Painting kitchen cupboards- advice please?

[milkysmum]

Hi. I have dark wooden kitchen cabinets and want to freshen and lighten the kitchen up but have a limited budget. I painted the walls an olive green which I really like but I still hate the dark wood of the cupboards. How easy is to give them a lock of cream/ white paint to lighten the room up? What type of paint is best to use etc..? I looked in b&q yesterday and was confused between getting wood paint and specific 'cupboard' paint! Any advice would be welcome- thanks!

Place marking as I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Have also painted my walls olive green!

Annie Sloan paint two coats of paint two coats of wax no sanding or primer needed

Anyone?

Ha sorry bumped as didn't see those replied and then they showed up afterwards!

Thanks spotty. I have heard mixed reviews of using Annie sloan paint. Is it hard wearing enough for kitchen units do you think?

I painted Annie Sloan on kitchen cupboards. It marks like crazy - shows up every little knock and grease. You need an enamel gloss - water based enamel gloss worked a treat for me

Wash with sugar soap, sand well, wipe down.

Use this www.amazon.co.uk/Zinsser-Bulls-1-2-3-Primer-Sealer/dp/B0032NEUCG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425813032&sr=8-1&keywords=Zinnsers+primer

Then two coats of eggshell in the colour of your choice.

I did this, has lasted years and years in my hardworking kitchen.

Thanks zinxie. Any recommendations for a brand of paint - does it matter? Dulux, Crown etc.....?

I don't have personal exp of Crown, but I'm told it's not good.

In such a crucial area, go for the best you can get, I say. My local shop colour mixes to order and I buy the one they recommend, it's terrifically good.

This is it eico.co.uk

I've used laura Ashley eggshell in the rest of the house and it's good. But nothing gets quite as much wear and tear as the kitchen, so idk how it would stand up in there.

I think 'painted kitchen' man recommends LittleGreene paints. They have fab colour range and also mix to order. Apparently go on beautifully and wear extremely well.

F&B eggshell is v widely used for painted kitchens, too.

Thanks zinxie some really useful advice. I've just ordered the primer you suggested and then will decide on a paint colour. One last question if you don't mind though - leave the doors hanging or take them off to paint?

As zinxie says, use the right primer and then a hardwearing paint on top. No need for specialist cupboard paint on top I don't think (and it has limited range of colours). Just good primer plus a good touch paint on top. I used Homebase (now called House of Colour) kitchen paint five years ago and it has worn well. Little Greene has an excellent reputation and beautiful colours.

I never took the doors off. I've painted my kitchens for 20 years and never had need to remove doors.

I do paint with the windows open. And I don't used oil based eggshell.

I like painting the inside of the doors a different colour, just for the fun of it.

I hope you enjoy doing it, and find a colour you love.

My kitchen lifts me each time I go in, because of the colours I've chosen.

Good luck with your kitchen. It's fun, painting it just how you want it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-Wonder-Wipes-100/dp/B004G5TDIU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1425839006&sr=8-5&keywords=Wonder+wipes

Have a tub of these around, makes life much easier when decorating. Perfect for wiping up drops,drips,smears,your hands etc. Just hang a carrier bag by on handle onto a cupboard door handle or door handle nearby where you're working, any used wipes, just pop them into the carrier bag. At the end of day just put the carrier bag in the bin. Your work environment will be kept nice and clear and clean. Easy peasy! They are super effective. They don't smear paint around, they remove it. Invaluable.

We've previously painted two kitchens - made by a small joinery co and delivered primed, so not the same as painting straight onto wood units admittedly - and have used Homebase Sanctuary eggshell and Craig & Rose eggshell. Both stood up to everyday wear and tear very well, although the C&R was more of a matt/chalky finish so did mark slightly more. Both times we used a brush as opposed to a roller as we wanted a hand-finished look.....

Have never taken the doors off to paint them.

We've just ordered a kitchen for our new house and will be doing the same again although undecided on colour atm so might go for F&B/Little Greene this time.

I did paint a Smallbone butchers block (picked up for £200 on fleabay) with C&R chalky emulsion then gave two coats of Annie Sloan wax and this has stood the test of time really well.....even with two annoying bouncy dogs about the place!

We had our kitchen cupboards painted by decorators. For durability they recommended dulux super grip primer (sticks to everything, including laminate) and oil-based eggshell paint (we got Johnstones trade paint colour matched to farrow and ball skimming stone). It's holding up really well. We sugar soaped everything before it was painted, but no sanding.

I had a can of Zinsser 123 as well and the decorators said the dulux one was better. They used a mix (we were buying some of the materials) but preferred the super grip.

Thanks. Loads of really useful advice. Just need to get going with it I think!

Hi, am thinking of doing this so was wondering how you got on and what paints/primers you used in the end? Thanks

Hi I painted my kitchen cupboards recently with mylands eggshell goes on really well & lovely soft sheen, has stood up so far much better than, either little Greene/f&b.
I used just bog standard undercoat, but if you are going over previously unpainted wood, then probably better to use primer/undercoat combination
Wouldn't use Annie Sloan on kitchen cupboards, as it's not really scrubable & tends to flake, you can get mylands from Brewers/online or if you are in London from their factory in South East London, I used a colour called fitzrovia which is a pale mushroom.

I had a can of Zinsser 123 as well and the decorators said the dulux one was better.

I know this is an old post, but the difference for me is that Zinsser is recoatable really quickly, but the drying time of the Dulux is 6 hours.

Thanks for replies primelLass and dontcallmelen. It is unpainted wood so will look into priming with zinsser and will have a look at mylands. Unfortunately am up north so will have to look online.

If it's bare wood then you should be OK with a normal primer or whatever is recommended with the Mylands eggshell. Zinsser is more of a problem solving primer for difficult surfaces.

Hi Karron you can get samples from mylands which may be useful & maybe Google Brewers they may have a branch near you, they are fairly widespread.