBruin]

PPG Breakthrough is a bad a$$ paint for cabinets. I bought a gallon of black for an AV cabinet. Did 2 or 3 coats with a brush/roller. I drag my receiver over shelve and absolutely no damage. Very impressed. Dries fast too.

I used BM Advanced for my kitchen cabinets, maybe 7 years ago. But PPG Breakthrough is going to be my go-to from now on. Advance dries very slow and yellows a tiny bit on the whites, kinda similar to the old oil alkyds. Only downside is Breakthrough is pretty spendy. IIRC almost $90/gallon and they don't sell quarts, at least not at my local PPG store.

Breakthrough is unbelievably durable. I had an experience that is too embarrassing to describe in detail, but it amounts to a queen size murphy bed I had painted with Breakthrough being pulled off the wall and crashing down onto an oak floor. After it was stood back up, there wasn't a mark on it.

I use it for all cabinets, doors and trim with excellent results. It dries crazy fast so ive started mixing in a little extender to make the working time a little longer, and I thin it with water when I spray it.

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

If only Sherwin available then go with the Pro-Classic hybrid paint. It's like BM Advance. It's oil based paint, so it should lay flat, have good workability, and get a hard oil coat, but cleans up with soap and water.

 

[bwringer]

Go to the Sherwin-Williams store and tell the nice person behind the counter what you're up to. Buy what they recommend.

Don't try that at Home Despot...