The process of installing a complete new set of kitchen cabinets for renovating purposes might be very pricy. For transforming the look of any kitchen with lower price, fresh paint finishing is the most recommended procedure. With choosing right paint, the visuals of the area will be beautified while covering up dingy and dull surfaces. The most important thing while choosing a color, is to be precise on what type of paint finish will be the best and long-lasting for the cabinets. Finishes which are easy to maintain and clean are also in priority.
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Considering Materials in Kitchen Cabinets
The first step for deciding the paint for cabinets is to consider the materials which the products are made of. The most common materials for this application are Solid Wood, Wood Veneer over a board, MDF and Laminate. Each type of these materials have their own characteristics, thus they will require different type of paint finishes.
Cabinets with Solid Wood
Solid natural woods are perfect candidate for being painted due to having scuffed surfaces. The surface must be sand in order to be prepared for paint and the results in this case will be much smoother and will have better finish. This is important specifically for kitchen cabinets which already have stained or glossy finish. Getting through to the first layer is often done using sandpaper or a liquid de-glosser. Is also important to know that natural woods absorb a lot of paint especially when It comes to water-based latex paint.
Cabinets with Wood Veneer
For cabinets which have wood veneer especially with a very thin layer hardwood attached to pressed material, sanding procedure is required before paint finish. Before starting the sanding, checking for loose edges. Cracks or chips is essential. These issues need to be repaired using wood glue. The veneer is just a thin layer covering the material beneath, thus the sanding must be done precisely. The surface must be rough enough to take the paint finish appropriately.
MDF Made Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets which are made of MDF, are extremely suitable for paint finishes. Two priorities should be considered when it comes to preparing MDF for paining which are using an oil-based primer and sealing the edges. Due to the porous edge of MDF, using some drywall compound for sealing it and keeping moisture from swelling the material is essential during the painting process. Using oil-based premier can be helpful for the first layer and then applying water-based latex paint to the surface is allowed. If the latex gets applied before the oil coat, it can be absorbed in MDF and will surely damage the product.
Laminate Made Cabinets
Painting laminate cabinets is way more challenging and it requires advanced skills in comparison to MDF and Solid Wood. This material is plastic which is printed and held fast on top of a composite layer. Due to the smoothness of the finish, the importance of prep work increases significantly. Choosing a laminate-specific primer or paint can be very helpful. These products bong to the shiny surface of the material. Sanding process is also required for paint finish the laminate material. Due to avoiding sanding through the surface, the procedure must be done with precaution. Thus using a fine sandpaper is necessary.
Other Paint Finishes
Cabinet doors are objects which are frequently get touched, pulled, slammed and etc. Thus, these factors can cause damage and paint scratches. They are other general finishes in addition to specified ones for materials. This finishes can improve the quality of the cabinet surfaces and decrease the risk of getting damaged due to the factors told.
The best choice for paint finish kitchen cabinets is using semi-gloss or gloss finish. This finish will increase the sheen and the reflection of the light, thus the product will be more beautiful and durable in the long period. Longevity of the cabinets is an important factor when it comes to environments such as kitchen. Both semi-gloss and gloss are considered as washable finishes and increase resiliency when being scrubbed or washed. This ability is due to presence of resin and binders in the structure of these paint finishes Also the sheen characteristic of the semi-gloss can be helpful for detecting water spots and stains. Painting kitchen cabinets which have flat finish paint or eggshell must be avoided. These finishes are not washable as like as the gloss one. Scrubbing these products can be highly damaging and it can go through the paint and scratch the material beneath.
In part 2 of this article, Oil paint and latex paint will be specifically introduced.
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