ideagirl ... I so want to paint my kitchen cabinets (just NOT there yet!!); but, I have just recently seen the Anne Sloan Chalk Paint and it looks like it would be great for cabinets.

I did email one company and they said it is ideal for kitchen cabinets. The thing is, you paint (2 coats) and put 3 coats of wax on them for protection. This paint so intrigues me!!

Let us know what you do!!

jody

I don't know the answer, ideagirl, but I had the same reaction to the painted finishes in the showrooms. Maybe it depends on the manufacturer and the paint quality, but the ones I have seen don't look like traditional painted wood to me either. I suspect the sprayed-on perfect-looking factory finishes are more durable than anything we could do at home, but I am still leaning toward painting my own doors just so I can have that old-timey brushed look. (I am willing to bet, though, that most homebuyers would much rather have a sleek factory job than to see brush marks, if they like paint at all. On a local forum I am on, people have commented that they would NEVER buy a kitchen with painted white cabinets, because they look so cheap. lol!)

I don't remember if you are thinking about IKEA, but when I looked at their doors I did notice one that actually looked like painted wood -- the Ramsjo white. It is more of a whitewash that lets the wood grain show through, so it would not suit everyone's style; but the salesperson in kitchens that day told me that it would be easier to repaint in the future than some of their other finishes.

I've heard of people hand-painting over a sprayed finish. That way, you get the supposed durability of the sprayed finish as well as the more "authentic" hand-painted look. The hand painting also makes it easier to touch up dings and scratches later, since you'll already have brush strokes on the cabinets.

I know exactly what you mean!! And then if you google DIY tips for painting cabinets, it seems like everyone is TRYING for that flawless airbrushed look and stressing about brush marks. I don't get it. Maybe it's because I've grown up in old houses, but I want painted woodwork to look like a human being actually painted it! We built our pantry cabs ourselves and I painted them with Ben Moore Aura paint. I rolled and tipped the paint out with a high-quality brush, and I'm very happy with the slight brush marks and hand-made-ness that resulted...

Ideagirl,
I couldn't agree with you more about the aesthetics of factory applied painted finishes.
And call me insane, because I hand painted my own custom cabinetry to get the look I wanted. I worked with my cabinetmaker who primed and scuff-sanded everything for me. Then, after all the cabinets had been fitted and installed, I gradually painted our kitchen, bit by bit. The Blum hardware we opted for throughout meant I could remove doors and drawer fronts with ease. My cabinetmaker built some of the cupboards so I could easily remove the inset side panels and waited to caulk some seams until I'd finished. My only regret is that I didn't get my cabinetmaker to spray just one coat of the paint over the primer, which would've saved quite a bit of time.
I love that the hand painted finish can be easily touched up, or even changed completely down the road. I used Farrow and Ball paint in their eggshell finish in Slipper Satin and Off-Black. The degree of sheen is beautiful. The look is polished, but handpainted--a big contrast to many of the factory finishes.
I don't have a photo loaded of my black island, but here's one of my upper glass cabinets in F&B slipper satin:

I also spec'ed Farrow and Ball and used Hardwick White. The cabinetmaker sprayed them, so while they don't have brushmarks, they have a beautiful hand that is unique to F&B. Also extremely durable--when something spills I take the scrubby side of a sponge to it and it cleans up so easily. We were finished in late August and use our kitchen very hard, and so far it's holding up great.

Find a cabinet maker than will brush the finish instead of spray it, and use a less glossy finish. A low sheen is more "touchable", but you want to be sure if you decide on a more matte finish that you use "scrubbable' paint or else do a matte clear coating on top.

Paint them yourself or have a painter paint them. You are right the cabs that come in colors from companies do have a baked on like finish. We used oil based BM satin impervo, though our cabs are red not white. We also used this paint on all of our woodwork and get a lot of good comments on the paint.

Maybe it's because I've grown up in old houses, but I want painted woodwork to look like a human being actually painted it!

I honestly wanted that too. I wanted that "like Grandma's kitchen" feeling, that my own grandmother had in her farmhouse.

I was overwhelmed by how much work it was going to be to get the look I wanted (by work, I mean, my doing the work). So I'm not going to have it in my current remodel. I'm ok with that though. Maybe someday it'll already be in the house I buy. That'll make it easier. :-)

--Lee

Nicely done honorbiltkit! That's precisely the look I love.

I agree with several other posters, a satin finish is a very nice look. Not too shiny, not to dull. Using a primer is alot of extra work but you will be glad you did.

I want the hand brushed look too! Here is what I asked my contractor for -- 2 coats sprayed primer / paint and then 1 coat hand brushed. It will be a pain, but we are going to make the extra effort (and pay the extra $) because the look is worth it to me. Turns out, the cabinet-maker doesn't spray paint -- only lacquer. Apparently, they are different and he was concerned that using paint in his lacquer / spray equipment would mess it up. So, we are having the cabinet-maker deliver the cabinets unfinished, then having them painted in place. A painter will spray them twice and then hand brush. It will be extra work for the painter because he will have to tape everything off in the kitchen. Also, we're using the oil-based Impervo eandhl mentioned above, so I expect it will be stinky. I think if I'd known about the lacquer / paint issue with the cabinet-maker, I'd have chosen a different cabinet-maker. Anyway, I hope my cabinets look as nice as honorbiltkit's! Beautiful!

