Paint kitchen cupboards over old paint.

When you paint kitchen cupboards you can repaint over old paint, but the preparation, cleaning and deglossing, of the old paint is very crucial to having the kitchen cupboard repainting job stick.

Paint kitchen cupboards

question:

New paint on kitchen cupboards over old paint is chipping

My kitchen cupboards were painted dark green when we bought our house. I sanded them down and repainted them using a primer and a semi gloss paint. The problem is now the paint keeps chipping off and they look like they have 10 coats of paint on them. I am not sure what kind of paint the previous owners used and I'm wondering if that is why my paint keeps chipping off. What is the best way to repaint previously painted cupboards, if I don't know what kind of paint was used on them?

reply:

Repaint over most painted cupboards

Generally it doesn't matter what type the old paint is. After the paint has been on a surface for several years it has hardened to the maximum and new paint generally won't soften it or cause it to come loose from the surface if it's already stuck tight.

But, and it seems that there always is a but, that's not always the case and sometimes a new paint will have a solvent that will go to work on the old paint.

Clean cooking residue from kitchen cupboards

Kitchen cupboards always have a coating of grease on them from cooking. If you can smell something cooking, then there are particles in the air and they're going to settle somewhere and a lot of them will settle on the cupboards. Fried foods, meat roasting in the oven or cooking in the microwave will add grease and the broccoli cooking on the stove top will add it's particles to the mix. The steam from vegetables cooking will soften the greasy layer enough to add some broccoli or spinach particles to the soup.

Generally regular daily wiping with the leftover dishwater will give kitchen cupboards a clean appearance, but there is some grease that's been emulsified by the dish soap and left in the dishwater that will be added to the settlement.

All of the greasy layer has to be totally cleaned off before a new paint job or other finish will stick properly.

Prepare kitchen cupboards with Liquid Deglosser

Liquid deglosser is a better prepaint preparation than sanding is, because it will clean off old greasy buildup and provide "tooth" for the new paint to stick to the surface. Even thorough sanding and sanding dust removal can leave some greasy residue behind that can cause problems with a new paint job sticking to the old surface. Liquid deglosser is a whole lot easier to use than sandpaper is too.

Regular cleaning of painted kitchen cupboards

Prelude Furniture Cleaner or Orange Oil are good for weekly or monthly thorough cleaning of regular cooking residue that sticks to painted kitchen cupboards.

Zinsser Bullseye Seal Coat for a primer

Zinsser Bullseye Seal Coat is a good primer to use on kitchen cupboards whether you're painting or as a sanding sealer over stain for a clear coat. Bullseye Seal Coat will stick to literally anything and seal it in so any left over substances don't effect the final coat. Zinsser claims that any kind of final finish will adhere to Bullseye Seal Coat and stay there.

Strip the old paint to re paint kitchen cupboards

It sounds like the best remedy for your cupboards now is to strip all the old paint off and start over fresh. A good stripper for inside work is Citristrip it's more people friendly than the older methylene Chloride strippers. The keyword is more and not completely people friendly. You still need some good ventilation, such as a fan in a close by open window and another window or door open for fresh air to come in. Be sure to use eye and skin protection too. I've received a couple of emails from people who have said that the stripper has burned their hands.

If you need more information about stripping, refinishing basic is a good starting place. Follow the links on that page and the links on the left side of each page. There are around 250 pages of information of various types on the web site and it's always growing.

Tom

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It's a nuisance to have to strip new paint after spending so much time to get the paint on the kitchen cupboards, but the resulting job using the preparation methods outlined above will give many years of lasting pleasure when you look at your kitchen cupboards and know you put the paint on the kitchen cupboards and it's there to last.

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