Painting Kitchen Cabinets? Many Wonderful Techniques to Reface Your Cabinets...
At last... this is where it all comes together in painting / staining kitchen cabinets!
Having readied your kitchen for painting, cleaned the door and drawer surfaces, stripped and sanded away old paint, dusted and filled - now it is time to prime, paint, stain, gloss, glaze or use many other painting techniques to add real value to your kitchen.
Please click on painted kitchen cabinets to be given our free professional information about all the readiness processes just mentioned.
Come back here for the actual painting or staining tips!
Steps for Painting / Staining...
First apply a light coat of primer. Slow-drying oil-based primers work well on close grained woods such as cherry and maple.
With more open grained woods -pine, for example,
use a thicker primer-ask at your hardware store. Sand and dust after using the primer.
Do I use oil or water-based paint?
....It's really your choice. Oil-based is more durable than water-based. Water-based paint is very easy to clean (just wash brushes and hands in the sink under warm water) but can soften
when exposed to heat.
But...a tip to keep in mind - never paint with water-based paint over oil-based.
Here is a quick test to see what paint has been used previously...
Use some denatured alcohol on a clean cloth and rub briskly.
If the paint comes off, it is almost certainly water-based. You can strip the timber back to bare completely if you want to, and go ahead with oil-based paint or water-based.
If the paint resists the rub, it is oil-based and should only have oil-based paint used after an oil-based primer.
After this, you can use both oil-based or water-based for the top coat.
it's a good idea to talk to your local paint store about these options for painting kitchen cabinets, if in doubt.
Stains, oils and varnishes...
Once you have stripped and sanded your old wooden cabinets, you'll see a most gorgeous grain coming up from beneath and contrasting tones within the wood. Even knots add to the beauty.
The smell of many freshly sanded timbers is so captivating that you'll want to leave the wood untouched until the scent dies away!
You can select either a stain which will lighten or darken your wood to the colour you prefer, or you and use a varnish to bring out the natural tones.
A great option is to use several coats of
an oil that will sink into the timber a little, giving a deep glowing sheen over the natural grains. You will be painting the kitchen cabinets with at least 3 coats.
To preserve this beautiful grainy look, and to enhance it always follow the direction of the grain when brush stroking.
You'll see how the grainy look comes up while brush-stroking your kitchen cabinets and the contrasts are heightened...we think that this is one of the best things you can do for cabinet finishes - it really looks exquisite to highlight the natural beauty of wood.
You'll need 2 or 3 coats, each time lightly sanding by hand with a very fine grained sandpaper.
Leave the last coat unsanded and Voila! Your cabinets and drawers look simply stunning!
When applying your chosen finishes in painting kitchen cabinets, remember to do the same to every part of cabinetry that will be visible.
To see how to get the most out of cabinet hardware or to uplift your existing hardware,see Kitchen cabinet hardware , and cabinet handles.
Lots more free information about kitchen cabinets
How to prepare cabinets for a facelift by painting
Free ideas and information about contemporary kitchen cabinets
See refacing cabinets for help on adding value and appeal to your cabinet surfaces
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