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Have any of you used special paints for kitchen cupboards?

(44 Posts)
Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 17:03:00

We have been planning a new kitchen for some time, but I am afraid finances are in a bit of a mess, for all sorts of reasons.

So perhaps time to look at alternatives. Replace tiling and work surfaces,, and all appliances, and pain the units and change handles. Kitchen probably 80s- not wood but some sort of laminate.

Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks.

Germanshepherdsmum Mon 30-Jan-23 17:05:36

There are companies which supply replacement doors. I don’t think painting laminate would be very successful but I’m no expert.

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 17:08:00

Does anyone have the names of companies that do sell replacement doors? Please and thank you.

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 17:09:34

BTW the current ones are matt finish laminate, so with a bit of sanding, should be OK for painting?

AreWeThereYet Mon 30-Jan-23 17:27:31

Laminate doors can be painted - there are specialist paints now that you can get from places like B&Q. I think they are called cupboard paint, or something like that. They are expressly intended for painting items that are not wood and traditionally didn't take paint well.

Lots of makes available - like this at B&Q

www.diy.com/departments/v33-renovation-taupe-satin-kitchen-cupboard-cabinet-paint-2000-ml/1286525_BQ.prd

AreWeThereYet Mon 30-Jan-23 17:29:03

This might help

www.diy.com/ideas-advice/how-to-paint-kitchen-cabinets/PROD_npcart_100480.art

(I don't work for B&Q 🤣🤣 )

Norah Mon 30-Jan-23 17:34:20

We have a very old home. Very old dark wood cabinets, but I've successfully painted laminate toy boxes for our GC.

We washed all over with ammonium mixed to half with hot water. Then sanded, then rubbed down with 0000 steele wool. Then washed with ammonium again and waited a day to totally dry. We painted 3 coats (extra days to dry and rub 0000 between coats) with quality kitchen satin.

Same to painting wood cabinets, less the initial sanding.

Witzend Wed 01-Feb-23 21:22:46

A dd and Sil used ‘cupboard paint’ on some really horrible old dark brown laminate kitchen cupboards - the transformation was unbelievable. I don’t know how long it would have lasted but still looked fine when the kitchen was replaced after a couple of years, when they had an extension.

I’ve used the same sort of paint on a whole wall of nasty looking white laminate wardrobes. Used a cream paint and they looked miles better - still do after some 10 years. I also replaced all the nasty cheap looking handles with wooden knobs.
We’d had a nearly £4k quote for replacing the whole lot - my bill for paint and new handles was £65!
I did prep very carefully and put on two coats though.

Forsythia Wed 01-Feb-23 21:29:11

Hi, yes we paint all old brown furniture, kitchen cabinets, tiles, the lot. We use Rustoleum paint from B&Q and a Matt satin finish tile paint which transformed drab brown tiles to a pale cream. My daughter has painted her kitchen worktops too and they are fine. She also painted her bathroom cabinets and tiles. All paints are from diy stores. You’d be amazed at the difference plus if the fittings are ok apart from being dated in colour it will be a real eye opener.

Fleurpepper Wed 01-Feb-23 21:33:09

Thanks all for your very useful replies. Very grateful. We will replace tiles, worktops and all appliances as their are really old- and will paint cupboards. That will save a fortune, at a time when the poor £ does not go very far!

SunshineSally Wed 01-Feb-23 21:37:39

I’ve painted laminate kitchen cupboards in a previous house and replaced handles with white china door knobs. Looked so much better! Thr important thing to remember is to really scrub clean the doors of any grease. I used sugar soap and to lightly sand between coats. I also painted over the tiles and then stencilled on them. Enjoyed doing the tiles so much that when I redecorated the kitchen I then repainted and stencilled another design. We couldn’t afford a new kitchen and my thinking was if it looked awful then I’ll replace the doors. I was more than happy with the results. Good luck x

Petera Wed 01-Feb-23 21:43:59

Probably not useful if you're worried about finances but we took our kitchen cupboards to the local garage and had them sprayed with car paint. I honestly can't remember the cost but they'll probably see several generations out, so cheap in the long run.

Norah Wed 01-Feb-23 21:57:12

Fleurpepper

Thanks all for your very useful replies. Very grateful. We will replace tiles, worktops and all appliances as their are really old- and will paint cupboards. That will save a fortune, at a time when the poor £ does not go very far!

We save a fortune every time we don't replace worktops, we just sand deeply, stain, oil with food grade oil, buff.

Maybe that's a consideration?

Fleurpepper Wed 01-Feb-23 22:45:28

they are tiled and grubby, with some loose tiles, etc, I will replace them, definitely.

Callistemon21 Wed 01-Feb-23 23:37:43

We did that last time (ages ago now), tiles, floor tiles, worktops, sink, cooker etc, but didn't paint the cupboards as they're a good solid wood and I quite like them, just changed the handles.

However, it looks as if it's time for another makeover (or a new kitchen) so I was wondering whether anyone has replaced not just doors but replaced bottom cupboards with big drawers?

Tiles are still good and I like them but the worktops need replacing so wonder if tiles could get broken.

Sara1954 Thu 02-Feb-23 06:19:59

SunshineSally is right, the most important thing is getting them really clean.
We had a decorator paint ours, and I thought they were clean, but they were a dreadful mess, peeling off within days.
We then had them taken of and sprayed, amazing results, they look fantastic, but the man who sprayed them, said they need to be scoured clean, or it just won’t work.

NotSpaghetti Thu 02-Feb-23 08:52:36

I would be wary of buying new appliances if they still work. My new fridge freezer lasted 2 days beyond the warranty.

Fleurpepper Thu 02-Feb-23 09:03:08

NotSpagetti- we are not talking about beyond warranty here, lol. The cooker has solid plates, and dates from the 70s, perhaps before then! And the dishwasher about the same, it works on one programme only, and must be very energy wasteful. So it would make no sense leaving them.

Fleurpepper Thu 02-Feb-23 09:04:04

We could take them out ans spray them - a spray is not expensive and we have several tressles.

bikergran Thu 02-Feb-23 09:10:03

Fleurpepper I have recently bought my dd an electric paint sprayer as she is going to start spraying furniture.

You can use various paints in the sprayer.If you have a lot of spraying to do it might be worth considering.

The spray cans you buy barely go anywhere especialy if you have few coats to do.

I bought the sprayer from screwfix they have various prices and reviews.Might be worth a look. (I cant wait to test it out)

bikergran Thu 02-Feb-23 09:11:52

I recently gave my kitchen a make over myself as money is always tight(plus I love D.I.Y) will try and find my before and after photos. Good luck, plenty of advice out there on youtube.

Forsythia Thu 02-Feb-23 09:12:31

As others have already said, preparation is key to success. My DH always scrubs everything down with sugar soap. Then he dries using a lint free cloth. Some paints don’t need an undercoat but some do. Top coat,which is a clear Matt gloss, will protect the painted surface from chipping. When we did our tiles we didn’t have to top coat them but we do on all cupboard doors and painted furniture.

Squiffy Thu 02-Feb-23 09:16:17

We have just had our pine cupboard doors cleaned and resprayed with cellulose paint by a professional company. They also replaced all the kickboards. The finished result is amazing and the cost was reasonable.

ParlorGames Thu 02-Feb-23 09:18:15

As with any painting jobs the final result will depend on the preparation - skimp on that and you're simply waisting time and money. Be prepared for lots of rubbing down which will create lots of dust particles so make sure to wear PPE and ideally the items to be painted should be left to dry in a shed or garage, definitely nowhere near pets and children or where they will be subjected to the elements.

yogitree Thu 02-Feb-23 09:59:47

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