HOW TO PAINT MELAMINE CABINETS

How To Paint Melamine Cabinets

Steps to follow

Melamine cabinets can be painted with great success. The following steps can be followed: 

Step 1 – Remove all the doors and drawers and start by removing the hardware and then cleaning it with a strong sugar soap solution. Neutralise the sugar soap by wiping it with a clean cloth soaked in clean water. 

Step 2 – Lightly sand the doors and drawer fronts with a fine sand paper such as a 220 grit. Clean it with a damp cloth to remove dust. Remember to sand in the direction of the grain. 

Step 3 – Apply a Melamine primer. Special primers are available for use on melamine, tiles etc. 

Step 4 – When dry, sand down the primer lightly with a 220 grit sandpaper. Let it stand overnight to cure properly. 

Step 5 – Apply at least two top coats of suitable water-based enamel paint. 

Step 6 – Before replacing the doors, first paint the fixed units and make sure that all visible sections are painted. Use a high quality foam roller and follow the same procedure as described above. 

When choosing paint for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, choose a specialised paint that can withstand high humidity and steam. Most of these paints also inhibit microbial growth, mould and mildew. It must also be washable and easy to clean.

The pictures show Melamine cabinets before and after painting in a soft off-white colour. 

Pianted Melamine kitchen cabinets

 

Find Old Furniture To Restore

 If you are going to develop your skills, you will have to get hold of old furniture to restore. These days old furniture can be found everywhere and often people sell furniture that is still in a good condition because they do not want to go to the trouble to fix it.

Vintage kitchen dresser restored to original state

The first option is to look at pawn shops and secondhand furniture shops. However, you should be careful because they are in the business of making a profit and you may end up paying too much for it. The main thing is to buy something that you like. It also depends on what you want to do with it. If you are going to keep it the price may not be that important. Should you want to fix it and sell it again for a profit, then price is very important. It’s  important to be aware of prices of secondhand furniture. Make sure that you know the value of a piece before you buy it. Remember if you are going to sell it you want to make a profit and the selling price must be lower than the price of a similar new piece of furniture.

The best option is to buy a piece that is not too badly damaged. Small defects such as cracks or loose joints can be fixed without too much effort. But if you have to replace some parts (e.g. a table leg), then it can become costly. In such a case you may have to go to a cabinet maker to make a new leg and more often than not you will have to take the whole piece apart to fit the new leg. Also, some hardwood types have become very rare and can be difficult to find and are usually very expensive.

Auctions can also be a good source for secondhand furniture. Again, beware of paying too much for it. If a piece is soiled or damaged you might get it for a very low price. Make up your mind what you want to pay for it and stick to that.

Keep an eye on your local news paper.  Be sure to first have a look at the piece before you make an offer. The internet is another option. Gumtree and other similar sites sometimes have good buys. Like with a news paper, you should try and see it before you buy.

To start off with your restoration and refinishing efforts, you should try and practice on your own furniture.  You can then afford to make mistakes.

Revamp Old Built-in Cupboards

Cupboards in light grey with white borders

Built-in cabinets are used for storage in kitchens and bedrooms. These cabinets can be revamped to look as good as new or even better. Usually made of pine wood, melamine or Supawood (MDF), they tend to become worn and rundown over time but fortunately can easily be revamped to regain their former glory. You can basically do three things:

• ·        The doors can be replaced with new ones. This could be a bit costly but will still be cheaper than replacing them with new cabinets.

• ·        Refinish the cabinets by painting them.

• ·        Adding new trims such as beading, wooden trims or new handles.

The cabinets showed in the picture were revamped by painting them and fitting trims around the doors and by replacing the old wooden knobs with round glass knobs.

Old built-in cupboards resprayed in white with trimmings

The first thing to do is to remove the doors and to remove all the hinges and other hardware. Make sure that you number them so that they can be replaced in the same position. After the old varnish has been sanded to a smooth finish, the trims were cut and glued to the doors. As can be seen, two blocks were made – bigger one at the top of the door and a smaller one at the bottom. The doors were then spray painted two coats universal undercoat and two top coats in a white eggshell enamel. The frames were left intact and painted with a sponge roller in the same colour as the doors. You could also spray the framework in a slightly darker off white shade to give a more interesting look.

These revamped cabinets not only look great but the room is now also was much lighter. The cost was a fraction of that of new cabinets. Although it takes a bit of time it can easily be done as a DIY project. If you don’t have a spray gun, use a sponge roller with a solvent base paint. Where doors are damaged with scratches or cracks, this will first have to be repaired. Wooden trims are generally available from any decent hardware store or wood merchant. The trims are cut at 45° corners. The spacing of trims should be uniform and carefully measured out before fixing it with wood glue. If you are going to fix them with panel pins make sure that you use thin pins to prevent the wood from cracking.

