I’ve made the cabinets for a couple of kitchens in the past but with all of them I clear-finished the wood cabinets with varnish. The next kitchen I’ll be doing requires a painted finish for the exterior of the cabinets. I’ll probably clear-finish the interior (birch-plywood for the boxes and maple for the drawer sides) but was wondering what would be the best paint to use on the exterior of the cabinets which will likely be poplar?
I would like something durable which would stand up well for kitchen use. However, I’m also considering soft colonial colors in a matte or egg-shell finish. In my experience, paints with less gloss are also less durable. I suppose the painted surface could be top-coated with an egg-shell vanish but that may yellow the cabinets and would be a fair amount of extra work. Any other ideas?
Chip
Replies
Durability is a combination of a couple of things. First you need a good primer. Then I think I would look at a "washable" type paint they are designed for a little more surface toughness. They are also more likely to be avalable in the "softer" finishes.
Check with your local paint distributors (not the box store) like Sherwin-Williams, Glidden, or Behr they know their product and should be able to give you some good advice.
Jim
Chiptam,
Ditto advice to stay out of the box stores. Highly recommend Sherwin Williams. We have used their "Pro Classic" product with great results but I would not rule out other products. Good luck.
Mack
In my home, all painted wood gets oil base primer with oil base top coat. It is much more durable, "scrubbable", and can be easily sanded for repair down the road. You can also get a smoother finish because oil has a longer wet time which allows it to self-level better than water base.
Gloss is the hardest finish. Avoid anything flat for such work. Satin and semi gloss may be fine. I have yet to see a water base paint that has as durable a finish as good old fashioned oil base.
Any one that tells you that oil is difficult to work with needs to learn a few pointers themselves. Yes; it will take more time because of the longer drying time but this does not mean more actual time spent doing the work. You just have to schedule in some wait time between coats.
Much of the technology that goes into water base paint is in trying to mimic some of the inherent qualities of oil. The only thing better about water base in the final product is that it is usually more color-fast and it allows water vapor to pass (helpful when painting exterior wood siding).
Kitchen cabinet doors get handled a lot. You are better off with a product that can take the abuse and scrubbing. I agree with the advise about going to a "real" paint store. They usually have better products. Also, avoid oil products that are labeled as "fast drying". The slow drying is part of the benefit in my mind (better penetration and leveling).
Some will say that brushes are harder to clean. I disagree. While in-process, I seldom clean my brushes. Instead, I suspend them in a jar of mineral spirits (using a small spring clamp clamping the brush to the side of a jar). Don't just toss the brush into the jar. Otherwise the tip will get clogged with paint and may also get deformed. I do not have to do a thorough cleaning until the end of the project. Then I soak the brush for another day in the MS. Then cycle through several rinsings in 2 or 3 progressively cleaner jars of MS. I let the paint settle out and pour off the clean, throwing the left over paint in the bottom of the jar away. Very little solvent is actually consumed in the process.
Ditto what the others have said so far....
And you might want to check out oil based Polyurethane paints. Like the clear poly that we use in various wodworking projects, this stuff has some advantages over "normal" oil paints. (And since it has pigments, our normal complaint of a lack of clarity is a moot point.)
I used a poly-paint for the first time recently, and it was a very good experience. And the level of gloss that's possible is amazing.
And in addition to looking at Sherwin Williams, see if there is a Duron dealer in your town. If so, they will be at least as good as SW.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
I agree 100%. I remodeled our kitchen about 10 years ago. Instead of putting in new cabinetry, I fixed up and painted what we had. I used a urathane fortified oil base high gloss product. It still looks as good today as it did when it was new. Probably the biggest drawback is the smell. Be sure you do the painting at a time you can open all the windows. One technique I like is to use a small roller to apply the paint. This leaves a slight orange peel surface that tends to cut the shine from the glossy finish. I like it. Some don't. But the high gloss product is almost a must in the kitchen. Any thing else will not be as easily cleaned. BTW, the new work was done with poplar. That stuff takes paint beautifully. Love it!
