as promised, here's my cabinet painting 101, and how fitting, with this being the 101st post!
now, this is how i painted my cabinets. please know that just because i did it this way does not make it the right way to do it.
first, let me just say that my objective in this project was to obtain crisp, white cabinets:
1. ...without taking them down
2. ...without sanding them like crazy and drowning my house in sawdust
3. ...in as little time as humanly possible* without hiring someone to do it
*this translated to not painting the insides of the cabinets...didn't bother me one bit to leave that step out!
and yes, i would do it this way all over again. it wasn't hard, just time consuming and frustrating because having the kitchen in shambles affected my psyche. by no means am i o.c.d.; in fact most people who know me well know that i'm about as laid back as it gets. my clothes are not hanging in color code, nor would i encourage anyone to eat off my floors, but i do like my kitchen to be in order because it's the heart of our home. this little project taught me that as much as i love and admire exposed shelving in kitchens versus traditional cabinets with doors, it is just not for me. i'm just not that neat.
here's how it all went down.
1. draw a diagram of cabinets. label each door on the back as you take them down with the number corresponding on the diagram. (yes, i swear i'm really not o.c.d....!) but this little trick made it so much easier to figure out which door went where when putting them back up.
my codes:
D--drawer
B--bottom cabinet door
T--top cabinet door
genius, i know.
2. clean all doors and all cabinet frames thoroughly with greased lightning.
3. degloss everything with this better-than-magic stuff.
this liquid deglosser came by recommendation of a cabinet professional who came out to assess the farmhouse sink "situation." follow directions on the bottle just as they say. this step essentially takes the place of sanding, praise God!
4. choose your paint. i used sherwin williams pro classic acrylic latex in alabaster.
5. then add Floetrol (can be purchase at any paint or home improvement store). mix into paint according to directions on the bottle. it eliminates brush marks completely and works GREAT.
5. cover up floors and countertops with plastic or a drop cloth.
6. paint, paint, paint. we first painted the frame of the cabinets with a sponge roller, then did the doors last.
i did 3 coats.
7. once dry, rehang all doors according to your handy-dandy diagram and add new hardware if you like.
8. pour yourself a big 'ole glass of sweet tea and enjoy the view!
Posts
3 comments:
Okay, I have never heard of floetrol. I think that must make such a huge difference!
Also, can you tell me about your tile? Did you guys do that or have someone come do it for you? I would love some subway tile in the kitchen.
yes, the floetrol makes a HUGE difference. and you'll have plenty leftover if you ever need to use it for another painting project (like on bathroom cabinets, etc.)
as for the tile, we found a guy here who does it at a VERY reasonable cost, so since subway tile is so inexpensive (we found that lowe's beat out everyone else's prices on it), we just paid him to do it. i'll have to say i'm glad we did because it look painstaking to me...but that's just me! if you do any tile backsplash, make sure to spend a little extra and get the grout that has epoxy in it. much easier to clean, according to our guy. i'm super glad we went with the subway tile--love the way it looks and i think it's classic.
good luck! :-)
I am just dropping by from better after and I just had to tell you how great your kitchen turned out! I am also planning on painting my cabinets white and I am so happy that I found your post because I have never heard of floetrol and I have been worried about brush strokes showing. I bought the same subway tile to do a backsplash as well. Seeing your kitchen makes me so excited about my kitchen redo. Thank you for sharing all the details, it should come in handy!
Post a Comment