Painting bathroom cabinets

I was provided with Rust-Oleum Krud Kutter and Bullseye 1-2-3 primer for this “Painting bathroom cabinets” post.

My bathroom has bugged me for a little while now.  Our cabinets are 13 years old and are showing the wear and tear of the years everywhere.  Hubby doesn’t seem to notice, but they are glaring to me.

Come on!  How can you NOT notice?!  (On the upside, if he really is this blind, maybe my wrinkles go as unnoticed?  A girl can dream.)

Hubby wasn’t all that keen on me painting the cabinets (I’ve threatened that I’m going to do the kitchen one of these days) so I thought I’d broach the subject a bit differently this time…

I sent him a text that read “Dear Husband, one of these things happened today.  Which would you be the least angry at me for?”  and I included this picture:

See I knew he’d go apeshit if he thought I brought home another cat, and probably equally as crazy if I’d agreed to $10k worth of landscaping.

His response?

He’s hilarious!  Even if he moved out, he’d still need a pet – this wasn’t much of a deterrent. lol

So a-painting-I-will-go!

I started by thoroughly cleaning my cabinets with Krud Kutter® and a scratchy sponge.  I had to remove any oil soap, or regular soap for that matter, that had accumulated over the years.  Get off any hairspray, toothpaste, skin cream – anything and everything that would interfere with the paint adhering.  Krud Kutter really cleans anything and everything – including dried on latex paint – which (ahem) I almost never need.

Once everything was scrubbed clean, rinsed and dried I brought out the 220 grit sandpaper to rough up all the surfaces.  This will remove a bit of the varnish and give the primer something to grip to.

I gave everything a light coat of Zinsser® Bullseye 1-2-3® primer and let dry for a couple of hours. With the weather being so cold and damp, I decided painting bathroom cabinets IN the bathroom was my best bet.  I’m an okay painter so I don’t spill or splatter a lot – and when I do, I’m also a pretty decent scraper-offer. (wink)

Once the primer was completely dry, I sanded everything down with a 320 grit sandpaper to make everything perfectly smooth and then wiped off any residue.

I used Benjamin Moore’s Advance formula paint in Gentleman’s Grey and it went on like a breeze.  Because of painting in the house I decided to use a mohair roller instead of a sprayer. (Mohair makes fewer bubbles than foam rollers do)

This is how I closed out day 1.

Seriously.  One day to scrub, sand, prime and add the first coat of paint!  Based on all the tutorials I read online, I had assumed that this would be a long and drawn-out process – but it wasn’t at all.  In fact, if the Advance paint didn’t need a 16 hour drying time before re-coating I could have completed it in one day!

Day two started with another light sanding with 320 grit sandpaper just to be sure there were no little bubbles or bumps anywhere, then paint coat number 2.

Where the time comes in with painting bathroom cabinets is dry times and in coating opposite sides of cupboard doors.  All totalled my bathroom makeover took 5 days from start to finish, but really less than 8 hours of actual work.

What do you think?!

No nicks, no scratches or scuffs (or dirt) – just fresh, crisp and clean!  The Advance takes 30 days to fully harden, so we will have to be a bit careful until then, but once it does the finish should be as durable as an oil paint would be.

I was worried that the counter would end up being my next makeover – and it may – but I’m actually really pleased with how well this particular blue goes with the beiges and browns.

I did paint my vanity storage tower as well, to keep things cohesive.

Maybe white counters someday, just so my builder’s grade sinks don’t stand out as much – but I’m not in a rush.  I might even get a kitten and landscaping before that time. lol

I was provided with Krud Kutter® and Zinsser® Bullseye 1-2-3® primer from Rust-Oleum Canada, so my only real expense was the Advance paint, which came in at $28 (Cdn) – and I still have more than half a quart left.

If you have bathroom cabinets that are in relatively good (structurally anyways) condition, but are looking for a facelift – you really need to try painting your bathroom cabinets.  It wasn’t a lot of work, it didn’t take much time, and it’s certainly a very cost-effective solution…

until you buy new towels and bath mats and countertop accessories.

How about some before and afters?  These are always my favourite:

 

That wasn’t all I accomplished in my bathroom this week – so come back tomorrow to see another project!

Have a great one!

 

 

Linked to:

• Between Naps on the Porch

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