Markar, my cabinetmaker had also only used lacquer. I insisted that I wanted the Farrow and Ball and he didn't have any problems with his equipment. For a couple of pieces he ran out of the F&B primer and used his lacquer primer tinted to match before putting on the eggshell topcoats. It turned out just fine. Call him up and nag him some more. :-)

Oh wait...just noticed that you are using oil-based paint. That could explain his concern.

Ideagirl I love painted cabinets also, I highly recoomend them. In our last house, which was a 1784 Federal style in an historic district, painted cabinets just seemed the most appropriate. We had them made by a local cabinet maker and our painter did a spray on finish using a Benjamin Moore oil base in a cranberry color, at that point we had 3 kids under 5. The finish held up perfectly even with the addition of a 4th child. After about 8 years I decided my house was noisy enough and I needed to quiet down the kitchen color scheme. Even though the room was quite large I felt the cranberry cabinets, the blue and white harlequin painted floor and the cranberry and blue flowered wallpaper though beautiful together were all screaming at me when I entered the kitchen. Our painter at that point hand painted the cabinets cream and the island black and I went with a cream, black and soft apple green color scheme. Once again we used a BM oil paint. The upkeep, even though the color was much lighter remained simple, just a damp cloth wiping any spill.
We are now in the process of a complete kitchen gut job in our new house and my cabinet choice is the only thing I have not been indecisive about, they will be painted. Your description of factory finish paint jobs was perfect. That is why my advice to you is to find a cabinet maker. I have done a lot of cabinet shopping this time around, big box stores, small kitchen design stores and online. What I found was I am getting custom cabinets installed for the same price as Chinese RTA cabinets. A custom cabinet from any of the stores was more than double what I am paying. My last piece of advice if you do go the painted route is to stay away from mitered corners for the door stiles and rails unless you live in Arizona. Humidity will separate those joints and you will be left with a crack, which is very noticeable with the painted finish.

I think laquered or sprayed cabinets look wrong in a vintage kitchen. You expect to see a few brush marks and the 'warmth' of hand painted cabinetry. I'd paint my own...it's cheaper and you can control the color, primer used, coats applied, etc. It takes a little time, but it's nice to say you did it yourself :)

sandn,
I love your cabinet with the glass on the front and the sides. and I LOVE your paper towel holder. Fantastic looking!

Thank you, Mamadadapaige! Your kitchen was a huge inspiration for us--your cabinets, counter depth windows, your counter (which we thought was soapstone for the longest time). Can't believe we impressed you with our paper towel holder! (sorry to digress, Ideagirl)

idealgirl2 - Thanks for the remarks "like the door was dipped in that quick-hardening sugar coating that Dairy Cream puts on ice cream cones???

Do you know what I mean? It doesn't look like paint... which means the doors don't even look like wood. They might as well be thermofoil or whatever."

That was exactly my reaction. Fortunately, today the lowest cabinet quote also had a huge upcharge for painted, giving me an excuse to keep saying, "no, painted wood cabinets don't like wood to me. No, I don't want to let people know they are wood by distressing." I can add, "and they are so much more expensive!" now.

Now I just have to see if I'm comparing apples with apples, or at least see if the Plato apple is anything like the Elmwood apple.

I know I am late to the party but it showed up in the top of my search. I was hoping to find more info on painting by hand but it seems everyone shows airless or HPLV spray guns and other very expensive tools and crazy prep for the "perfect finish". Trust me, I do like that on new cabinets but old ones, no. I am on my second home with original cabinets and I found common sense works well.

My technique is simple. Sand the cabinets. My first set was in good shape and took maybe 5 minutes of hand sanding, though I wasn't changing the color, just freshening up. My second set is not only a color change but they are in worse shape, someone rolled them and they have a funky texture. You could hand sand that but it would take a really long time, I am using a finishing sander which is relatively cheap and has plenty of other uses.

Second step is paint. I skip primer, I find modern paint doesn't need primer and takes more work to get the same result, with twice the opportunities to make mistakes. The biggest lesson I learned was to cover first, then go back and run your brush over to get even strokes. You have to work fast so the paint doesn't start to dry but it also goes much quicker so working fast is easy. It works better if you take the doors off and have them horizontal but I did fine doing some on the frame, you just need to be more careful and work even faster, and use a lighter coat.

