Cabinet Paint Job

[Scoony]

My daughter wants her kitchen cabinets painted. I am flying down there (Fort Lauderdale, Fla) later this week and will paint them while I am down there on a short vacation.

The cabinets are maple with a glazed finish so I plan on sanding them a bit to prep the surface for paint.
I was planning on using General Finish’s milk paint in antique white and top coating with their high performance top coat, with a possibility of adding in glaze along the way. I have used their milk paints before and really see no problems getting the job done with brushing as I will not have any spray equipment down there.

Problem is that the only business down there that carries General Finish’s products does not have the antique white in stock, so I will have to order and have it shipped.

I know that BM has a paint that gets recommended and I am sure that they could mix up an antique white that she would like, but I have never used their paints.

I know that I can do a good job with the GF paint without spray equip, not sure about the BM paints. I have used SW acrylics and like them, but in this case, I would rather use the GF paint over SW.

Just looking for some recommendations and tips.

[Scoony]

Has anyone used BM Cabinet Coat?

I think I am leaning towards using either BM Advance or the Cabinet coat.

[jteneyck]

I used the GF milk paint on a cabinet recently. It went on beautifully with a foam brush. I'd probably use a soft bristle brush for large areas though.

As for prepping the cabinets, I would wipe them with mineral spirits to get the grease off, and then with Murphy's Oil Soap to get the rest of the dirt off. Then I'd sand them. Then I'd apply a coat of BIN Shellac based primer on them, just to make sure there are no adhesion problems. You can tint the primer, too, but probably don't need to in your case.

I recommend you consider GF's Enduro Clear Poly instead of High Performance Poly, as it has much better chemical durability. Clear Poly is KCMA rated, HP Poly is not. If this kitchen gets hard use I would not use HP Poly. I know the TDS for Clear Poly says to spray it, but I've had no trouble applying it by brush. It looks just like HP Poly - but it's a lot more durable. If you decide to stick with HP Poly, it will be more durable if you add the cross linker to it.

[Scoony]

Thanks,

I had to google KCMA to find out what your talking about. Good info, I would have never known.

I was reading the instructions sheet for the BM Cabinet Coat and it states that primer is not necessary as the first coat will act as a primer. That may steer me to that paint. There is a paint store near her house that carries it.

When I get back, I plan on painting the vanities in my bathrooms and will most likly use the GF milk paint

[jteneyck]

I'd still use the BIN Shellac primer first. If there is any residual grease or silicone on the cabinets that primer will seal it in. If it's there but you don't use that primer you risk the paint not sticking, creating fisheyes or, worse yet, debonding later.

And I use the term "that primer" specifically. Shellac and shellac based primers will cover and adhere to silicone and other oils and greases. Non shellac based primers won't.

John

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

Scoony,

I have used the Ben Moore Advance on a complete repaint of the trim in my old house and I'm currently using the same on the trim in my new house. It brushes very nice and flows out great for a waterborne/alkyd. As a former painter who use to use nothing but oil based enamels on interior wood, it's a very impressive product. The two most popular sheens are satin and semi gloss. I will tell you that the satin is much more pleasing to me then the semi gloss. The semi gloss is very glossy, IMO. The satin is even borderline "too much gloss" for my taste. I like to dilute it with about 10% water. I've found that it flows out even better and it knocks the sheen down just a tad more. To each their own on this but I don't like a lot of glare bouncing off any finish. BM has a special right now for $46 a gallon and a gallon goes a long ways. It's best applied with a china bristle brush. Clean your brush out often when it starts to gunk up being it's a fast drying finish. The Advance cures out very hard. As a guess, I'd say it cures out 90% as hard as a true oil based enamel. I'd spend the extra money and buy yourself a Corona china bristle brush if you're doing a whole set of cabinets. The shorter length bristle brush will keep its shape better and for a longer period of time then a longer bristle brush.

[Scoony]

Went to the store today and picked up the BM cabinet coat in white dove since it seems to be the popular white. Also my ears were burning so I picked up a couple of the corona brushes. Plan on starting tomorrow.

[Scoony]

We prep everything and I start on the faces of the frames, crown molding, and open shelves. SIL starts on the doors and quickly determines that we need to rent a spray gun.

He comes back with a Graco 230 HDR

How the hell are you supposed to spray cabinets with this contraption?

No way to control spray other then the pressure control knob. Finally figure it out sort of but the spray pattern sucks. Good thing we did the backs of the doors first. This set up would be great for walls, but for cabinets?

Also the humiditydown here in Florida is not helping.

[Joel H.]

That is the primary reason I bought the Earlex 5500 - for portability. I'll be going down to my daughters next weekend (Pensacola) to paint her kitchen cabinets - I built new doors and drawers. I first thought I'd just rent the spray equipment from HD/Lowes. After painting the new doors & drawers I'm very happy I bought the Earlex.

Good luck,

Joel

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

Scoony,

You probably need a smaller tip. Get a 311 sized tip for better atomization while delivering less volume and overspray. The 3 is 1/2 the fan pattern so a 311 tip will give a 6" pattern and the 11 is the orfice size. They probably have a 515 or close to that which is good for walls and ceilings. You shouldn't have to thin anything. A 3M masking machine will help with overspray. Use plastic too. If you have an extension ladder set it on 5 gallon buckets with drop clothes below it. Put tape on the rails for overspray and lay out your doors. Replace the tape when you flip the doors so the over sprayed material doesn't stick to your new coat. Do this in the garage if possible. The waterborne formula will hopefully dry fall before hitting the ground.