A white oil is a bad, bad choice. Oil or alkyd white and pastel paints will yellow and soon you'll have to repaint those cabinets with a quality acrylic enamel.

Cabinet Coat, Impervo, Pro Classic or Muralo are much, much better than an oil choice. Of course, they are your cabinets and you may paint then with what you wish. :)

Brushing putty is easy to use. Have you tried the grained look? Either way the oak can be attractive.

Michael

I just dropped a hundred bucks for a can of this FPE Brushing Putty yesterday. :(

I've got the first coat drying on my hideous orange oak cabinets right now so I guess we'll see what happens soon! The stuff has the consistency of an extremely thick paste and was not exactly easy to apply. I have to admit that I'm pretty nervous about how its going to turn out. I'll keep you posted with my results when I get a chance to do some sanding tomorrow. ~ Lisa

Lisa, thanks for the update. In the meantime, I did try two coats of primer (kilz) and it helped. Still not super smooth, but better than one coat. Next attempt is to add some extender to the Aura. Supposedly that is supposed to help create a smoother look even more. (Special extender made specifically for Aura)

Lisa, I am so glad you are doing this right now. I also have horrible oak cabinets and have been debating about buying the brushing putty but have been nervous about how it will turn out. Thanks for any update!

Well.... I put one coat on and then tried to sand with a finish sander and 220 grit but I sanded through the putty! I think what happened is that I didn't put on a thick enough coat. (to be fair, the can does advise applying a thick coat but I was nervous about doing that because I don't want to diminish the cabinet details) So, I guess I'll apply another coat and try sanding again tomorrow night or Sunday.

Mindim or Wendy, if either of you are brave enough to try this putty stuff with me just send your mailing address to me at my e-mail (lisasand9120@gmail.com) and I'll pop enough for a cabinet door into a tupperware and mail it to you. I had to buy the big can as they were out of the smaller 40 dollar version so I have more than I'll ever need.

I tried to paste a photo below of my first coat and the oversanding issue. I hope it worked! :)

Lisa, that actually doesn't look bad. Looks like it covered the deep grains. I hope this stuff works!

tootiepubsmom.......I have a custom Oak vanity I would love to try this stuff on, but it scares me! I would love to see a pic of the finished door,you posted above....and your thoughts/recommendations/etc

Hi Lisa,

How did your cabinets come out using the putty etc.? Bought a home with red oak pickled cabinets(look pink)that I would like to paint (beautiful custom made cabinets) and don't have the money to replace them. Can you send pictures of how yours came out and the process that you went through? My cabinets look to be the same style.

Thanks,

Jan

not sure what everyone has against oak...it really is never out of style unlike painted (and chipped) cabinets can become. Have you thought of replacing the hardware or even refacing or replacing the doors....this whole putty/sanding/priming/priming again/painting/painting again thing looks like quite an ordeal to go thru for something that will inevetably wear...unless the kiddies have moved out!

Hello! Sorry about the slow follow up and I sure wish I had better photos to share but below is the best that my sad little olympus 210 is going to provide! :(

I've finished my two laundry cabinet doors and am preparing to tackle my entire kitchen. My opinion is that the Brushing Putty DOES work but the trick is all in the application and SANDING.

When applying the putty make sure you don't let it pool in the crevices of your cabinet detail other wise you will have to sand and IÂve learned the hard way that sanding in tiny crevices is NO FUN! You can see in the photos that I gave up on sanding in some of the crevices and it looks awful. :(

My advice is to obtain a little electric finish sander (I picked one up at Lowes for 29 bucks) for the flat areas of the cabinet because you will be doing a ton of sanding. The finish sander makes it MUCH easier.

When I do my kitchen cabs I'll be much more careful about keeping the putty out of the detail areas and will SPRAY on an oil based paint in an effort to achieve a more "factory" like finish.

Wish me luck?

Posted by andrelaplume2 ~ "not sure what everyone has against oak..."

Well...For one, it's just way too BUSY for my tastes. My cabinetry has a very loud oak grain that (to me anyhow) screams COUNTRY! I may live in the country... but I donÂt necessarily want to reflect that in my interior style! ;)

Second, the color! They may have been a nice honey hue at first but they have become exceedingly ORANGE through the years.

BTW, here is a long shot of the finished cab.

How did you prep the surface before using the brushing putty?

Glad you found the thread. If you don't get a response from the poster here, you can call Fine Paints of Europe to discuss your project...they are suppose to be pretty good in the customer service department--will explain their products and offer advice etc. Phone number is:

1-800-332-1556

Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm (EST).

You prep the surface just like you would before using any primer. Dull and clean.

Calgal -Thanks - I looked up the website and will call on Monday.

Some of the trim has one coat of eggshell oil based paint. Since the primer BP is oil based I assume it will work over that if we take down the sheen first.

I'll just make sure before I have them overnight me a big can ;-)

Gldnfan,
Yes, I sure the FPE brushing should adhere fine after you sand. If you have some scrape of the trim, you might want to experiment on thatÂto see how thick to make the each coat, number of coats, how much to sand each coat, etc.

Would you mind posting to let me know if the brushing putty works for this type of application? IÂd like to make a note in my painting tips file to that effect. We are planning on some adding millwork in the next year--I'm thinking "just in case":o

I would like to offer a sincere apology for the snarky responses you received on your original post on the other forumÂso uncalled for and so unlike the gardenweb community.

Thanks Calgal! I will definitely let you know how it goes.

We have some of the trim in an unpainted room that we will take down and practice on. That is a very good idea.

And also thanks for the reassurance about the other forum - I am not sure what was going on with that. I kind of felt like I was being slammed for trying to explain that my problem was more than a typical prep problem and also for being upset about having the problem in the first place. Every time I tried to clarify someone jumped down my throat.

I am stubborn I should have given up on it long ago - especially since the nice people on this forum have been so helpful!

I am very encouraged - I really just want to make it better at this point and I think this might do it.

HI!

I know this is an older post. I was wondering if jeannema/Kelly every did buy the brushing putty and what your results were like. Or if tootiepugsmom ever painted your kitchen cabinets and used the BP? We are in the middle of painting our oak kitchen cabinets and I don't know if I'm entirely thrilled with the results of the BP. I did apply 2 coats on the bases in most area, and you can still see the grain in some areas.

We've sprayed 2 coats of primer and 1 coat of paint -all FPE - on all the bases so far. And, I can still see some of the grain lines in certain lights. Not sure if I should brush on 1 coat of the paint, and then spray a few final coats to yield additional filling?

I'm working on the doors, but I've only gotten through 1 coat of BP so far and I'm at the horrible sanding stage with beveled doors - ugh! I had read the post above prior about the corners, and was as careful as could be, but it's hard! I know I need 2 coats for sure on those, but I'm still getting discouraged.

Wondering if even after 2 coats of BP (thick and sanded correctly) you could still see "some" of the grain on your oak cabinets?

any feedback and final pics would be great! (for whatever reason I can't figure how to message either of you directly!)

STeph