Painting Kitchen Cabinets

[Caroling]

Has anyone here painted their kitchen cabinets before? My cabinets, beech wood, are in good shape, but I’ve always dreamed of an all-white kitchen. My counters are white title, and the grout makes it very ugly and dated, very difficult to clean. I’m definitely going to replace the countertops with quartz in the near future, but the cabinets, I’ve been switching back and forth between wanting to paint them or just leaving them be. Some people say that sanding down kitchen cabinets and repainting them look good when you first get them done, but won’t look good in 2-5 years. I’ve been to Home Depot and they’ve recommended cabinet re-facing rather than painting the wood for the same reason.

So, anyone who has painted their kitchen cabinets white, please share your experiences. Do you regret it? Was it worth it? 

[Ehsan]

Salam,

I have some experience in this field. I chose to spray paint all kitchen cabinet doors in white when we moved in to the house some years ago. Do you have kids? Are you satisfied with the kitchen other wise or are you thinking of changing or renovating in couple of years?

Could you upload a photo? 

[Caroling]

3 hours ago, Ehsan said:

Salam,

I have some experience in this field. I chose to spray paint all kitchen cabinet doors in white when we moved in to the house some years ago. Do you have kids? Are you satisfied with the kitchen other wise or are you thinking of changing or renovating in couple of years?

Could you upload a photo? 

I don’t have kids yet. But, if this makes a difference, I cook messily. I don’t know how it’d affect the white cabinets over time. Do you like how your cabinets turned out? Any signs of yellowing paint or chipping? 
 
I’m satisfied with the kitchen, design-wise. Nothing else I’d want to change except change the countertops from tile to quartz. No plans on renovating anything else. 
 

Here’s a photo (not my own) that is very similar to how my kitchen and floors look. 
 

 

[hasanhh]

3 hours ago, Caroling said:

So, anyone who has painted their kitchen cabinets white, please share your experiences.

My late sister did ours in high school. Ours were metal and they came out good. Yours are wood. So as my grandmother had me help her do, 'strip' the finish by washing them with powdered Tide and warm water. Then when real dry**, thin some Kilz so it soaks in well and provide an even base. When dry, a thicker coat slightly thinned coat. Since you want them to shine l figure, use a gloss enamel paint -thinned a little so it goes on smooth. Wait to decided on a second coat.

Hopefully you'll get some other opinions, inshallah.

**lf you have a de-humidifier use it but don't let the exhaust blow on your work. Direct it somewhere else. Out of the room or if a bigger kitchen, onto a wall.

[hasanhh]

17 minutes ago, Caroling said:

Here’s a photo (not my own) that is very similar to how my kitchen and floors look. 

From the picture, why change that? lt looks good.

[Caroling]

1 minute ago, hasanhh said:

From the picture, why change that? lt looks good.

Really? Should I keep it, as is? 

[hasanhh]

2 minutes ago, Caroling said:

Really? Should I keep it, as is? 

The only part l will not want is exhaust hood. Grease fires in those will burn a house down. l myself have a white screen system, so even though l have to take them out a wash them, l do not have a worry about hood fires.

My refrigerator and stove are also white.

[Caroling]

Just now, hasanhh said:

The only part l will not want is exhaust hood. Grease fires in those will burn a house down. l myself have a white screen system, so even though l have to take them out a wash them, l do not have a worry about hood fires.

My refrigerator and stove are also white.

The house came with the stainless steel appliances and we can’t find white ones anywhere. I have a microwave above my stove instead of a hood. 
 

So, I shouldn’t change the cabinets, then? 

[hasanhh]

1 minute ago, Caroling said:

So, I shouldn’t change the cabinets, then? 

l wouldn't, but then again when my ex wanted to deck-er-ate l had to use books on interior design.

[notme]

8 minutes ago, Caroling said:

So, I shouldn’t change the cabinets, then? 

The cabinets in the photo are fine, but if you prefer white they definitely are not what you want. 

[Caroling]

36 minutes ago, notme said:

The cabinets in the photo are fine, but if you prefer white they definitely are not what you want. 

I think I’m also hesitant because my floors are grey and if I paint my cabinets white, I’m afraid the kitchen might look too cold farmhouse style for my taste. I already have distressed white wood furniture in my living room. The kitchen, breakfast nook, and living room are all connected. It would be so much easier to make a decision if my floors were a traditional dark wood. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Caroling

[Ehsan]

Salam,

Its up to you what you like, but I can appreciate that you would want to have white cabinets instead of the wooden color. 

If you spray paint it, the color will begin to exfoliate after 2-3 years around the handles and other areas that are exposed to physical contact. Especially since your doors, like mine, are not flat but have some texture. If you have the budget and want to keep it over 3-4 years, buy only the doors in the color you want, and place them on existing cabinets. If there are any sides of the cabinet where the wood is exposed, you can paint only those areas. 

If you are on a budget or like to change your interior decor every now and then, just pick of the doors, polish them a but to open up the texture and spray paint them if you have a spray painter. If you want to do it with roller and brush it is harder to get an even layer without the strokes being visible, you need to paint very thinly, but perhaps you are good at that.

[AbalFadhl]

Somewhere deep in my mind , I wonder WHY ON  EARTH IS THIS TOPIC BEING MENTIONED IN HERE ?!?!?

[Ali bin Hussein]

If you decide to paint. It's a big job as you will need to remove any varnish or wax before painting. 

Spray paint will give a professional glossy finish.

If you want a more rustic feel standard no gloss wood paint is better.

Also after removing varnish use a wood undercoat. For a smoother finish.

If you want to see more of the grain a thinner pain with no undercoat is better.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Ali bin Hussein

[Ehsan]

Salam,

Attached is a before and after photo of the cabinet doors I spray painted white several years ago. I bought a Black and Decker Spray Gun for roughly 70-80USD (https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-DECKER-HVLP200-GB-Sprayer-Orange/dp/B006XBT358). You mix normal wall paint with water to make it thinner, approx 50% water 50% color, so its a cheap alternative. It's excellent for covering tracks, paths and textures on uneven surfaces. And it gets really thin and professional, the only down side being that it isn't very resistent against physical touch (over the years). I spray painted it twice (let it dry up in between of course). If the white color looks uneven on the photo it is because they haven't completely dried, hence they reflect the light differently. You only need to polish the surface a bit to roughen it so the color sticks to the surface, and mask the handles.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Ehsan

[hasanhh]

3 hours ago, AbalFadhl said:

.                 shallow

Somewhere de^ep in my mind , I wonder WHY ON  EARTH IS THIS TOPIC BEING MENTIONED IN HERE ?!?!?

Corrected.

.

 "lt's that waswas again."