# Painting newly built kitchen cabinets



## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

Hi all!
I am working on my first set of kitchen cabinets using paint grade plywood for the carcas, poplar for the face frames and some pine for the doors.
The reason for the pine doors is it was a lot cheaper and quicker to purchase some good fully 1" thick pine stair treads and then mill them down to 3/4" than it would be to try and find poplar thick enough to flatten, glue up and mill to the correct thickness.

I bought an HVLP sprayer with it's own air pump to paint the cabinets but would like some basic advice on the steps to take.

I intend to use a waterborne alkyd paint to get a smooth and hard finish.

1. What should I do for a primer on the various wood surfaces of the cabinets? What type would work best for adhesion and should it be sprayed or brushed on? Sanding after a coat? Number of coats?

2. Should I spray the carcas or paint them by hand and only spray the face frame and doors? Not having used an HVLP sprayer before I wonder how well I will be able to spray the inside of each cabinet and get a nice even coat.

I have no experience painting cabinets. I have read quite a bit but most everything I find is about giving a new finish to an old cabinet and not starting with clean bare wood so any advice on proper prep would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Trent


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## eccentrictinkerer (Dec 24, 2007)

Nine years ago we gutted our kitchen. I use Melamine carcasses from Mill's Pride (Home Depot). Never again. :-O 

I had all 37 doors and drawer fronts made by Quality Doors. They're paint-grade maple.

Because it was winter, I chose Ben Moore's latex Impervo. (I've since learned from paint store that Impervo messed with the formula rendering it not so good). They tell me that they now have a substitute for Impervo.

I used two coats of Kilz (rolled on and back-brushed), touch-sanding between all coats and used a tack cloth.

Our first guests were our friends who own a contracting company. First question?

"Who sprayed your doors?" 

Nine years and no fingernail nicks and NO yellowing!

I'm a happy camper. My wife is even happier. She's a cookbook writer/recipe developer and spends a lot of time in her kitchen.


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

Thanks for the response.
I have read a number of posts where others have used Killz as the primer so it seems the way to go on new wood as well as when refinishing. Do you recall what grit you sanded the primer between coats?

You said you brushed the primer but did you spray the doors with the Benjamin Moore paint or brush that as well?
I have no experience with the HVLP sprayer so will have to play with it a bit before I begin spraying the visible surfaces.


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## eccentrictinkerer (Dec 24, 2007)

the_nite_owl said:


> Thanks for the response.
> I have read a number of posts where others have used Killz as the primer so it seems the way to go on new wood as well as when refinishing. Do you recall what grit you sanded the primer between coats?
> 
> You said you brushed the primer but did you spray the doors with the Benjamin Moore paint or brush that as well?
> I have no experience with the HVLP sprayer so will have to play with it a bit before I begin spraying the visible surfaces.


I touch sanded both the primer and the first finish coat. I believe I used either 120 or 150 grit to knock off the nibs. Using a tack cloth is essential.

I rolled and back-brushed all coats. I own three kinds of HVLP sprayers, but I had to work inside on that project. I used the Impervo water-based because my wife is very sensitive to VOC's. I'm glad I did. White oil-based paints always yellow over time. My cabinets are still sparkling white after 10 years. On heavy use and outdoor items I sometimes use a couple of clear coats of latex over the white.

My favorite HVLP sprayer, BTW, is the cheapest. The purple gun from Harbor Freight at under $20 is a steal.


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

I just used Zinssler waterborne ZLKYD primer and hand brushed two cabinet doors. I suspect I need to thin the primer as it went on thick and left a lot of streaking from the brush. Once it dried it was a very hard surface and difficult to sand out the brush marks.
I suspect similarly I will need to thin the paint before spraying?

I bought the Harbor Freight HVLP kit that has its own air pump. It had some decent reviews apart from the few people that got a defective unit.

I have never used a sprayer before so any tips on thinning, spray nozzle size and orientation, tips, tricks, etc, would be appreciated.

I have decided to go with the Benjamin Moore Advance Alkyd paint and am in the process of setting up a temporary spray booth in the basement with air intake through filters to keep the dust out and filters on the exhaust side to keep paint from getting on anything outside.


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## eccentrictinkerer (Dec 24, 2007)

the_nite_owl said:


> I just used Zinssler waterborne ZLKYD primer and hand brushed two cabinet doors. I suspect I need to thin the primer as it went on thick and left a lot of streaking from the brush. Once it dried it was a very hard surface and difficult to sand out the brush marks.
> I suspect similarly I will need to thin the paint before spraying?
> 
> I bought the Harbor Freight HVLP kit that has its own air pump. It had some decent reviews apart from the few people that got a defective unit.
> ...



I've found that rolling the primer on then backbrushing results in a better finish. Brushing only leaves more brush marks. Both Kilz and Zinsser dry pretty quickly. When we have low humidity or high temps I usually add a drying retarder.

My luck with inexpensive HVLP sprayers and water-based finishes has been poor. You usually have to thin the the paint so much to get through the gun that isn't really paint anymore. YMMV. Practice a lot.


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

I would shellac the cabinets for an undercoat. Use the Benjamin Moore white water based paint. Leave the pine door panel unpainted outside and inside of door with 2 coats poly followed by one coat satin finish. Wooden cabinet knobs same as door panels. Decorating is a personal preference which is different for everyone. This is just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers Trent!!!


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