how to paint wooden kitchen doors

[jackie wyke]

I am currently having some building work done to extend my kitchen but due to budget constraints I need to revitalise/reuse my existing kitchen units. These units are 15 years old but are still in good shape with real wooden doors, I would like to paint these doors but have no idea what paint to use

Any ideas?

Jackie

 

[Penners]

Presumably the solid wood doors already have some sort of clear finish on them? I'd be surprised if they haven't. If they're commercially produced doors, then the finish will almost certainly be some sort of modern lacquer - probably a pre-catalysed or acid-catalysed melamine.

That being the case, there's not too much point in worrying about whether the paint you put on is breathable. So here's what I would do:-

1. Clean all of the doors thoroughly with white spirit, to remove grease, grime etc. Keep the wetness to a minimum and dry them thoroughly with old towels immediately afterwards, making sure you get all the spirit off.

2. Once they're completely dry, rub down all surfaces with very fine sandpaper (silicone carbine P240 would be good).

3. Buy a good quality oil paint and a good quality brush. Don't be tempted to use a quick drying paint, because it will dry before all the brush marks have flowed out, and you'll be unhappy with the effect. I like Crown "Solo" one-coat gloss, but don't just apply one coat - use two.

4. Before you start painting all the doors, test a small area of the paint on the back of one of them, just to make sure it's compatible with whatever finish was on there before. Let it dry and satisfy yourself that it's not crazing, bubbling or peeling.

5. Paint each door lying flat (no, no - stand up you fool. I meant the door). This reduces the risk of runs. Let the first coat dry thoroughly, then rub down very lightly with the sandpaper mentioned above. Then apply the second coat.

One word of warning: if I'm wrong about the current finish on the doors, and they've been waxed or oiled, then you've got rather more of a problem. You can normally tell the difference by looking very closely at the surface. If you can see a fine film on the surface of the wood, then it's probably lacquer or varnish. Oil sinks in and leaves the surface looking pretty much as though there's nothing covering it. Wax just looks and feels...well... waxy!

If you suspect oil or wax, post again and we can rethink.