I need Tips for painting my Kitchen Cabinets

[Crankin]

Hey guys I am in a situation where I need to paint my cabinets white or gray. I'm relisting my house and was told by my realtor and an appraiser that if I paint my very dark solid oak cabinets white or gray I will get the appraisal increase I need as well as increase the value of the sale. With all that said I'm not searching for opinions of if I should or shouldn't paint them , I'm going to do it. I do have some particulars that I will tell you about to hopefully aid in your tips.
-I don't have the time or money to pay a professional to do the work.
-I need to complete this job by Friday or this coming week.
-I'm ok with white or gray colors but am leaning towards white because my countertop is white with little yellow specs. Very 70's
-I have a large kitchen with light grey walls, the cabinets are 1970's solid oak dark stained. with center pull handles that are horrible.
-35 doors
-18 pull out drawers.
-All of the hardware is bronze with exterior mounting so it's exposed and will need to be painted.

I'm hoping to get advise / tips on doing this job completely by myself. I have the room in the basement to bring doors down if need be.

Any thoughts tips etc... Kitchen__1_.jpg

[Axkiker]

Get the best paint you can and use a paint conditioner.

[towboaterpete]

We did ours over winter, painted white changed all the hardware too. Wife did the research and found that we needed to use TSP from lowes to clean cabinets and used krylon Max paint.

[munchie]

Hey guys I am in a situation where I need to paint my cabinets white or gray. I'm relisting my house and was told by my realtor and an appraiser that if I paint my very dark solid oak cabinets white or gray I will get the appraisal increase I need as well as increase the value of the sale. With all that said I'm not searching for opinions of if I should or shouldn't paint them , I'm going to do it. I do have some particulars that I will tell you about to hopefully aid in your tips.
-I don't have the time or money to pay a professional to do the work.
-I need to complete this job by Friday or this coming week.
-I'm ok with white or gray colors but am leaning towards white because my countertop is white with little yellow specs. Very 70's
-I have a large kitchen with light grey walls, the cabinets are 1970's solid oak dark stained. with center pull handles that are horrible.
-35 doors
-18 pull out drawers.
-All of the hardware is bronze with exterior mounting so it's exposed and will need to be painted.

I'm hoping to get advise / tips on doing this job completely by myself. I have the room in the basement to bring doors down if need be.

Any thoughts tips etc... Kitchen__1_.jpg

prime with oil base primer or zinnsers BIN water base primer ( Actuallya shellack product ). Top coat with Benjamin Moore Advance. Clean up with water. Use a small mohair 4 inch roller , it will flow out almost as good as a spray job. Like said earlier remove door from hinges and do one side at a time for best results. Or paint in place to save drying time, then clean each hinge one at a time. Also sand well before and in between all coats. 220

[mossie3]

The cabinets you have look nice to me. No way I would do it. I just did that last year. It will be 4X more work and time than you think, and it will not look professional, which may even decrease value. If I were to do anything to increase sale value, it would be new countertops, with an overhang on the side. That would really make it pop.

[Crankin]

The cabinets you have look nice to me. No way I would do it. I just did that last year. It will be 4X more work and time than you think, and it will not look professional, which may even decrease value. If I were to do anything to increase sale value, it would be new countertops, with an overhang on the side. That would really make it pop.

Thanks Mossie I appreciate the comments and I too like the wood however the last appraiser knocked my kitchen as being "very outdated" I need to change that rating for appraisal purposes. So for this post I just needs tips to help me do the job as best I can by myself In only about 5 days.

[FlipSide]

Did ours last winter. Clean them with a degreaser, lightly sand them, prime them and then use a really good quality paint on them. I went to Sherwin Williams and asked them what to use for cabinets and they told me what to get. Don’t be afraid to put quite a few coats of paint on em, it will even out any imperfections (sanding helps with this too). Get a table set up in the basement with some painters plastic on it and paint as many of them at a time as you can comfortably fit on the table. Get some wood filler for any cracks or holes and put it on there after you clean them and before you sand.

[Kb444fishing]

All I can say is I feel sorry for you. Seriously I'm a cabinet maker and finisher of forty years. As a do it yourselfer like the other guy said Benjamin Moore advance would be forgiving. If you can find any major shortage right now. First wash with paso TSP would work also just not as good as paso. Prime with oil if possible. Will stink a little but will make your end job much better. You can sand oil and must. It will chalk up and sand smooth. Then you can topcoat. I would say Benny more advance or command. Could go Sherwon Williams emerald . As low as sheen as you can. Satin. Not semi gloss. Beware you will still see the oak grain as it is an open pore wood. Ps. I would be fairly hard for a experienced crew of two or three to do it in five days.
Day one take hardware off and clean - wash with paso
Day two under coat with oil. Or shellac
Day three sand spackle caulk tack etc
Day four first topcoat
Day five light sand and second topcoat
Day six put everything back together. And this is only if you hang your doors or come up with a system too paint front and back at the same time. PS. Looks like ash not oak but hard to tell on pictures. If you do do it find a quality paint store. The one in your area the professionals use most of them will help guide you. Not a lowes or Home Depot

