painting cabinets

[cabin fever]

I have some older kitchen cabinets I got for free. They are all in good shape, just old, and 70's dark walnut finish. I would like to paint them all black.

I'm not looking for show quality finish, but don't want to make them look worse.

Could I spray them with primer, and then go over with black satin spray paint rattle cans? Or am I better off trying to brush/roll? I plan to remove the doors, and hardware.

Here is a pic to kinda give you an idea.

 

[Olliboll]

I have a friend who started to fix in his basement after I started in my garage, he has been spray painted all his, but in your case you should probably use a roller and brush, it becomes thicker and you dont have to painted it so many times.

 

[oldcarfamily]

Painted my old garage cabinets with an oil base paint from Lowes (black). The oil base adheres to the wood better and didn't require much prep, simply wiped them down with paint thinner/mineral spirits. Have been holding up for 10+ years now.

 

[CNGsaves]

I have a friend who started to fix in his basement after I started in my garage, he has been spray painted all his, but in your case you should probably use a roller and brush, it becomes thicker and you dont have to painted it so many times.

^ ^ ^ +1 for above . . . but after . . you've done surface preparation by sanding off the sheen from prior finish.

 

[gungatim]

other alternative is using a wagner power sprayer and latex paint. I did a basement that way (concrete walls) and ended up spraying the old cabinets and electrical box while I was at it. It came out extremely smoothe...spray cans may not be compatible with whatever finish is on the cabinets, may lift or soften, hard to say what was originally used would be compatible with the solvent in the spray can...either way degloss first with liquid sandpaper...

 

[buspilot23]

I did the same thing with some old kitchen cabinets I purchased from a seller on craigslist. After installing them I lightly sanded and rolled on some dark brown oil-based paint. I purposely wanted a high sheen, otherwise I think latex would have worked just fine.

Here are some pictures of those cabinets (sorry, not the best photos--they were taken to illustrate something different in a different thread) nonetheless, you get the idea.

One warning. . . fumes. These cabinets smelled like oil-based paint for about two weeks. Now seven years later, they still look great. Touch-up in the event of a nick or a scratch has been a breeze.

 

[Bondo]

I have some older kitchen cabinets I got for free. They are all in good shape, just old, and 70's dark walnut finish. I would like to paint them all black.

I'm not looking for show quality finish, but don't want to make them look worse.

Could I spray them with primer, and then go over with black satin spray paint rattle cans? Or am I better off trying to brush/roll? I plan to remove the doors, and hardware.

Here is a pic to kinda give you an idea.

Ayuh,.... No problem,.... Sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, paint,...

Bein' a fan of Rustoleum, I'd sand smooth, prime with hi-build red oxide primer, sand smooth, inspect for pits, bumps, or the grain suckin' in the primer,...
If the surface is Smooth, paint 'em with the rattlecan enamel,...
If it ain't Smooth enough, continue to prime, 'n sand, til it is,....

I suggest ya buy one of those plastic handles that snaps onto the can, to form a spray gun,...

I refinished a set of steel 1950s kitchen cabinets a few years ago, 'n without the snap-on plastic handle, the finger cramps were unbelievably painful,...
The snap-on handle helped immensely,...

 

[rian]

I'm a fan of rolling ang brushing exterior trim enamel semi gloss. Ben Moore soft gloss is the best. If done right with correct tools they will have the look of a sprayed cabinet.

 

[cabin fever]

Thanks. I'm gonna give it a go this weekend. Think I will go the brush/roll route. I'll prime them first, but my cabinets don't really have a "grain" to them, they are smooth, so I think it will work out good.

My garage also has a 2ft concrete block wall at the bottom, I plan to paint the same, and my TV shelf, and work bench are all the same color as well. Should look good, when its done. I'll get some pictures while I start it.

Nothing else to do in the 15" of snow we have gotten so far. Wife has to work this weekend, I plan to hang in the garage, and drink, and paint!

 

[cabin fever]

Well got em done. Turned out to be a much bigger project then I anticipated. We ended up going with latex primer / paint.

In the end I didn't like the way it turned out. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the brush strokes from showing. I got frustrated, and ended up spraying the doors, and it turned out much better. I think I would have been much better off just brushing on an oil based primer, and then spraying directly over that. Live, and Learn. It turned out ok, and is much better then the brown.

We lightly sanded everything first. Then primed, then painted. My wife was pretty happy, as she got 2 extra drawers for her craft stuff, and made some room in her tool box. recruited the neighbor to help Friday night. Payment was in the form of beer. I forgot to get a picture of the final product. I'll post one later.

 

[Catadj78]

Well got em done. Turned out to be a much bigger project then I anticipated. We ended up going with latex primer / paint.

In the end I didn't like the way it turned out. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the brush strokes from showing. I got frustrated, and ended up spraying the doors, and it turned out much better. I think I would have been much better off just brushing on an oil based primer, and then spraying directly over that. Live, and Learn. It turned out ok, and is much better then the brown.

We lightly sanded everything first. Then primed, then painted. My wife was pretty happy, as she got 2 extra drawers for her craft stuff, and made some room in her tool box. recruited the neighbor to help Friday night. Payment was in the form of beer. I forgot to get a picture of the final product. I'll post one later.