I'm a blog follower myself, and 80% of the time, I scroll through the pictures and ignore the words. And I know how much time goes into writing a blog post, so I'll focus on spending less time on words and more time on the good stuff (why I explained this... I have no clue. You're not reading it anyway). ;)
Last time I updated, I left off on how I prepped the cabinets with sanding and primer to create a smooth finish (and to reduce the wood grain) for the final coats of paint. After 4 coats of priming (with sanding in between each coat), the cabinets were finally ready.
We started this project on Memorial Day Weekend so we could get a good three days in of painting. The paint had to dry for 24 hours between each coat, so this would give me enough time to prep the room, paint and recoat. And then maybe, just maybe, reclaim our kitchen.
Because I planned to spray the cabinets using the same method I used to spray our ceilings, I spent a lot of time (hours) prepping the room to be spray painted. I covered the window, lights, outlets, pipes and electrical, doorways (2 of them), and the opening to the dining room with plastic. And then we taped paper over the openings of the cabinets since we didn't want to paint the inside of the boxes. We already had the floors protected with resin paper so I just patched up the areas where the paper had been torn.
Then I grabbed my gear... paint clothing covering all areas of my skin, a bandana over my hair (because we don't want any misunderstandings for gray hair), safety glasses (because paint gets EVERYWHERE), a mask, and my spray gun... and I got to work.
I brought home some white paint samples from Benajmin Moore and we decided on White Dove for the cabinets and trim in the kitchen. It's a nice, neutral white that seemed a little warmer than some of the brighter alternatives we had considered.
We decided to use Benjamin Moore Advanced paint for the final coats (I only use Ben Moore paints... so it was a no contest). The Advanced was recommend because I wanted a hard finish, but I didn't want it to yellow over time (like an oil-based paint typically would). The BM Advanced paint has oil resin in it which allows it to harden like an oil-based paint would and it stays "open" longer. (Translation: it takes longer to dry, which helps to even out brush strokes, or in this case, gives the paint an opportunity to drip like no other). But I've read that it doesn't yellow. And after spending 392 hours painting these cabinets, I do NOT want to paint them again anytime in my near future.
Now we are prepped and ready to paint.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we also installed all trim in the kitchen (door & window casing, base and crown molding) and prepped it (filled holes and gaps) so everything could be sprayed at the same time. I chose to go with all trim that was pre-primed. Which saved me time when it came to prepping.
I utilized a room in the basement as my prep area for the cabinet doors. I used this room to sand, prime and then paint those removable pieces. I didn't care about the carpet on the floor (since we'll be ripping this out anyway), but I didn't want any carpet fibers, dirt, or hair in the carpet to jump onto my freshly painted surfaces. I used tarps, and then ripped down 2x4's to lay the doors on (so they wouldn't stick to the tarp). The drawers fronts were glued to the drawers, so I just wrapped those in a plastic bag to keep the paint on the drawer fronts only.
Prep time takes for.ev.er but the actually spray process is like nothing. I would spray the cabinet doors and drawers, and then move the sprayer upstairs and spray the crown molding first, then the upper cabinets, window trim, then the lower cabinets, and finally the base molding. Then I would slowly tip toe out of the room trying not to touch any surface. The spray process took less than 30 minutes.
I sprayed the first coat on Sunday, and the second coat on Monday. And then, ugh, and then I sulked. For two reasons.
First, I was dealing with some serious wood bleed through.
Yes, BLEED THROUGH! I was not a happy camper. The Advanced paint was $70 a gallon. Let me slow that down for you.
Seventy
dollas
a
GAL-LON
Holy gold-lined paint cans! It's a very good thing that the paint store was closed on both Sunday and Monday because they would've had to deal with an unhappy lady. Let me tell 'ya.
Sure, I realize that this could be my fault. But if I'm paying SEVENTY DOLLARS A GALLON for paint, that sh*t better not allow bleed through.
And then, I was dealing with a whole lotta...this. It looked like my kitchen was melting.
What do you do when your paint is dripping off the cabinets? Watch it. Shake your head, beat yourself up over spraying too heavy. And wait for it to dry.
I am not a professional painter. Therefore, I've become really good at fixing my paint mistakes. I knew if I tried to fix it while it was still wet, I would have a harder-to-clear brush mark.
Once the paint was dry (24 hours later), I took a paint scraper and scraped off the excess paint.
Then it looked really bad.
And I sanded the rest of the drip out.
Until it was flat again.
Normally, I could recoat the area with paint (albeit a lighter coat so it doesn't drip again), but I also had to deal with the bleed through. And there was only one way I knew how.
I had to recoat all the stains with primer. The same primer I used to prep the cabinets. Except this time, I rolled it on and I wasn't going to sand it perfectly smooth. I had to prime all the cabinet bases and doors AGAIN.
I did do a light sanding. Because, again, I really wanted a baby butt smooth finish. But I made sure this time that I didn't sand down to the wood.
I used a tack cloth to take up all the dust.
I had to go back to the paint store on Tuesday to buy my 3rd gallon of $70 paint. (Which only ended up being $45 since I had become good friends with the owner of the local BM and frankly, because I think he felt bad for me). Then I painted one last time.
4 coats of primer.
2 coats of advanced paint.
1 more coat of primer.
1 final coat of advanced paint.
And the kitchen was... wait for it... done.
It was DONE!
Well, the cabinets were painted.
I can't even describe the feeling I had when I removed the paper from the cabinets. And the wall of plastic.
I could clean the house and it would actually remain free of paint and drywall dust. Whoa.
After 12 weeks, I finally got to dust off our dishes, and place them back into the cabinets. And I could open up the spare room and unwrap our wedding gifts...again!
I'm happy with the way the kitchen turned out. I'm not thrilled with it. You can still see the wood grain in some parts like here...
Which looks more wavy than pitted (like it would be if I hadn't prepped it so well). But it is smooth. I have been caught petting the cabinets. So the work was worth it. But I don't think I have it in me to do this all again.
Next, we painted the ceiling (using Behr White Ceiling Paint), and then we painted the walls.
The kitchen is now open to the dining room, so we chose to bring in the same wall color that we used in that space (and the living room). Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter in eggshell.
This is a little sneak peek forward to where we were at midnight last night as we frantically tried to finish up our paint projects in here.
This color is definitely one that changes throughout the day. Sometimes it seems gray, other times it looks more tan, and at night, I see green undertones.
Justin and I both agree that we love the Revere Pewter with the White Dove trim. The trim looks so creamy and luscious. I just want to add it to my coffee.
I definitely skipped ahead here, and I'll update soon on how we chose the finishing products and what we had to do to get that farmhouse sink to fit in a standard off-the-shelf cabinet.
You all know I get excited over dramatic before and after's. Take a look back at where we came from:
And where we were last night.
I tried to keep this post less wordy. Sorry... I guess I do have the "love to talk" gene. Thanks mom :)
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