Painting Kitchen Cabinets

[Three~Little~Birds]

Has anyone painted their kitchen cabinets?  What kind of paint did you use (latex, melamine)?

Did you remove them first?

Any tips or info that you have would be greatly appreciated as I am getting ready to paint ours!

Thanks!

[mich]

We did this a few years ago when we bought out current house. We planned to remodel the kitchen after a few years and painting them was a temporary fix for the ugly cabinets the house came with. Dh did a coat of Bin or something like that, and then a coat of regular latex. They came out great and held up wonderfully. He took off the doors and nobs, painted the frames and doors, then put it all back together.

[coyotemist]

I think you have to use special primer or the paint will come off.

[mommaof3boz]

Actually they make a special paint for cabinets.  I'm not sure of the name.  I have painted cabinets so I'll give you a few tips.  Scrub them very very well before doing anything.  Make sure to prime them.  And let them dry well between coats.  Also make sure to not put a coat on to thick or the doors wont' close properly.  Don't attempt to put the doors back on for several days.  even though its tempting and they feel dry.  The paints will stick and ruin your work.  Oil based paint works better but I'm not sure you can readily get it anymore.  It also takes up to a week to fully cure.

[rere]

Here are some instructions from an MDC mom who did it.

[JacqNS]

Here's a great tutorial for painting kitchen cabinets:

http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/11/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets/

Hope that helps!

[coyotemist]

Great tutes!  I love them!  Really inspiring, I think I'm going to go with light ivory and dark ivory...first I have to pull down this nasty wallpaper tho!

[wendyland]

I painted my cabinets 6 years ago.  I used regular latex and did not use a primer.  I painted a sagey green over another layer of white laytex paint.  It has worn in the spots that I scrub often, but most of it still looks great.