DAY 3 - Kitchen Cabinet Painting

Monday, June 13, 2011

Today was Day 1 of Vacation and Day 3 of my project.  Having an 18-month old definitely hinders the amount of time you have to work on the project.  No getting up early to start, nor burning the midnight oil to power through.  She slept late (and I use her as my alarm clock) and then I had to bring her to daycare.  Also, I still had about 3 hours of work to finish up this a.m. before I could be "off" for the week.  So, a slow start again today.

Oh, and Hubby was off golfing with the guys (and Lori) in my family.  It was planned already and ACTUALLY, I liked it!  No hubby with comments and no baby running around. Just me and my project and bad daytime TV.

First, I did talk to the FPE rep and he said it was ok to use TSP and/or a liquid deglosser to degrease and get rid of the grime.  Then, as I already knew, he said to:  scuff sand, vacuum, tack, brushing putty, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint.  He also said MOST people use the ECO Satin vs. the ECO Brilliant. Both are equally as durable. It's really a personal choice for finish/sheen.  I also posted the ? on the GardenWeb/iVillage boards and many said the FPE ECO Brilliant is really shiny. So, I will stick with the ECO Satin.

I finally started about 12:30 and removed contact paper from the bottom of 4 of the cabinets in case we do paint the insides.  I tried the orange oil (Goo Gone), but really just using  my nails and a screwdriver and some patience with pulling, and it came up.  The Goo Gone didn't really dissolve the adhesive as I had hoped. oh well, I still got it off and it was only 4 bottoms.

Then, I prepped the area to start the degreasing with the TSP spray I already had from the bathroom cabinet test project (BELOW PIC). I was going to run out and get a liquid deglosser, but the TSP bottle said it also deglossed and I figured I was going to sand anyway. So, i didn't think i needed a strong chemical deglosser.  The cabinets really didn't seem extremely dirty, even for 17 years old.  We had wiped them down when we moved into the house 4 years ago.  So, hopefully I made the right choice. oh and Amy Matthews from DIY network said to use this one  ;o)
 
This brand has no chemical smell.  And, you don't need to wipe off with water after.  Just a dry rag. Also, make sure to wear protective gloves.  They suggested goggles as well, but I ignored that. Just be careful when spraying.

There are some warnings about the TSP getting on surfaces, so make sure you throw down a drop cloth on your countertop and floors if you care about it. And mask off the walls, as it will rub off the paint slightly.  Remember, its stripping off the varnish, as well as grease from your cabinets, so it will dull your walls.  It warned to be careful of appliances, wood floors and stainless sinks/appliances, etc. as well.

I started to mask off part of the walls, and used the painters tape.  That new bright green FrogTape brand worked well when I painted the bathroom. It's more expensive than the blue stuff, but less bleed through.  So, don't waste it.  For the area's where the paint won't really touch or have a chance to bleed through, you can just tape the masking paper (or plastic) with regular masking tape. It's cheaper. Of course, after I sand I will probably have to remask as I don't know how I'm going to vacuum all the sawdust up and it not suck up that thin paper. We'll see.    Tomorrow that might be a "Lesson's Learned" #1.

Vacuum out cabinets with Shop Vac or just your regular vaccum if you are going to clean and paint the insides. Luckily I have a Hubby with lots of tools.

Next I grabbed a bunch of dry rags to wipe the TSP, a few scouring sponges and steel wool, Q-tips and a Safety Pin.  You probably should get newer rags, but I used some older ones that I had from other projects.  Basically the idea is to remove the dirt, not spread more around.  They seemed ok though.

I wouldn't use the steel wool or anything that really scrubs, if you plan on wanting to see the grain finish.  I knew I would be sanding and DO NOT want to see the grain and using that grain filler.  The steel wool REALLY scrubs the grime off, especially in those corners (CLICK ON ABOVE).  I would use that or just a scouring sponge, especially on the cabinets that are closest to stove and sink area.

Otherwise I just sprayed, waited about :30, then wiped with the dry rag.  if you do scour, just make sure you wipe with paper towels or rag. maybe use a wet rag, then dry rag.  No matter what you do, you want all the residue gone and it to be dry after.  Q-tips help with the corners and grooves.  Safety pin for those corners where the grime will just not budge. I resprayed a few times for those tough corners, grooves and grimier cabinets.

Everything I read said PREP and CLEANING is VERY IMPORTANT to how it will finish.  


And, by looking at the rags afterwards, you can see how much dirt comes out! Granted, some of it is the wood/varnish, but a lot is built up dirt.  Oh, i thought about using a toothbrush after the fact.  oh well.

   

All in all it took me about 4 hours and I was done at 5:05, just in time to clean up and go pick up Kaitlyn. I also cleaned the insides, but really did a quick wipe compared to the outsides.  (all the shelves we decided we would just buy new melamine ones or cover existing in white contact paper as if we paint them, the dishes, etc. will just scrape the paint off)

Here is my DONE pile ready to sand tomorrow!

On a cuter side note, I hear Kaitlyn snoring on the monitor.  ;o)