Curbly

We painted our 10x10 kitchen in two weekends by following the steps defined within this article and hired some great paint laborers from www.tupatu.com. We also found tupatu had some excellent used paint sprayers that we bought second hand.

Checkout their video at: http://www.youtube.com/TupatuClassifiedAds

I used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations dark-tint kit to paint my bathroom cabinets in both bathrooms a dark espresso color.  They turned out great and look much better than the old worn oak color.  It looks good enough that people think we got new cabinets.  See pictures and how I did it here: http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-paint-cabinets-using-rustoleum-cabinet-transformations

One gallon of paint or primer will go a long way because there is no absorption of paint like you have on walls and ceilings or plain wood.  Your biggest investment (besides your undiverted attenion to the detail of perfoming the job) is brushes.  You must use fine haired brushes of high quality, recommended for the paint you are using - they run more than $10 a piece - so clean them carefully after each use. A thinning agent such as Floetrol (for latex) is useful to avoid streaking.  Mineral spirits is used for oil - based paint.  This is referred to as a "leveler." and affords a professional look by minimizing the streaks you get with brush strokes.  Practice on a board to test how much thinning is optimal. 

Don't use standard quality latex paint and never ever the paint plus primer in one - you'll wind up with a streaky gummy mess that you'll have trouble sanding between coats and it will not stick to the cabinet like it needs to.  It is best to use an "oil based enamel" or its more modern counterpart (acrylic?) and in fact, go to a Benjamin Moore or similar specialty paint store with knowledgeable staff and ask what they recommend.  The cost of the paint is not that big an issue because the amount you'll use is amazingly little (one gallon will paint 2 dozen cabinets at least).  Your time and  careful effort will be the biggest investment in this project. 

And to the person who inquired about laminate... it paints up great but you should clean it well, then give it a fine sanding and prime it first.  There are some really great primers out by Rustoleum, for example, designed for priming specific surfaces - just inquire if you're not sure what type is best. 

Do you have to clean with a degreaser?  We pulled our cabinet doors off and just started sanding with an electric sander.  Do we need to go back and degrease?  Didn't we kind of sand all the grease and grime off?

hiya, thanks for sharing this article. If one looked close up at the end result, does it look like it's been a home job/DIY'd or does it look like white kitchen cabinet's you'd buy in the shop? Please let me know before I ruin my light brown wood kitchen cupboards, as I don't like the homemade look and would rather just buy new ones or leave as is. Thanks for your honesty in advance!

I am painting cabinets that are simi gloss white to a white gloss do I still need to sand down my cabinets? Also the paint I am using is a one coat with primer in it...Velspar is that a good paint?

What they say about the prep is the gospel truth; but the train gets off the tracks after that....

Much better results if you use leveler or paint containing a leveler.  (These are NOT available at the big box stores). Getting a smooth finish is not easy as described in this article.  Leveler (a paint additive)  makes paint more forgiving when it comes to brush marks and eliminates the need to spray paint if you are careful. Also pay attention to the level of glossiness - more shiny is NOT better unless you are going for a porcelain look.  More gloss = more conspicuous defects.  Stick to satin or eggshell grades.

Finally, it has been commented elsewhere, and is my experience that Kilz is NOT what it use to be, dries too fast leaving brush marks, dries too gummy to sand; and does not have the adhesive properties it used to...in fact many painters consider it useless.  Best to use Bin or some solvent based primer....cleanup may be more of a hassle, and you may not like the smell, but you're only gonna do this once, so do it right.

Hi, Would you recommend using Behr's paint that already has primer in it?  that's what the home depot lady told me to do.  But then I wouldn't have to do all your steps.  I just want the best possible outcome

I am considering the project not only for the kitchen but also a bookcase wall unit.  There are grooved areas on the kitchen doors and molding on the bookcase - any suggestions on preping them?  Also, I have a lot of area to cover - any suggestions on a paint sprayer I could purchase that won't be over the top?

Thanks for the info. We did a similar process. My husband and I were able to complete ours in one 3 day weekend, but we did work about 8-10 hour days. We used the semi-gloss and it was just shiny enough without the clear coat

Thanks for the details, just curious, but what color of BM did you use for your cabinets?

what do u think about waxing rather than polyurethene for a protectant???

Thank you for this! I've doing a reno that has gone waaaaay over budget and have been wresting with buying unfinished cabinets since I want a painted finish anyway. This has totally given me the confidence to do it.