Tips To Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets

Author: admin  /  Category: Kitchen

Painting your kitchen cabinets is a great alternative to purchasing new cabinets. Not only can you save a lot of money but if done correctly the results are fantastic.
The most simple way to complete this project is to leave the inside of the cabinets unpainted . The inside is only seen when the cabinet is open so I would recommend that you leave them unpainted. Plus if you don’t paint the inside of the cabinets you don’t have to remove everything from inside the cabinets.

Be sure the room is well ventilated because the primer and paint have a strong odor. You may need to use a fan placed close to a door or window in order to pull some of the fumes out of the house.
The ways are :

  1. Take off all of the cabinet hardware including all knobs, handles and pulls. Cover all countertops and flooring using drop cloths or tarps. Leave the doors attached. Using painters tape, tape all the hinges on the doors.
  2. You will need to clean the cabinets using a cleaning solution such as TSP. This is a cleaning agent which is readily available at most hardware stores. Wash the exterior of all the cabinets that are to be painted using your cleaning solution. Allow the cabinets to fully dry and then sand them to a dull finish using a fine grit sandpaper.
  3. Prime cabinets using a good oil based primer such as BIN which you can also purchase at most hardware or paint stores. Apply a thin coat of primer using a short nap roller and a brush. Prime the front of the doors first then open and prime the backs of the doors. After priming the doors, prime the remainder of the exposed cabinets. After the primer is completely dry, take your fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand the cabinets.
  4. Paint the cabinets using a brush and short nap roller the same way you applied the primer. You can use either oil or latex ( water based) paint. The oil is going to be more difficult to apply but will be more durable than the latex. If using oil, you may also need to thin the oil using paint thinner in order to achieve a smooth even finish. Be careful and do not thin the paint too much. Start out by thinning the paint a very small amount and thin more if necessary. You will also need paint thinner for cleaning up the paint and primer.
  5. Once the cabinets are completely dry, lightly sand any bubbles that formed in the first coat of paint using fine grit sandpaper. Do not sand so hard that you remove the paint you just put on. Paint the final coat using the same method as before. Allow the cabinets to dry at least 24 hours before reattaching the knobs and pulls.
  6. If you used an oil paint , clean the brush and roller sleeve using paint thinner. If you used latex paint you can use regular tap water to clean your brush and roller sleeve. If you used an inexpensive brush and roller sleeve you may want to discard them instead of trying to clean them.

How To Determine The Type Of Paint

Author: admin  /  Category: Maintenance

It is important to distinguish the type of paints. That is currently on your building before you put on another coat of paint. If you use the wrong type of paint, you could find it peeling a week or so later.
Oil and water Based
You may remember from your high school chemistry class, that oil and water do not mix. All paints and stains are either oil or water based and when they are combined, the results can be disastrous.
More specifically, water based paints cannot stick to the oil based product, thus it runs or peels. Since water paints sit on the top of the surface, the oil based products are not able to penetrate the wood and never set.

The Transparency Test
Most oil based paints are designed to sink into the wood. Stains and varnishes can easily be detected by examining the surface of the building. If you can see the wood grain and the stain simply colors and enhances the wood, it is an oil based product being used.
However, more and more non-transparent stains are being used. These stains still sink into the wood, but they give the appearance of paint by covering all aspects of the surface. For this reason, the transparency test can be trusted to determine transparent oil based products, but should not be the only method for determining solid or semi-transparent paints.

The Goof Off Test
Since some oil based paints exhibit the same characteristics of water based paints, the Goof Off test should be used before any painting is done.
Goof Off and similar products remove all types of things, such as grease, markers and latex (water based) paints. Buy a bottle of goof off at your local hardware store. There are other brands available, just make sure it says that it removes latex paint.
Douse a rag with a little bit of goof off and find an inconspicuous place on your wall to test. Start scrubbing the wall with the wet part of the rag (wear gloves). If the paint starts coming off, it is a water based paint. If the paint is already peeling, make sure that you see evidence that the goof off is actually breaking down the paint. The paint will bubble or look as if it’s melting or wet.

Converting Oil to Latex
You may want to use latex because it is much easier to work with. Many older houses have oil based paint since that was primarily used in the past. If your building is covered with a solid oil based paint, you will have to use a primer first. The primer will bond with the wall and provide a surface for the latex paint to stick to. When you go to your paint store , make sure you tell them you are covering oil based with a latex paint and they will  make sure you get the right primer.