Advice please

[kishgo]

Our cottage kitchen cabinets are 20 years old, the kind with the 'wood' grain look at the bottom of the upper cabinet doors, that act as the handle. They have served their purpose and it is time for an update.
Here's where I hope you can help.
What should we do with the cupboard doors? Twenty years ago (Oh my, I'm sad to say that number), I had my kitchen cabinets professionally spray painted. However, after about five years, the wear and tear around the handles began to show. So that kind of turned me off.
Have paint products improved significantly since then????? Should I attempt to TSP, prime and paint the cottage cabinetry? Will painting last? Or, should I consider replacing the cabinet doors? (I realize this can be quite costly and would like to avoid that expense.)
What is your experience and advice please.

[growler]

well there record breaker,oh sorry i meant kishgo,i think it has more to do with the painter and the paint quality than most others think !
i know on cars/trucks this is the case.
i'm not sure if it is still available, as most vehicles no longer have frames,preferring unibody construction(cheaper and less prone to squeaks and such noises),but you used to be able to specify that the frame of your car be painted rather than have the waxy implement coating that washed off after a short time.
and on cars now they clear coat the paint to enhance the quality of the finish, but even that has had a cheaper quality of coating used by some mfg.s as you can see in mall parking lots.(the last car we bought had some peeling clear coat and the dealer knew he would get a lot of bad press if he left it,so he stripped it and refinished the whole car)
so i think if you shop around and ask about the finish they will apply you shouldfind something that will last 10 or more years,and if you apply your "new" hardware in a bit different location that to may help.
but if you go with the cheapest price every time, you may be better off getting new doors !
and i know it would not be handy to you but there are cabinet makers in norwich who build good priced cabinets.

or you could hire rw to fix em, he would do a good job for you,but don't let your dog near him cause after doing some work for us he gets nervous around dogs now !

[kishgo]

I totally understand the car painting situation. We had our old car powder coated (along with wrought iron lawn furniture). The powder coating is amazing. We had the car clear coated as well.
RW would love our dog. He is the sweetest!
I guess the question is, how do we find a reputable painter in an area we hardly know? I will ask around. We have a few friends in this area and perhaps they will know. If I went to a prof. painter, of course he would say his was the best procedure!
Thanks for you advice Growler.

[Rick Wisson]

My opinion is . If you paint you still have old cabinets . If the paint job goes sour you will be up set. Go to a big box store and check out some knock down cabinets. The door and style is the most expensive part of cabinets. Replace all the cabinets and you will beam with the fresh clean /crisp look at them. Then be cautious you wont like the lower cabinets and the counter top and sink and faucet. And Growlers dogs are neat. Still have all my fingers. Can you post a picture. And let me take a good guess the hinges on the doors are acting up. And the cabinets you have now are frame less.

[kishgo]

Our cabinets are in great shape. No wonky hinges or anything. They just look dated. The counter top was a classic style and still okay. It's a gray fleck/pebble look. Still current, or probably current again!!!
I'll try to post a picture. Another thing to try/learn but it won't be tonight. And maybe not tomorrow either. LOL We are putting up the board and batten tomorrow after two days of priming and painting.
Thanks for your opinion Rick.

[Ruby Tuesday]

Paints are good, but they just don't stand up to that type of wear - in my opinion anyways.

I think that if you go to a lumber yard you will find that you can get some good priced doors. If you go to a cabinet maker you typically pay way more. That's what we experienced when we built our house.

[growler]

Paints are good, but they just don't stand up to that type of wear - in my opinion anyways.

I think that if you go to a lumber yard you will find that you can get some good priced doors. If you go to a cabinet maker you typically pay way more. That's what we experienced when we built our house.

we priced around for cupboards for almost 3 months before happening on this outfit in norwich, and several times thought we had our minds made up,and even had an installer from one outfit come and do the measure up fit deal.
but after stumbling on this outfit in norwich and having them supply a price we went with them !
then the boss wanted a gas fireplace in the living room and a entertainment unit/library/stoage setup there, and them putting us onto a fireplace vendor that gave us a wholesale price on it she got them to build the mantle/cabinet unit there to !
so the box store premades weren't any cheaper than the cabinet maker this time !

[kishgo]

I'll have to do some pricing to replace the cabinet doors. Hubby is not convinced that we should replace them instead of painting. (And remember, I do all the painting, no matter what he promises!!)

[growler]

I'll have to do some pricing to replace the cabinet doors. Hubby is not convinced that we should replace them instead of painting. (And remember, I do all the painting, no matter what he promises!!)

and you really think we are going to beleive this fairytail ! (lol)

[retired2]

If you do paint use Malmine (sp) paint. Much harder then regular paint. ASny paint store should have it.

[gale force]

We tried the melmine paint that we purchased at Benjamin Moore but it didn't live up to expectations. Whether the application was wrong ( I was the applicator!!) and I just expected too much I don't know. This paint immediately showed signs of wear around the knobs and handles where your fingernails would graze the paint.

[Beppe2]

I painted my son's kitchen cabinets 8 years ago with melamine paint and they still look good.
You have to sand after every coat and I gave it three coats.

[gale force]

Thats where I went wrong!! Good to know after all these years. Perhaps I'll try again on my cabinets down south, they surely need some upgrading.

[kishgo]

Thanks Beppe2! Perhaps that's where the error was when I did the kitchen cabinets in Simcoe many years ago. But then, I did have the professnionally sprayed...or so I thought!!!
|Hubby loves this idea! But of course, as I said earlier, he is great on ideas, short on manpower,
Saw a chiropractor today. He asked what I had been doing with my right arm/shoulder to tie it up so. My reply was "Three days of painting and applying board and batten." His answer "Understandable!"

[Slowfood]

I put melamine on our cupboards.Preparation is key, they still look great after 4 years.
The only thing I would do differently is to apply the paint with an airless gun instead of a brush. Less paint used,smoother finish.
I have never heard of powder coating a whole car , parts before assembly yes. How did it make out going through the oven?
Trying to find 1 door to match the cupboards in my wife's rental property right now. Saw some once either at the Re-Store or Paris kitchens. Don't know what to do if I can't find it.

[kishgo]

Clarification....about the car....parts and frame only, not the whole car! LOL
I should check to see how much an air brush costs.

[Beppe2]

I see there is 10% off kitchen cabinets in Home Depot this week.

[gale force]

Had some friends who upgraded their kitchen a few years back, and rather than replace their existing cabinets which were in great shape, they replaced the doors only. The interior of the cabinets was what you would get from any builder in the beige tone, but the doors were of maple. It looked absolutely fantastic and you saw very little of the original lower cost cabinet.

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