[FlipSide]

All I can say is I feel sorry for you. Seriously I'm a cabinet maker and finisher of forty years. As a do it yourselfer like the other guy said Benjamin Moore advance would be forgiving. If you can find any major shortage right now. First wash with paso TSP would work also just not as good as paso. Prime with oil if possible. Will stink a little but will make your end job much better. You can sand oil and must. It will chalk up and sand smooth. Then you can topcoat. I would say Benny more advance or command. Could go Sherwon Williams emerald . As low as sheen as you can. Satin. Not semi gloss. Beware you will still see the oak grain as it is an open pore wood.

Good advice here. Sherwin emerald is what we used. We also used an oil based primer.

[retiredmechanic]

I just don't understand why the realtors want to paint oak cabinets. I rather see the wood grain.

[lakefolk]

i'd do counter tops before painting the cabinets..........
ain't happening in a week though.. But then neither is a quality paint job by yourself either..

[Crankin]

All I can say is I feel sorry for you. Seriously I'm a cabinet maker and finisher of forty years. As a do it yourselfer like the other guy said Benjamin Moore advance would be forgiving. If you can find any major shortage right now. First wash with paso TSP would work also just not as good as paso. Prime with oil if possible. Will stink a little but will make your end job much better. You can sand oil and must. It will chalk up and sand smooth. Then you can topcoat. I would say Benny more advance or command. Could go Sherwon Williams emerald . As low as sheen as you can. Satin. Not semi gloss. Beware you will still see the oak grain as it is an open pore wood. Ps. I would be fairly hard for a experienced crew of two or three to do it in five days.
Day one take hardware off and clean - wash with paso
Day two under coat with oil. Or shellac
Day three sand spackle caulk tack etc
Day four first topcoat
Day five light sand and second topcoat
Day six put everything back together. And this is only if you hang your doors or come up with a system too paint front and back at the same time. PS. Looks like ash not oak but hard to tell on pictures.

Awesome brother these are the tips I need . Defiantly oak fyi. Couple of questions. I can't add to my budget new hinges. Can I get away with spray painting the hinges white? Also I have head that I might want to fill the grain of the oak with something like Aqua fill. Lastly (at least for now) Process, I believe this will be key into me achieving the time line needed. What process should I do in what order etc.. I need to do at least the prep work with them still hanging as the realtor photographer comes in two days. She will take the pictures and photo shop them white. After she leaves I can remove the doors and get to work. I can work all day to get this done.

[FlipSide]

i'd do counter tops before painting the cabinets..........
ain't happening in a week though.. But then neither is a quality paint job by yourself either..

A quality job can absolutely be done yourself, just not likely in the timeframe the OP said he has to have it done.

[lakefolk]

A quality job can absolutely be done yourself, just not likely in the timeframe the OP said he has to have it done.

yep, that's what i said.........

[Crankin]

A quality job can absolutely be done yourself, just not likely in the timeframe the OP said he has to have it done.

Ok so How much time do I need ? I'm all ears. If I need to delay the showing a few days I will . Again , We are talking about ten thousand dollars that I need on the back end of this sale. I wish I had the front end money to invest but I don't . I need this kitchen cabinet deal updated as good as I can do and on a budget.

[Gusman2424]

I know you don't want to hear this... but I would not spend any effort trying to paint the cabinets for sale. The people that buy the house will likely remodel most if not all of the kitchen finishes. DIY painting of cabinets is a lot of work for (typically) substandard results. And even if the cabinets came out perfect, it appears you still have laminate counters and vinyl floors/tile floors that will likely be replaced.

In this market... price the house accordingly and walk away with the $$$.

Good Luck!

Gusman

[Crankin]

Gunsman, So I appreciate your comments and agree with your opinion on the market and getting the top dollar for the sale but I'm also battling the the appraisal. There seems to be boxes that they check as to the value. If a home or a room seems outdated vs up to date it receives a score. My kitchen received an un-updated score lowering it's appraisal. I spoke to an appraiser who recommended I paint the cabinets. Fyi , the floor is a high end poly 12x12 flooring but dated and the counter is Formica.

[Crankin]

Gusman , Not trying to offend I actually need this feed back.

[Crankin]

i'd do counter tops before painting the cabinets..........
ain't happening in a week though.. But then neither is a quality paint job by yourself either..

Brother, Normally I have the funds to do this right but I'm in a bad way with adjusting to disability income and a shit load of medical bills. I need to economize and get the best end dollar on the home of mine, sell it , buy in Alabama and adjust to what life has delt.

[Gusman2424]

Trust me... I am so NOT offended!

Good luck with the sale! I live in New England and houses are selling way over asking price... and seemingly over value.

Cheers..

Gusman