Good Luck,
Bill
Chip, check out finishing forums. Somewhere I read that pigmented laquer was an excellent finish for cabinets. Probably have to spray.I have never tried pigmented laquer myself.
mike
Chip, I painted our cabinets about 6 years ago with Porter Alkyd Satin Oil base over their oil base primer. It has held up extremely well and withstands a pretty hard scrubbing when needed. I keep a touch up jar for the few places that get extra hard abuse like the top edges of some of the lower doors. I didn't have a sprayer at the time so I used a 4" roller to get the paint on quickly and then brushed out the orange peel with a wet edged quality brush.
Thanks to everyone for the replies to my question. I agree that a high gloss paint will be the most durable. However, the kitchen I'm doing is part of the restoration of a nineteenth-century salt-box home and I think that an egg-shell or satin finish would look more appropriate.
I'll probably end up with an oil primer and oil top-coat. I'll check out the various brands mentioned in your replies. I've used oil paint fortified with poly in the past for floors and decks but I suspect it may produce too high a gloss for my purpose. I'll also check out the lacquer paint mentioned in one of the posts. I don't own spraying equipment but a friend has a HVLP system. Have any you tried top-coating a painted surface with a satin polyurethane? I may experiment with that process to see how much it changes the look or the color of the finish. Again, many thanks for your replies.
Chip
I sell paint for a living (I own a True Value Hardware Store). Any good quality paint will work. I have 3 rules:
1. Always prime a premium primer (Oil or latex, when they are properly dried and cured it doesn't matter.)
2. Repeat rule number one.
3. Did I tell you to prime.
Once you've primed use a premium quality top coat. I prefer latex for its ease of clean up. Remember that the more sheen the finish has, the easier it is to clean and keep clean. I would use no less than satin, but prefer semi-gloss. I'm not sure of other brands but I know that our Tru-Test paint comes in a semi-gloss kitchen and bath formulation that, as well as being easy to clean, will with stand light cleaning solutions and has mildew inhibitors.
Make sure to soften all edges to avoid chipping. Paint does not like 90 degree corners, a nice 1/16" round over works well. And paint/ finish all surfaces wood to avoid peeling paint and wood movement.
I've had good luck with a formula I got out of a Highland Hardware catalog some years ago.
You mix 6 parts latex paint, 3 parts polyurethane, and 1 part water. Use a drip cup if you plan to spray the mix. It gives a finish that is opaque but high gloss and really tough. The water component is to make it spray better, and retard drying time ( better self-levelling).
Like all poly finishes, it is not easy to repair, though, and that's a serious disadvantage in some applications.
I found that it is important to prime the surface well, and DON'T sand past about 100 grit. I use Behr products almost exclusively, and they're not kidding when they say to let the primer dry for 12 - 24 hours to ensure that knots don't telegraph through.
Hope this is of some help
I've been well satisfied with Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic line.
Use the Pro-Classic primer too. I like latex in both. No odor after drying.
Shoot one coat of primer, sand to 150, shoot another. Shoot a minimum of 2 coats of semi gloss top coat. Three is better. I have to thin the primer about 10%, and the semi-gloss 20% to get a good pattern.
We had our dark wood kitchen cabinets painted 5 years ago. They were installed 20 years ago so had a lot of cooking wear on them. The painter scrubbed them, the applied XIM primer which he lauded as the best he knew of. Then painted with a small foam roller with eggshell finish oil paint (don't know the brand). He would have preferred to spray but could not. They look close enough to "spray" as anything I could have wanted. The paint has held up exceptionally well--dinged around edges some places. I just had it all washed down--good wearing.Gretchen
I used Pratt & lambert oil based primers and top coats .Eggshell for top coat 2 primer coats and 3 top coats each thinned and sanded with 220 and tacked between coats .Inside the doors I sprayed white melamine paint outside I wanted the slight texture of the brush.The kitchen is now 10 years old and still looks great.One suggestion is pick knobs that have some sort of escutchion plate as nothing looks worse than paint clawed off by fingernails!Ihad to pay over the odds to get ceramic knobs with an escutchion.
I would use a white or colored w/b poly. It is very durable and will look great. ive only used white so far but I loved it. Check out enduro coat at http://www.compliantspraysystems.com
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