I always get great job satisfaction from hand painting wooden kitchens, transforming the hub of the home into a whole new living space but without the upheaval and inconvenience you would expect from a re-fit. If your current kitchen layout is still working for you then a quality repaint could be the perfect solution.
This limed oak kitchen is approx. 12 years old and although looking a bit tired, it was in excellent condition structurally and perfect for a hand painted transformation. The client had already renewed the old worktops with black granite and a new tiled floor in black slate. Russ recommends this type of work is carried out prior to the hand painting, so that any mess is out of the way! All these surfaces are thoroughly masked up and protected prior to any painting so there’s no need to worry about any paint splashes to newly installed surfaces.
Choosing Colours:
Colour choice is unlimited, choose from any colour palette; Russ will then have it expertly matched into a specialist furniture paint; its not bullet proof paint but designed to withstand the daily traffic in a busy family kitchen. This client decided on ‘Shirting’ from the Little Green Paint palette and had asked if it was possible to have some new handles instead of the original knobs. Replacement handles or knobs can make all the difference to the over all look and appearance, its a straight forward process than can be done in a few hours (depending on the amount of doors).
Russ removes all the old knobs and fills the existing holes with a 2 part, flexible wood filler, once dry he then sands back with a ‘Mirka Deros” dustless sanding machine and ‘Abranet Abrasives’, he makes a simple template to replicate where the new handles will fit, marks the holes and once the painting process is complete, re-fits with new handles.
The Painting Process:
Preparation is key to a successful paint job no matter what surface is being finished and a hand painted kitchen exceeds the norm! Russ is always thorough and meticulous. He usse a very effective degreasing agent to clean down all surfaces to be painted; citrus based Krud Kutter removes any build up of wax and in ground dirt that’s not always visible and once washed down with clean water it makes for the perfect surface to apply the specialist furniture paint he uses. All the doors and draws are removed during this process and labelled in sequence for easy reinstallation. Once fully degreased they are stacked on a purposed designed Erecta-rack racking system to completely dry.
For a belt and braces process Russ uses a high adhesion, shellac based primer for the next process, this will stop any tanning coming through and provide the perfect base to paint onto. Followed by 3 x top coats of semi matt furniture paint, the doors are re-hung in-situ and left to completely dry before he will then re-fit the handles, tweak the hinges, wipe out the cupboards inside and remove all masking tape and paper.
All that’s left now is for the decorator to come in and paint the walls and woodwork. Russ doesn’t take on general decorating work but normally refers it to trusted traditional painter colleagues: Associate Painters & Decorators who specialise at the high end of domestic painting & decorating.
If you own an existing wooden kitchen and would like to discuss the options available to you for refurbishing, please do not hesitate to Contact me for a open, no obligation discussion to your requirements.
