The Lemon Fool

Mrs Parky has decided she wants to lighten up the kitchen and wants me to paint the kitchen units. I am not a perfectionist but I don't want the paint to flake or chip. Has anyone done this successfully? The units have wooden doors and laminate framing and panels. Any recommendations for type of paint and preparation needed?

It is possible to get primers that will stick to most things Zinsser 1.2.3 is one I've used in the past. There may be better ones but I've not come across them. As for top coat I would use water based paint rather than oil based. There is always the likelihood a paint finish will get scratched or otherwise damaged.

Epoxy paints might be another option, International do a range but I'm not up to date on what is currently available. Epoxy will have better resistance to scratching and staining.

As ever with painting it is difficult to get a perfect finish.

The other option would be to go for new doors if the cabinets are sound. Google 'kitchen doors' and you will find numerous suppliers doing just about every door you can imagine and every colour. Prices for doors only can be very reasonable compared to those for a full unit.

Thanks sg31. I will look out for the Zinsser primer and a water-based top coat. There are many top coats available. I also looked at new doors. While the finish would be better, I anticipate problems fitting if measuring and drilling my own handle and hinge screw holes. My measuring skills were never very good.

My Mrs gave ours a facelift by painting the doors with blue Hammerite.

It looked surprisingly ok. And very easy to clean and hard-wearing.

Of course, we replaced the whole thing 6 months later

When painting doors, I find I get a better finish taking the doors off and painting them flat using a small roller. You need the type of roller made for use with woodwork paints rather than an emulsion roller. Stops the paint sagging which is difficult to avoid with the door upright. Wrap the roller in clingfilm between coats.

If the doors are flat, as opposed to panelled, an alternative to painting is self adhesive plastic laminate. B&Q and probably other sheds have stocks of suitable stuff and as long as the surface is perfectly clean and free from grit or dust, the results can be pretty good. I did our kitchen in the late 1990s. It had horrible blue grey plasticky finished doors and I covered them with a birch effect finish. They were still ok when I re-did them earlier this year in white gloss as our son (who bought the house from us a few years ago) wanted a change.

I have recently painted my kitchen cupboards. I used a Zinsser 123 primer followed by dulux trade satinwood. Looks good and easy to clean. The zinsser is great stuff, I painted over the panelled glass with it. I used adhesive plastic to cover the worktops and a tile paint (Ronson I think it was) to change tile colour.

Thanks all for your comments and tips. It has given me confidence to go ahead with the project. It seems that Zinsser is the key to making it a success.

Parky wrote:Thanks all for your comments and tips. It has given me confidence to go ahead with the project. It seems that Zinsser is the key to making it a success.

Like all these jobs, preparation is a big part of success as is concentration, attention to detail and the right kit. But Zinsser is a good product for difficult painting areas and is a part of that preparation and using the right kit for the task.

I have used Zinser primer undercoat, bought new doors and matched the door colour with Dulux mat oil based paint at a Dulux paint centre. Apply the paint with a small sponge roller and after a couple of coats you can't distinguish the finish from new units.