cart shopping bagCart / €0.00 account_icon Login / Register

How To Paint A Laminate Kitchen

How To Paint A Laminate Kitchen

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL VIDEO

Hello and Welcome !

This is a popular subject and one we get asked about a LOT. There are a lot of laminate kitchens that could do with a little freshening up it seems , as we have received a lot of requests for this video and blog. You can see full video by scrolling to the bottom

SO here goes…

Is it possible to paint a laminate surface and if so do you need special products? The answer is yes and yes ! You can of course paint a laminate surface, but it can be one of those tricky ones , some products will simply not adhere well. Lets go through the video step by step.

First of all when painting any kitchen you need to remove all the doors from the carcass. I used my handy light weight cordless drill with a screwdriver bit and had all the doors removed in no time. I then covered the table with a big dust sheet ( these are brilliant as I can be a little messy sometimes lol lol ) and laid out as many doors as would fit on that flat surface and started my PREP

Step one PREP

CLEAN !!

Let get the doors clean , both sides if you are painting both sides. Grease and oil from kitchens can cause a paint finish to fail.  I am only painting the outside of the door but i did use this opportunity to give the whole door a good clean. I don’t know about you, but that’s not something i get round to very often !

I use my favorite cleaner , a 50/50 mix of methylated spirits ( denatured alcohol in the USA) and water in an old shower cleaner bottle. This is a fabulous cleaner and will not leave any residue to bleed through your paint and it dries in minutes.

I spray it straight on , scrub it with a sponge and wipe clear with a cloth or some kitchen roll. Done.

 SAND

To prepare a laminate surface you cannot dive in with a sander, this is not real wood folks and you will tear it to shreds. I simply got a med grade sand and gave it a light scratching. This just dulls the shine and gives the primer something to adhere to.

PRIME

Now this is where you have to know what you are doing and buy the RIGHT primer. Why ? Because the primer sticks to the laminate and then the paint sticks to the primer and we have a job well done.

I used BLOXX IT.  Its a primer that has super adhesion qualities and watch how i do the scratch test after rolling on this primer and letting it dry. This will tell you if you have a finish that will last or if you should stop now and not bother going any further. Because if you primer scratches off at this stage your paint finish will fail.

You will see in the video how i apply this primer. Its oil based ,so can feel a bit sticker  to you, if you are used to using water based products ,but sticky is what we want right ? stick away….Remember to keep this coat as flat as possible as any brush marks you make now will come through your paint too and you wont get that sprayed like finish. Just take your time and roll it on evenly. The drying time is 40 mins and re coat is two hours , give it the time its needs. Sure you have the carcass to paint, its not like you have time to watch paint dry.

Day one finished there . I had removed all the doors. Laid them out on a covered kitchen table and took off all the handles so they wouldn’t get in the way of my roller.  Cleaned the doors, sanded them and applied one coat of primer to them all. I left them overnight and you will see how I tested them for adhesion

The next day I did a scratch test !! ah we all dread the scratch test dont’t we , just in case we didn’t do out prep properly. Well there isn’t much point in continuing if the primer didn’t adhere …

NO problem with adhesion when you use BLOXX IT… so i was not ready to paint.

I chose The advanced range of paint from Fleetwood and the finish i chose was Satinwood as its a hard wearing , durable paint that can be washed down ( you need that for a kitchen ) and i applied it with the mini roller again and that gave me a spray like finish.

 

I had to fill the holes for the handles in the end as the customer could only get slightly smaller ones so i used this filler… its amazingly smooth and easy to use. While the doors were drying i started work on the carcass. It was exactly the same process as you will see in the video. I cleaned, sanded and primed before rolling on the paint and once the carcass was done it really started to come together.

 

 

Day three was for putting the handles back on all the doors and re attaching them to the kitchen .

 

And what a difference in 3 days !

 

The customer was thrilled . Have a go folks, its less expensive that buying a new kitchen !

N0w for those of you that want to know a little more about the paint!

I chose the Advanced Paint Range from Fleetwood. It is available in stores nationwide. This range comes in three sheens…

  1. Eggshell… which has a low sheen ( approx 12%) ( the one I use on furniture )
  2. Satinwood… which has a mid sheen ( approx 25%) ( I use on all other interior wood )
  3. High Gloss….. High Sheen ( approx 80%) ( I use on external doors, or funriture i want a high sheen on )

Did you know this paint is tintable into every colour possible through the Fleetwood tinting system? This makes the scope for colour boundless. You can check out the Fleetwood Ranges and stockists on www.fleetwood.ie

I chose The advanced range in a colour called Designer White for this job and i chose the satinwood finish. Why Satinwood ?

  • Its water based with exceptional self leveling properties.
  • Fully washable ( really important on windowsills i think )  and virtually odour free, the Advanced range is a family and environmentally friendly paint product, with ZERO VOC content.
  • It has a stay white formula that ensures it stays white all year round.
  • Clean up is minimal with  a touch dry finish in half an hour and recoat in less than 2 hours, making all jobs a breeze ( My kind of clean up)

 

The advance range is available in an undercoat, eggshell, satinwood and gloss. For those of you that are unsure of the differences in these, have a look here…..

  1. Eggshell: designers choice for kitchen cabinets and furniture upcycling (low sheen 12%)
  2. Satinwood: washable and tough for internal/external doors and skirting (mid sheen 25%)
  3. High gloss: high gloss finish for the perfect grand entrance (high sheen 80%)

Its good to know a little about the paint you choose, so here are the advantages of the advanced range.

Ultra tough finish

No yellowing white stays white

Scuff and stain resistant

6 year exterior protection

resists cracking and flaking

excellent adhesion and coverage

no chipping and scratches

super hard durable finish

 

Thank you for reading. This video and blog were made In Association with Fleetwood Paints .

See full video HERE.

Aileen

 

OK
This website uses cookies for cart and checkout operation. By continuing to use this website you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.