Caution—lengthy text and really booooooring pictures below…..
There are many posts about painting cabinets—each one a little different—so let me me throw one more into the mix. My next door neighbor is a painter and his quote to paint my kitchen cabinets was around $2,500. A chunk I tell you.
Paint Choice: I asked him if he’d consult, did he have a choice? He had just painted the cabinets in his kitchen with an oil base paint, and it looked really good. He’s a big fan of Benjamin Moore, Impervo (half way between an egg shell and satin finish) so I went with it. I used the color, Cloud White. He also suggested a two inch ox hair brush, "Purdy" brand—I bought it at the Kwall store.
Logistics: I took the hardware off the doors and and the doors off the boxes and lined them around the laundry room on newspaper and broken paint stir sticks. I left the hinges on and painted around them. After about 20 I got pretty good at hinges. The doors took a while. I’d paint one side, wait twelve hours (read five days), flip and paint the other side. After the boxes were done (four coats), I hung the doors back up with only two coats on and finished painting them while they hung—that way I could paint both sides at a time.
Prep: I caulked the cracks in all the molding and door casings with just a paintable Walmart caulk. I washed all the doors and skipped sanding but used ESP (easy surface prep). Just wipe on and wipe off--ready to paint in 90 minutes.
Tips: I primed using Zinsser’s Oil Base Stain Blocker mainly because this primer was low odor. If just one out of the four coats was not as smelly as the the other three, it was worth it. It also helped to stretch the gallon of paint. I used Penetrol, a paint conditioner, to slow the drying time and to eliminate brush strokes. The paint out of the can was a thick chowder consistency and I would thin to about, homemade-ranch-dressing-before-refrigeration consistency. Maybe that's why it took four coats--but no brush marks and there was plenty of time to go back, even after an hour, and check for drips.
Bonus Tips: I sanded in between coats with a 220 grit just to remove all the blips and lint stuck on from drying, and then vacuumed the doors to remove the dust. By coat #4 my paint had all kinds of dried paint chips from the side of the can—and I had been so careful not to pour old paint back in, I even kept the lid on tight. Jim, the consult, suggested straining the paint using a nylon. I strained a lot of paint using 33 cents worth of knee highs and cottage cheese containers. I used about 3 inches of nylon fitting it over container and tying a knot in the other end, and then pouring it into another container.
I think I spent about 50+ hours on the whole project all together but the end result was just what I was going for. Don’t let me think about the improvements on the guitar or piano I could have made if I had practiced that many hours in a three week block. Or the cleanliness of the basement in general…
Links of inspiration and help!
I had thought I would antique them but they seem too white for that now. I probably should have picked a more off white—but maybe later once the floor is in and I need another change… I’m still debating painting the island a color, or staining it a dark wood color. I promise a better after picture once the whole shebang is done. But I’ve moved on to the railing and banister already. Just stripping away—you know the varnish that turned orange after 14 years.
And did you know we now have chickens? It’s a foster program really…more on that next time.
Anyone reading, if you got any pictures I’d love copies. I found my camera in the side pocket of my purse on the way home. I had packed it early so I wouldn’t forget it—I just forgot that I had. 
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