Oak Wood is so 90’s: Painting Cabinets

Kitchen BEFORE

I  know in 1991 oak was the apple of the 90’s homeowners eye; the desired wood in all new homes... and our 1991 hillside house was no different. It must have been the envy of the block because it was EVERYWHERE. Starting with our whole kitchen, on to our built-in entertainment center and finishing with both bathrooms. Being that there was no way we were going to replace all the finish wood in our house, I decided to paint it! Lucky, the cabinets are solid wood and the only particle board I had to paint were the shelves on the entertainment center, which I treated just the same. I did browse awhile (okay a long time), for what color I’d be painting all the wood in our house. I knew I wanted a dark color. So many shades to choose from and then finally it hit me! I’m going to paint the oak... ESPRESSO! I should have thought of this way sooner being that I love the color espresso for wood and my bed set is espresso (advice: if you're not sure what color to use, look at the color of your furniture and go with that). I looked all over the Internet, watched videos and read blogs on how to properly paint cabinets. So here is how you do it.

Step 1. Materials

Supplies

(All material was bought from Home Depot. The prices below are from memory)

-       Wood filler: For dents and deep scratches in your wood ($5)

-       Foam rollers: Lots of them if you have a big project like me.  They are reusable. I used  2 different sizes (4" and 6"). I wouldn’t use a paintbrush due to the lines it can make. Trust me, foam rollers are great for any kind of painting; including walls ($3-$4 for 2 packs).

-       Paint tray: and extra liners ($5)

-       Liquid Sandpaper: Klean-Strip Sander Deglosser. 1 bottle did my whole house with plenty left over. ($7)

-       Lint free cloth: Old Cotton Clothing. A piece that has been washed so many times, there definitely isn’t any lint left on it (free).

-       A drill

-       Painters plastic or old sheet(s) ($15 or free)

-       Primer: Killz Odorless Primer. This is an oil base primer. It’s definitely worth the extra few bucks for the odorless. Tint to match whatever color you’re doing ($32, I used .1 1/2 gallons for all my 90’s oak coverage).

-       Mineral spirits or Paint Thinner: Klean-Strip Paint Thinner. To clean the Killz primer since it’s oil based ($10).

-       Paint: I used Behr Premium Plus Ultra; Semi-Gloss. Color: Espresso Bean. This is latex based and works great. Clean with water ($35, I used 1 2/3 for my house).

Step 2. Prep

Removal of cabinet doors.

-    Take before Photo

-       Remove cabinet doors and hardware; don’t paint around your hardware you lazy son of a gun (we had to replace all of our hardware anyway since it was brass, go figure). This is easy with a drill.

-       Clean the cabinets and drawers with soap and water.

-       Follow Liquid Sandpaper directions using your lint free cloth.

-       Put your mineral spirits by the sink with a plastic container.

-       Lay down painters plastic in garage and set your cabinet doors on. 

Step 3. Paint

Primed drawers and cabinet structure.

-    Use foam roller and a lined paint tray, fill tray up with primer.

-       I started with the backside of the cabinet doors; paint one coat of primer and let dry an hour or so depending on temp in garage. Don’t forget to swipe the edges of your doors with the primer. The paint job can be uneven it doesn’t matter. 

-       Then prime drawers and the cabinet structure in the house. This is where the odorless primer is great. 

-       Once first coat of primer is dry, prime again and let dry overnight. 

-       Flip doors and repeat. The indoor stuff will be dry by now. 

-       Clean roller with paint thinner or throw away. 

-       Once all surfaces are dry, roll the first layer of paint on and let dry 

-       Roll second coat of paint and more if you need it (shouldn't with the Behr Ultra)

Step4: Warping up

-       Return hardware to cabinets OR buy new.

-    Hang door

o   The hinges we bought and are happy with: 

http://www.homedepot.com/Kitchen-Cabinets-Cabinet-Hardware-Cabinet-Hardware-Hinges/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbrdx/R-202066905/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202784204

o   New cabinet door knops:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202021093/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=cabinet%20knob%20packs&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202784163

o   New drawer pulls: 
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-100065462/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=drawer%20pulls&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202784263 -    

     -    Take an after photo

AND VOILA!

Kitchen AFTER

 

I love the results! I revamped all the wood in my house for about $300 (including all supplies, paint and hardware). I've now lived with this for a year and still love it.

Experiences and Insight:

Entertainment Center BEFORE

- We painted the kitchen in the the winter of 2010; so the cabinet doors were in the garage and took longer to dry because it was cold.
- They need to be touched up the more ware and tear the painted surfaces get.
- Keeping them clean helps the paints wear.
- The cabinets under the sink get watermarks on them but can be wiped away.
- Fingernails chip where the drawer pulls are. Just paint and looks like new.
- Dust is a little harder to get off of my entertainment center vs. a smoothly manufactured wood.
- You would think the natural wood grain would  be eaten up by the primer and paint but it isn't. You can still see the grain in the wood. People don't realize they're even painted. 

Entertainment Center AFTER