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brickhouse_gw

Ace cabinet paint or Insl-x Cabinet Coat?

brickhouse
14 years ago

I called to my closest Insl-x distributor, an Ace about an hour away. He said they have both their brand and the Insl-x for cabinet paint. Any preference?

He said the Ace is cheaper and it may be harder for him to get the deeper base in the Insl-x, but not out of the question, just need to plan ahead.

Any feedback on which to use??

Comments (13)

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    14 years ago

    not to confuse matters and you may have already considered and rejected this, but I did my kitchen cabinets with Aura Satin finish last year and I love them. They have held up great. Being a light color, they show any spills or dirt, so I am frequently wiping them down.

    I haven't been in this forum for awhile, so not sure of the latest Aura thinking on this subject.

  • raspycat
    14 years ago

    Wendyb,

    Some questions about your cabinets:

    How did you apply Aura to the cabinets (brush, roller?)

    Also, what, if any, primer did you use?

    How are the cabinets holding up around the sink (water splashes, etc)?

    Thanks!

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    14 years ago

    I used a brush. One of the good features about Aura is that it is self-leveling so it minimizes brush marks. I can't say that there are none, but some oak grain shows through more than any brush marks.

    For a primer, I used latex Kilz on about half of them (because I had some on hand) and Benj Moore Fresh Start All-purpose on the rest. I did two coats to try to fill in as much grain as possible. I considered a more aggressive approach to the oak grain cover-up but decided against it.

    THe overall affect is great for me. I suppose the level of smoothness desired is a personal choice. I'm pretty picky in general about things, but these cabinets went from a 2 to a 9 (on a scale of 1 to 10) so I'm fine with that. If you want a "10", I suppose oil and grain-filling is the way to go.

    The sink splashes don't really affect the cabinets. But I have no backsplash (yet) under my uppers, but I used Aura (eggshell) on the walls too. They get their share of splashes and wet hands turning on and off the disposal switch - also Aura painted. It is absolutely good as new. The lower cabinets in my primary work corner do get surprisingly messy, but they wipe up just fine.

    Over the year, I've seen a couple of nicks here and there. I keep a little craft squeeze bottle of paint and paintbrush handy and I dab on a spot if needed. Oh, that was another thing about the Aura claim that appealed to me... unnoticeable touchups. I know regular latex touchups never seem to blend well. Don't know how oil does.

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    14 years ago

    The threads about my kitchen painting seem to be gone, but here is a link to the before-after pictures. There is one closeup shot of the paint that may help.

    MyKitchenFacelift

  • raspycat
    14 years ago

    Wendyb,

    Thanks for the information. Your kitchen looks great! That is the look I am going for with my old oak cabinets.

    What color did you use on the cabinets?

    Also, where did you get the cabinet hardware?

    Thanks again!

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    14 years ago

    I went with Aura Frappe. It is very off-white creamy but it doesn't look it in those pictures. It was a teeny bit darker than my bisque fridge.

    THe hardware I got online somewhere cuz I never saw anything at any hardware store that caught my eye. But then later I did see it at Lowe's.

    Woodworkers Hardware & Supply Items
    24 Amerock BP53700-ORB Kane Cabinet Knob 1-1/4"Dia - Oil Rubbed Bronze (1-1/4, Oil Rubbed Bronze-ORB) @ $3.05 = $73.20
    14 Amerock BP53704-ORB Crosley Cabinet Pull 3"Ctrs - Oil Rubbed Bronze (3, Oil Rubbed Bronze-ORB) @ $3.11 = $43.54

  • happy2bhome
    14 years ago

    Wendyb, your cabinets turned out great! I was purusing this post because I'm getting ready to have our cabinets painted and I'd like to go with a less toxic paint. While I haven't talked to my BM rep about using Aura on the cabinets, but he sold me on using it for the rest of the house. Thanks to you I know where to look for our cabinet colors, too!

  • catmd
    14 years ago

    I work at a paint store and we carry Insl-x Cabinet Coat.
    Cabinet Coat is water based and we sell a lot of it. It flows really well and if you use dense foam really the final finish is really nice. A primer is not needed, but if you want to use one Zinsser's Bullseye 123 (water based) or Insl-x Aqualock (water based) are really good addhesive primers.

    I only wish that Insl-x would make a dark tint base.

  • Samantha111
    12 years ago

    I was asking about Cabinet Coat recently at BM. I believe they bought out CC. He said they can make any of their colors up in it. I think he said they don't do the darker colors because the finish would be softer.

  • baileyandbella
    12 years ago

    I got Cabinet Coat last summer at BM. They tinted it White Dove.

  • DebMckenna1
    9 years ago

    Does cabinet coat come in colors? Or just white?

  • DJ
    8 years ago

    @debMckenna1 Only can be tinted in pastels from what I have researched.