I am no professional, just happy with my work. My few recommendations. Though there is no reason you couldn't use a gloss or semi gloss paint, I go for eggshell or duller. This is two fold, I think it looks "older" which I find more appealing on old cabinets, plus you don't need to be absolutely perfect with your brush strokes, though I recommend trying to get it perfect. The better you prep, the better the results but be reasonable, if you don't have weeks to do this, don't spend 4 hours on each door. Be reasonable with your time and using a finish that works when things are not absolutely flawless. Lastly, you don't need to do them all at once. The best thing about hand painting is cleanup is as simple as cleaning your brush. You don't need a ton of setup time, nor does it save you a bunch of time (like it would with a spray gun), to do everything at once. If you can live with two doors off your cabinets for a day, do two a day (or however frequent your care to do so). I find I can prep and paint each side of the door in about an hour, dry over night, do the other side the next day. If you are replacing the hardware, take shortcuts, paint the inside on the frame, paint over the hardware, the new will cover it up, or touch that small section up. Seems like hack way but you will never notice or care most likely. Lastly, an imperfection or two, if not totally glaring won't ruin the look of old cabinets, especially if they are already worn and cosmetically poor. Worst case, you do it over. I wish I took more pictures to share, I know my way may seem half (you know what) but it isn't and it doesn't have to be hard. It's much easier than painting an interior or exterior door, you just do it many more times.

Primer serves a purpose. It's marketing hype that modern paints ''contain'' primer. They have greater adhesion, but they still won't adhere as well to kitchen cabinets as primer will. Much less block the stains and sins of grease particles on the original surface. That's where a shellac based primer comes in. Skipping that step can completely invalidate all of the work that comes after. It IS about the prep process, and primer is a part of any proper paint job.

In my experience, with a high grade paint, the paint will adhere as well as it would with primer. It also will block any stains as well. My caveat is, it may take 1 or 2 coats more. However, primer isn't cheap as it used to be, most of us end up with extra paint anyway, meaning we can do another coat, or primer doesn't save us because we still do two or more coats even if we prime.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's pointless to prime, I just have never prepped an original or painted cabinet that I could not sand any grease or stains off, while getting to bare wood or the like in the process. When I get to bare wood I do prime.

I actually use primer for the opposite reason...many people used cheap latex over oil based when DIY became a name for doing work yourself. If it is not my home, I strip, prime, and repaint. If it's my own, I just prime, hoping that will solve chipping issues, which it usually doesn't but I am always on a tighter schedule with my own home, and can risk if it doesn't hold up.

That said, I am no professional, just happy with my results. There are probably 100 techniques to do this job and mine may not be the best, though I have seen way worse last 15 years. My main point is, if you want the look of a hand painted cabinet, hand paint it. Google painting cabinets and you will see a ton of not so DIY processes using a bunch of high end tools to get a perfectly smooth finish. Nothing wrong with that but if you are living with 40-60 year old cabinets, some brush strokes may actually look better than not, that is my opinion. I have yet to own a place where I would break out my HPLV gun and I do know how to do that, if it isn't new, I don't want it to look new, it never will, I just want it to look good, I want it to look clean.

Again, I understand what you are saying, IMO, doing the prep, you end up having a primed surface. I could see using a sealer for uniformed color but that hasn't been an issue for me either. I used to prime everything, I just find it less and lees important, I buy good paint and good paint is a lot better than it used to be, in my own experience.

You've obviously never painted a rental kitchen after years of cooking with no vent. Or pine paneling. or cedar anything. There isn't enough sanding in the world to keep bleedthrough at bay. Only a shellac based primer will do that. Only shellac based primer will seal the tannins into the wood and prevent bleedthrough. You reallly ought to pause a while and lernn a thing or two rather than advocating the same old hacks in a drive by.

Sophie, I will try shellac based primer for fun since I have some for another project. Maybe I will learn something new, I thought it would be hugely beneficial for my interior doors I just did and compared the results of using it and not on one and it just wasn't a big difference. I got better coverage with the paint, don't get me wrong, but it didn't save me time or money on this project as I only have two doors at new house. I will try it on my new baseboards though. I wouldn't even say in my post that I am an advocate of of skipping primer, I just found it wasn't necessary for myself in my last two kitchen jobs and it saved me a ton of hassle. With a kitchen, you use everyday, the shorter the completion, the better and I found it is an easy project.

That leads me back to my point, doing a search on the web makes it seem like painting cabinets is impossible to do your self, or you need to spend a ton of money on equipment. It's easier than painting an interior door with a brush and all you need is paint, shellac based primer if you choose, and a brush, some sand paper and some wood filler possibly, and you are set. Even adding primer, it's still a very DIYable job for someone who has a steady hand and knows how to get good brush strokes, that's really the point I am trying to make.

If you google painting kitchen cabinets, it will make it feel impossible, maybe even as a professional. It's very similar to when I started doing audio, mixing engineers tended to try to intimidate you of of trying things on your own to hope to get your work. I am not saying their advice wasn't sound, it was, but it also was never the complete picture. Well, now I am a professional audio engineer and still disagree with some of the advice I got when I first started and some who tried to make it seem so challenging now use some of my own techniques regularly. I am just hoping in my statements that some choose to try to tackle this on their own and find they get the results they wanted with $35 in materials and some time.