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I can't justify the cost of new cabinets because houses in my neighbourhood sell for XX $ per square foot regardless, but I do know that the white formica countertops are a huge negative - so I'm having a beige granite (giallo something - beiges, tans, and chocolate tones) counter top installed Monday. I'm going to paint the builders special oak cabinets brown - likely a deep chocolate brown -- but I'm running into a problem...
Every site has a different oppinion on how to paint cabinets - it is so confusing.
Please advise:
Oil or Latex paint
Finish of paint (ie. semigloss, etc.)
brush or roller (i/m not renting a sprayer)
and do I use a paint like the Behr Premium that has a primer built in, or do I use a seperate primer...
Any advice from the painting experts would be greatly apprecaited!
I really wouldn't do it. Painted cabinets usually looks really cheap, especially if you are getting expensive counter tops with terrible cabinets is really going to work against each other. Is it too late to cancel the order? i'd go with some new cabinets and a quality laminate counter top. It will likely come out to be the same price as the granite, also home depot and lowes have some decent units at reasonable prices.
I can't justify the cost of new cabinets because houses in my neighbourhood sell for XX $ per square foot regardless, but I do know that the white formica countertops are a huge negative - so I'm having a beige granite (giallo something - beiges, tans, and chocolate tones) counter top installed Monday. I'm going to paint the builders special oak cabinets brown - likely a deep chocolate brown -- but I'm running into a problem...
Every site has a different oppinion on how to paint cabinets - it is so confusing.
Please advise:
Oil or Latex paint
Finish of paint (ie. semigloss, etc.)
brush or roller (i/m not renting a sprayer)
and do I use a paint like the Behr Premium that has a primer built in, or do I use a seperate primer...
Any advice from the painting experts would be greatly apprecaited!
As they say, preparation is the key;
The oak cabinets have a stain on them?
Give them a good cleaning with TSP or something similar.
Scuff up inside and out. I would take the doors/hinges off.
Oil primer, oil paint, if you want a good, long-lasting finish. Oil will hold up better than latex. Good ventilation. Semi-gloss paint is probably your best best, but Satin paint with a high gloss top coat would be ok too.
I would scuff, make sure to use tack cloth after each sanding. I would put on two coats of primer, sanding lightly in between, two coats of oil-based paint sanding lightly in between.
I hate brush marks, so I would use a roller.
Good luck.
There are plenty of examples of good looking painted cabinets, but like I said, preparation is the key.
This is a good site, with lots of help and picture galleries.
Oil vs latex--technically either will work but oil is best. Oil cures faster and is a harder finish than latex. If you do go with latex, be sure it is 100% acrylic, not vinyl, latex.
Finish--semi-gloss. If you go with flat, you won't be able to wash/scrub the surfaces.
Brush vs roller--brush, definitely. And not foam brushes, get one with bristles. Rollers and foam brushes will leave tell-tale stipple marks. You want a bristle brush and you want to use long straight strokes up and down the face of the cabinet, not across, and don't stop halfway down. I've known some people that did a combination of roller and brush--roller to apply the paint, brush to smooth it out. It was probably faster than a brush, but of course it means buying rollers and trays in addition to brushes, and the coordination to use both tools quickly before the stipple marks set. Oil and latex paints require different kinds of bristles (natural vs artificial bristles) so be sure to pay attention when you buy.
Remember to pre-treat. TSP is a good cleaner that will get all the grease off.
I can't justify the cost of new cabinets because houses in my neighbourhood sell for XX $ per square foot regardless, but I do know that the white formica countertops are a huge negative - so I'm having a beige granite (giallo something - beiges, tans, and chocolate tones) counter top installed Monday. I'm going to paint the builders special oak cabinets brown - likely a deep chocolate brown -- but I'm running into a problem...
Every site has a different oppinion on how to paint cabinets - it is so confusing.
Please advise:
Oil or Latex paint
Finish of paint (ie. semigloss, etc.)
brush or roller (i/m not renting a sprayer)
and do I use a paint like the Behr Premium that has a primer built in, or do I use a seperate primer...
