Any advice out there for painting (versus staining) unfinished kitchen cabinets.
By
on
July 12th, 2009
I recently completed a small remodel job on our kitchen. My wife is keen on staining the unfinished oak front (inexpensive) cabinets. I’m thinking how about a little color and paint instead. Any recommendations on brand (middle of the road) with low gloss and waterproof. Also, do I need a wood conditioner like the good folks at Lowes’s recommended if I stain. If not, do I need any kind of primer or anything else. Many thanks to all you pro’s 
Ernie A says:
Whether to paint or stain is largely a matter of personal preference - sounds like you’ll have to hash it out with your wife.
If you paint: DO NOT use cheap materials. Spend a little more money for Benjamin Moore primer and paint. It will only cost a few dollars more, and you won’t need to do it again for a long, long time. Don’t try to paint without priming - you will not get satisfactory long term results.
If you stain: I don’t know what you mean by “wood conditioner”. Oak is an “open grain” wood, meaning that there are fairly large open pores that will make achieving a smooth surface quite challenging. Woodworkers often us a “grain filler” to fill those pores and make the task easier. You can stain and apply multiple coats of polyurethane instead of filling, but it will take many coats with much sanding between coats. If the “wood conditioner” is actually a grain filler, by all means use it. Otherwise, check with Rockler, Woodworkers Supply, Woodcraft or any other good woodworking supply house.
You’ll need at least 2 coats of polyurethane, with a light sanding between coats.
July 12th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
nick says:
If you paint the cabinets first and then decide you don’t like it or want a change later, then you need to scrape off all of the paint to stain them. It would be much simpler to stain them first and then paint over the stain if you don’t care for it or want a change later. When you do paint or stain always use a quality brand. Go to a reliable supply store such as Lowe’s and talk to sales person who knows what they are talking about. During the school year I try to go during the day when the kids are in school and the adult sales clerks are working. Or I ask the sales clerk how long they have worked in that department.
PS>>>>You are so humble. There is no “small” remodel job.
I have painted my stained cabinets and they turn out great.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Mad Doctor33 says:
you will most def. need a primer. also minwax carries a great line of colored stains you should consider.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
whosiewhatsie says:
I have the same problem.found these links on This Old House and think that it will serve you well.
If they are unfinished you’ll want to prime them with wood primer, too.
July 12th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
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July 12th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
K.B. says:
Just my opinion, but we just stripped 40+ years of old white paint off of the cabinets in our house. We’ve been in there for over 16 years and couldn’t take it any longer. The frames are white oak in good shape, we used a heat gun to take off the paint.
The new doors we bought from Lowe’s were only available in red oak (but it’s so light you wouldn’t know it’s considered red).
We put just a tiny bit of red pigment into the poly that we used over the refinished oak frames, to make it a closer match to the doors.
They really look nice, more like a light maple color. My husband hates old fashioned medium or dark stained oak, and he loves how ours came out.
So I’m suggesting leaving them virtually the same as the unfinished color you see, but with just a tiny bit of a color. Which in our case, was not a stain, but a tinting of the poly coats.
July 12th, 2009 at 10:52 pm