Refinishing built-in cabinets and kitchen cabinets can be a profitable home business. If you want to know more about the opportunities for starting refinishing as a home business, get all the information you want from my e-book, "Refinishing Old Furniture - start a home business"

Spray Painting Cane Furniture

Spray paint furniture- go to www.createspace.com/6533025

Cane furniture are extremely durable but will eventually need refinishing. If you are a DIY person, a good option is to spray paint the pieces. If you have some old pieces, you should consider painting it in a solid color such as soft white or cream rather than just varnishing. Paint will cover black marks and damaged parts much better and gives it a brand new appearance.

Preparing For Painting

The first step is obviously to prepare the piece by removing loose or flaking paint. The best is to use a steel wire brush or sandpaper (100 grit). It is not necessary to take off all the old paint or varnish, as long as the surface is solid and smooth, the new paint can be applied. Make sure the piece is clean and dry before putting on the primer.

What Paint To Use

I prefer to use an oil base wood primer and top coat. Most paint suppliers will provide a good primer and for a top coat I prefer to use an eggshell (mat) finish oil base paint in off-white or cream. If you are going to use a compressor sprayer you will also need some lacquer thinners to thin down the paint by adding 10% thinners to the paint and thoroughly mixing it with a flat paddle.

I am a bit skeptical to use water base paint, but many people say that the modern water paint (Latex) will provide a long lasting and durable finish. If you want to be sure that the paint will not eventually start flaking again, use a good quality oil base wood primer and paint. It will also ensure that no brown spots appear after painting where the old paint or varnish was not totally removed.

How to Spray Paint Cane Furniture

I use a small (50 liter) compressor and spray gun with a 1.7 mm nozzle to spray paint furniture. It makes it easier to reach all the little crevices and hard to get places and is also much faster than an ordinary brush. You could also use a spray can but this can become an expensive exercise.

If you are going to spray paint, build a home-made spray booth from cardboard boxes or other material around the piece to be sprayed. Make sure that you have all the necessary protective gear such as a proper respirator, safety glasses and an overall. Also ensure that you have proper ventilation when you spray (use a domestic electric fan if possible).

First turn the piece upside down to paint the underside. Make sure that all the areas are well covered with paint. Turn over the piece and do the top part. At least one or two coats of wood primer should be painted and left overnight to dry properly. When the paint has dried up properly, sand down with 360 grit sandpaper to get a smooth finish. Now apply at least two coats of top coat to provide a well covered surface that will last.

 If you want to find out more about spray painting furniture, why not have a look at my e-book - "How to Spray Paint Furniture".

Painting Effects On Furniture

It has become very popular to create paint effects on used or even new furniture. White wash and the distressed look are two of these techniques. Both techniques are simple to master and with the modern water base paints, glazes and varnishes you can get a real professional look.

White Wash

In the past, whitewashing was accomplished through thinning down white paint. That method is still used, but there is an easier way to achieve this classic look. Now, you can purchase oil- or water-based whitewash stains that are specially made for this procedure. Simply apply this to the piece of furniture as prescribed by the manufacturer. You could also take a water based acrylic paint and dilute it and then apply lightly to the object. White wash works best on pine furniture. If you have a piece that has old paint or varnish, make sure that all of this removed to expose the bare wood before white washing. Also remember that washing need not necessarily be white, Pastel colors also give a beautiful wash effect.

Distressed cabinet light green undercoat and terracotta overcoat

  Distressed Look

 Distressing is a technique used to age a    painted surface, giving the appearance of being worn and chipped over time. The key to this technique is to concentrate on the areas that would naturally receive more wear such as corners, edges, raised areas and around handles. It is preferable to use water based paints and then seal with a varnish for durability.

If your piece of furniture is dark wood you can paint straight on it and then sand back to the natural wood. On lighter woods it is preferable to apply a dark stain first. On non wood surfaces it is necessary to paint the piece dark brown first.

Candle wax then needs to be rubbed onto the piece where you want the dark color showing through. Two to three coats of acrylic paint, in white or a light color, can now be applied. Once dry the piece can be lightly sanded to lift the acrylic paint off the waxed areas and then sealed with a water based varnish.

The cabinet in the picture was undercoated with a light green and over coated in terracotta. The edges were lightly sanded to produce a distressed look.

For more information on paint techniques, get "Refinishing Old Furniture - start a home business"