Any advice from the painting experts would be greatly apprecaited!
Ok so you are willing to spend a wad on new granite but do nothing with the cabinets. Do you put on your nice clean pressed suit and tie each morning over dirty soiled underware? How silly!!! Would you go to work each day with a nice pretty dress and wear dirty worn sneakers with it? Why why why is everyone so scared sheetless of cabinets? I'd be scared too if I got a price from the big orange who only wants your little green.
Cabinets are not expensive if you know how to buy them. Like anything in your daily life that you research before you buy, you should be a just as smart a consumer when shopping for cabinets. Painting cabinets is aweful. It's like putting on nice clean cloths with dirty soiled pockets.
Did you shop for the granite before you bought? I'm certain you did. So shop some more. If you wish to have the nicest cherry raised panel with all the bells and whistles and all the goodies then yes it can get expensive. If you can not be greedy and settle for a quality brand basic builders grade cabinet then they are quite inexpensive.
No laminate countertops anre not a negative. Formica is a brand, not a product. Today's generation of laminates are very beautiful and some have textures that simulate any kind of natural materials. They are so beautiful that many will not recognize that it is not granite. And it's a fraction of the cost of granite. And lastly, granite is very quickly going out of style. Oh yes it is. The fad is over. The next fad is going to be decorative concrete but the cost is very high right now.
As for your fear of putting too much money into your home. Yes you are 100% correct. So don't put in a nice cherry kitchen in. Settle for oak flat panel. Listen......you have 10,000 homes active on the MLS right now in just your area. The average home buyer has already seen 5 dozen homes before seeing yours. I will bet the farm that all 5 dozen of those homes have painted wooden boxes (which you are proposing to do). If a buyer comes into your home and sees brand new cabinets, what home will they choose to buy?
Home buyers today don't give a damn of the cabinet brand, the company who sells them, the warranty etc etc......they see brand new cabinets. And the wife makes all the decisions to buy or not to buy. Husband has no say. And wifey makes that decision based on the kitchen in that home. Guess what the expression on her face is when they finally walk into a home with their Realtor and it has new cabinets?
Home buyers today don't give a damn of the cabinet brand, the company who sells them, the warranty etc etc......they see brand new cabinets. And the wife makes all the decisions to buy or not to buy. Husband has no say. And wifey makes that decision based on the kitchen in that home. Guess what the expression on her face is when they finally walk into a home with their Realtor and it has new cabinets?
Hey now! Not all of us.
I, for one, could live with open shelves made out of cinder-blocks, milk crates, and particle board if I saw a La Cornue range and a wood-fired pizza oven.
Just sayin'.
More seriously though...if the OP is remodeling for resale (s)he might be right on track. I hate to say it, but many buyers are fooled by "granite and stainless". They see those and their eyes just kind of glaze over and they miss the cheap falling apart cabinets until 3 months post-move-in. That's when they realize the doors don't stay shut and the hardware is falling off.
And another option.....clean your surfaces with TSP and don't even sand them. Brush them heavily with a good quality gel stain and let dry overnight, a nice heavy coat will make them a dark brown. Then spray with a satin clear polypurethane (sp?). For a professional effect, you can even buy some black hammered metal spray paint and give it a lite splatter effect. Practice your technique with a spare piece of wood. Easier than painting! I learned this on an earlier thread about refinishing kitchen cabinets. Amazingly easy but have to be patient and really let dry about 18 hrs.
For all those suggesting to stain over paint, it is impossible. Stain will not penetrate through a paint. You must sand the wood completly clean of all traces of paint. If any paint remains in the wood pores it will stand out like a sore thumb through the stain.
Another issue is old cabinets are not made with quality stainable wood. They are generally plywood paint grade junk basically. This material is meant to be painted because in those days, though stain was on the market, it was unheard of to finish cabinets with this method. Plywood is not made for finish furniture or cabinets unless you pay for premium plywood with a maple, birch, cherry or oak veneer. And you can not sand veneer either by the way. 2 passes with the belt sander or 10 passes with your hand sanding block and you will sand right through it thereby destroying any hope and ability to stain it.
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