Refinishing Large Cabinets--Help Wanted!

[Rickochet]

OK, I know you really don't want to physically help, but you guys are always so good on supply advice!

I have 10' of wooden cabinets that are 7' tall and 2' deep. They have 5 doors and make will make some wonderful enclosed storage for my 32' X 32' garage. And the best thing--- they were free! We built this for our electrical equipment repair shop about 15 years ago. We have moved into a larger repair area and the cabinets are no longer needed, so I brought them home! They are painted a semi-gloss white oil base enamel.

I do not want to repaint them white! My shop is now partially finished in pine tongue & grove car siding stained in Puritan Pine which is a light stain. Part of it is still in the unfinished OSB. I want to somehow finish the cabinets in a wood or rustic look to allow them to blend in with the tongue & groove and OSB. I also do not want to sand the cabinets down and stain them.

What do you suggest for a finish? I am looking for a paint such as an antiquing or wood grain look with out the hassle of stripping. Maybe stripping would be a retirement project someday!

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[PassnThru]

Since you don't want to take them back down to bare wood (I wouldn't either) then I would either paint them black or another dark color to make them less prominent or a bright color to add color to the shop.

 

[MOPARINMYCAR]

Rick I dont think you will be able to make them look like you would like them to without lots of hardwork and money as they have been painted in the past. And to have them have the wood effect you are after you may aswell make new ones. I think the best easy solution would be a new coat of paint in a color that fits in with what you have

 

[Zeke]

Just prep them and paint with a low sheen acrylic. Let that cure for a few days and you can use just about anything to produce a faux finish to your liking.

Start with a mustard/tan for a base to get a wood tone. Glaze with a chocolate brown and drag an old brush at a steep angle to produce the wood grain. You can blot, re-grain and even add faux knots using tools made from a rag folded over a stick.

If you really want to get fancy, you can even reproduce the T&G look using some tape. You'll need to do each side of the "groove" separately and in different shades to get the 3D look.

Sky's the limit here.

Or re-skin them.

 

[birdman1]

I would opt for the new skins. You can rip Birch or knotty pine 1/4" plywood to cover the styles and rails of the cabinets and reskin or replace the doors. You can stain the new wood to match the walls, painting is somewhat easier and probable cheaper.If I were to paint, I would either use an oil based paint or prime with an oil base primer before using a latex paint. Then the paint will adhere better.