Kitchen cupboards

[Anotherthink]

We have a cheap laminate council spec kitchen in pine which I've not liked since we moved in.

Tried to talk OH into us painting the doors as this is really popular on budget facebook groups but he isn't keen - thinks it will chip and it would look ten times worse after a bit.

We're on a budget - have been since we moved in years ago and it's really frustrating just how out of reach these things are for us and will be for at least another 5 years.

Anyone painted theirs and it's still going strong 12 months on?

If you paint them with a chalk paint (Annie Sloan is my 'go to' it's relatively easy to do and no Oreo beforehand (other than washing the doors down to remove loose dust) then you can out a couple of costs of lacquer over the top. It's hard wearing, but it's also easy to 'touch up'. Or completely repainted in a couple of years.

you can buy replacent ready-made kitchen doors very easily.

some of the distributors seem to have closed down or furloughed but you will still find a few examples on ebay

edged laminate doors are very durable

vinyl foil-wrap doors aren't.

Hand-painted kitchens are the most expensive ones. If your doors are real wood, there shouldn’t be a problem with paint if you do it properly. As above, you can touch up too. Or try the replacement door idea but that will be more expensive than painting.

Are there sides showing or can you replace doors?

There are companies that sell replacement doors & sides which is an option

No they're not real wood they're crappy mdf laminate things. I understand where my oh is coming from, in my head paint will scratch off so easy. Loads of people do it and the results are great but if it means having to touch up every month to prevent them looking hideous then I don't want to go down that road. No one ever updates months down the line either, just immediately after!

I looked at replacement doors and they came out at like £40 min each? Am I doing it wrong as otherwise that will still take us into several hundred.

I'm looking for the cheap option as we also need to redo the floor and can't do that until we've sorted the base colour for the units. It's a bit chicken and egg and ends up with nothing getting done.

I have used V33 renovation kitchen and cupboard paint for a few things . I use a gloss foam mini roller. No sanding required although I lightly sanded on one item not on another.
I did old kitchen units and they were wipe able and didn't scratch! Highly recommend.

www.diy.com/departments/v33-renovation-loft-grey-satin-cupboard-cabinet-paint-2l/3153895119467_BQ.prd

A little goes a long way I have used this colour and Pearl barley.

I painted the kitchen in the house we are about to move out of, about 2.5 years ago and still looks perfect. Paint hasn’t chipped at all, which I didn’t think would be the case. I did it for the same reason, we couldn’t really afford new kitchen and even replacing doors etc seemed a bit too pricey. I used a small roller, and used V33 renovation paint.
The other option is using fablon / dc fix.
Hope that helps

I used a pale grey cupboard paint by Johnstone's in my old kitchen. It was £18 from Amazon. It covered my MDF units really well and looked good after two coats. I did it in July and no cracks or chips so far.

Oops posted at same time as @dixiedo but that’s the paint I used too, easy to work with!

I painted my cupboard doors (cheap mdf with laminate) with a melamine cupboard paint from b&q, 2 years ago. Had to sand first, then used foam roller.

One has chipped, only because the oven door handle touches it every time you open the oven the rest are still fab.

Dixiedo thanks for the recommendation I hadn't come across that brand before, the photos in the reviews are great! Would it be madness to consider that with a light varnish on top to seal it in and make them more 'wipe clean'?! I've never varnished anything in my life so this could be a laughable suggestion

Oh lots more reassuring posts there thank you!

Anyone achieve a high gloss finish?

Mine was more satin. Gloss shows too many finger prints. I wouldn't recommend varnish. My cupboards are wipe clean without it.

Ermmm my "projects" have been with the satin finish and completely wipeable. I'm not sure if the varnish would adhere to the paint to be honest so couldn't comment. I did it in my old kitchen when I first moved in (they were vile) they were fine to wash down and I didn't notice any scratches..
If you want a high gloss I would look for a local company that does kitchen spraying ??

In one of my old flats I painted an old laminate bathroom vanity unit and bath panel which were pine-effect laminate (before and after photos). Used a Dulux “difficult surfaces” primer and Wilko cabinet paint as both got good reviews. It was still going strong 3 years later, I was really impressed with durability.

I would also recommend V33 paint it's lovely to work with and my kitchen cupboards still look fab, not a single chip. I also used it on the worktops (V33 tile paint) with a varnish over the top to seal it, I'm so pleased with the outcome

This feedback is great thank you, will definitely try this and then we can get cracking with the floor next!