How to Paint a Kitchen Island – Part 1

I promised a tutorial on how I painted my kitchen island, and I’m finally making good on it.  It was a project I approached with great trepidation, but I am very pleased with the outcome. 

I am going to break this down into two parts, since the method I used on the drawers and doors was different from how I tackled the rest of the island.  Let’s call this the Paint Sprayer Method.

I borrowed a paint sprayer from a friend of mine, since I have been contemplating painting ALL of my kitchen cabinets.  But using this tool was a good test for me.  I only wish I could have used it on the entire island!

First, I removed the doors and drawer fronts and cleaned them with TSP – Trisodium Phosphate.  It’s a great cleaner to get rid of any dirt and grime that you may have on your cabinets.

Once I cleaned them and wiped them down, I pulled out my new best friend, my orbital sander.  How I have lived this long without this little darling, is beyond me. 

This really helped to get all of the gloss that was on the cabinets since I was totally paranoid that I would do something wrong in the prep that would send me up sh*t creek without a paddle jeopardize the whole project.   (I actually ended up sanding them even more than what is shown in these pictures.  I wanted to be sure there was no sign of any gloss remaining).

In selecting paint, I talked to a couple of my “local hardware men” about my cabinet painting project, and I think they both thought I was crazy to attempt this on my own, which really kind of annoyed me.  I was showing them my cabinet door samples and even brought my actual kitchen cabinet door into the store, and yet I got a comment, “Did you get this idea from HGTV?” 

Whatever.  I just wanted advice on paint, I didn’t need a lecture on how much time and effort is involved in painting kitchen cabinets.  I am DIY Woman, hear me ROAR!

As for paint, I chose Benjamin Moore acrylic latex paint in a low lustre finish.  (In looking at my paint can again, I bought an exterior paint vs. interior.  Don’t know why, BUT, I had a lengthy conversation with the hardware guys, about latex vs. oil, and they said latex paints have come a long way and this acrylic latex would work.  They also told me that I didn’t need to prime my cabinets.  Yes, you read that correctly.  No priming.  More on that later. 

One of the Local Hardware Men did take my black cabinet sample and did a paint match for me, which was great.  I’m really pleased with the final color.

I think this is where I had a temporary memory lapse and didn’t take any pictures.  I used the power sprayer to spray both the fronts and the backs of the cabinets.  It was a whole lot of “hurry up and wait”, since the sprayer made quick work of the cabinet doors.  And like they instructed, I didn’t prime the cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  (I was freakin’).

But, since I sanded them really well, and was going to lightly distress them, the no priming method worked to my advantage.  They distressed nicely and I was pleased with how the doors looked.

There are a couple of spots that are more distressed than I’d like, but some brilliant readers suggested touching it up with a black stain.  Now why didn’t I think of that?  So, I purchased some of that today and will be putting it to work for some of my trouble spots.

I finished it off with a coat of Minwax Clear Wipe-On Poly in a satin finish.

So, there you have it!  Or at least, part of it.  🙂  The rest of the island was a horse of a different color, but definitely rounded out my cabinet painting experience.  Part II will be coming soon…

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