Any advice on dark wood panneling.
By
on
April 26th, 2008
All my kitchen cabinets (lots) are this horrible very dark paneling with very deep grains. I have been trying to figure out what to do about it of long time.
I have two ideas;
#1 can a dark wood be bleached lighter or would it just look bizarre, or
#2 Would some sanding and a few coats of maybe yellow (thinking oil based) be able to cover it.
I just can’t stand how dark and depressing it is, Plus I rent and I am looking for the cheapest easies way to do something with it.
Any good advice greatly appreciated, thanks.
My landord won’t help or fix anything. Right now I am stuck here for a litle while with pets, etc.
I am not worried about the smell of oil, I like the finish better.
beachedcelt says:
if you are renting my advice would be consult with landlord because its his property and might have the know how to help you change colors of cabinets
April 26th, 2008 at 10:56 am
tredd says:
be sure your landlord aprroves yo changing the cabinet I woul paint them and put a couple of coats of polyurethane on them and maybe change out the cabinet hardware. Good Luck.
April 26th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Tio says:
i would lighty sand them then prime and paint but not yellow maybe an off white the dark colour may change the final colour. use latex paint oil paint smells real bad. hang on sorry i thought you were paint wood paneling on the wall not cabinets.for cabinets sand and a couplse of coats with a good primer and paint with melamine paint
http://www.home-improvement-and-financing.com/painting-melamine-cabinet.html
April 26th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
burlybiker says:
First I would ok your project with your landlord. He / she may not be happy if they see you’ve altered the cabinets.
You can find some paint and stain strippers that work very well, just ask someone at your local hardware store which brand they would recomend. it would be messy and still require a little sanding, but then you could refinish them with a lighter stain of your choice. Probably the easiest route would be to lightly sand and paint them.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
just stupid says:
To bleach your cabinets would require the removal of any protective finish (varnish,urethane,wax etc)which would be a really big job.without seeing them,I would recomend a good primer (recomend BINN) then atleast 2 coats of a GOOD quality paint.I agree with oil based paint as it’s more durable and will cover well.If you are picking yeiiow I advise going atleast one shade lighter than you think,yellow usually comes out brighter than you think it will.also go with a low gloss as it won’t show the grain or imperfections as much as a gloss will Before you get carried away try the primer in a small area to be sure that it adhears to the existing finish,Binn will adhear to glossy surfaces and I have even covered crayon with it.
April 26th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Surge says:
Since you are renting you absolutely MUST get approval from your landlord IN WRITING for any changes you undertake.
It would be horrible to get stuck with a kitchen cabinet replacement bill (or be sued by your landlord) because he/she doesn’t like the changes you made to the cabinets.
As far as changing the cabinets, I’d say start with a good cleaning, lightly sand to give the primer some “grip”, prime (DIY recommends a shellac based primer with a latex topcoat), and a few light coats of acrylic latex would do the trick. It would be inexpensive and easy to clean up.
Here’s a DIY link with the steps:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/paintkitchencabinets
Cheers.
April 26th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
brooks l says:
have you thought about painting it a cooler color something you like
April 26th, 2008 at 3:39 pm