Get A Factory Finish On Your Painted Cabinets |Step By Step | THE HANDYMAN |

Painting your kitchen cabinets the right way. Don't skip any steps. Use good paint. And make sure you spray them.

[nashboucher]

Hello The Handyman. I am 19 years old and I am working as an electrician's apprentice with a solo self-employed master of 25 years. Since 16, I've been getting landscaping, painting and other odd jobs like a couple ceiling fans, some drywall repair. I thought you would like to know that I've been watching all your vids and learning everything I can because I want to have a successful home service business. I see you as someone I want to be like in the future. Youtube Rocks!!

[Dr-wheel-barrow-opperator]

I used to chuckle when I heard you say "You are watching the #1 home improvement Chanel in the entire world" in the intro...after watching you for many years...I now nod my head in agreement...Thank you for all you do! you are making the world a better place by sharing your hard earned knowledge.

[jimsaleh]

I really liked your video. I wish you would have given more detail on the products you used. For example, “they make a special filler.” What is the type or brand? Also what type of caulk did you use? Another example, “ this is pre-catylized lacquer.” What does that mean and what is the benefit? Thanks and keep up the good work.

[maxeffort]

I use a rotating stand when painting. You would not have to duck under, and potentially knock dust off your lights. (I made mine by taking the seat off an old office chair and replacing it with a platform.) I also use Duralaq and Ultralaq and have had very good success with them. The only difference is I use the white vinyl sealer. It's a great help for me in detecting imperfections before the finish coats.

[billhollin]

Old school quality! Takes time, patience and talent.

[aaronoconnor]

Glad you explained about the composite material (MDF) for the panels. If you use panels made of solid wood the calk will crack.

[Big_Island_Boi]

Nice work. I've painted a LOT of cabinets and have never used a vinyl sealer before... only lacquer under-coaters. And if we're "closing the grain", we just spray more coats of primer and/or paint--until the grain is closed. That's the beauty of lacquers... you can re-coat almost immediately.

Personally, I prefer an open grain look. Why use "real" wood (vs mdf) if you want the finish to look like plastic? When the grain is open, painted cabinets look like wood--not mdf. And I can usually explain that to a client well enough that they get it... but I of course give them the option to have open or closed grain--usually by showing them a sample of each. And, of course, we charge more to close the grain--since that takes more time and materials. I'd say it's about 50/50 in terms of client preference.

[jasonadams]

Just a few pointers as I have sprayed Lenmar for Over 20 years. Switch to the Lenmar Megavar Conversion Varnish. It is worth it by far. You will love the difference you see immediately. Also if those lights are not explosion proof I would be extremely careful. As with any solvent based finish any small spark including static can be deadly. Great channel keep up the good work.

[ammon]

A couple things to know about spraying lacquer for those who are new, learn from my mistakes.

This video is great! I followed this to the tee and purchased equipment including a compressor, spray guns, etc. to produce the desired factory finish. My only critique is that I would have loved a little more information about the spraying setup, compressor used, product preparation, etc. I'm a meticulous person and did lots of prep and research before beginning this project. After all my prep and getting everything smooth as glass with sanding I made the mistake of assuming the lacquer would just flow out when I sprayed, it did not! I had horrible orange peel and all of my sanding work was for nothing I had to sand everything again. Rookie move, make sure you do plenty of testing before you spray anything on you're prepped cabinets. My lacquer was drying so fast it wasn't flowing out seemed like it was coming out of the gun already dry. With the lenmar tinted lacquer from this video I found I needed to thin and retard the product in order to get he desired finish but there is no mention of that prep step in this video.

I thinned mine and retarded it in order to get it to layout without drying too fast around 30% dilution total, it took me some time to get to this solution but it certainly did fix my issues.

I had to learn the hard way I hope this comment save some of you from making the same mistakes.

Questions for video maker:
1) What dilution did you use when spraying the lacquer?
2) Do you prefer thinner or retardant for thinning or a combination?
3) What tip diameters did you spray with, different for sanding sealer vs top coat?

[ChristopherDillman]

1:31 - Coors Light, the banquet of beers and cabinet refinishing. 🔥

[chuckcarman]

I tried your recommendation on sealing the panel. It mostly worked. I used DAP bathroom caulk. I make my own doors so in the future I am going to put beads into the panel gap AND seal. As for the LINMAR, I had very good luck using this with a turbine sprayer without thinning. Grateful for that.

[csimet]

Nice tips. I use a super light chamfer bit in my palm router to ease the edges of my doors before sanding, perhaps 1/32 to 1/16" at most and hand sand them ever so lightly... helps keep the edges nice and crisp looking, but not so sharp they don't hold paint well like you said. Proper sanding and priming are really the key steps to any paint job.

That cordless Dewalt sander is my favorite.

[TheDaddytoybox]

I don't even bother with primer from the paint store anymore. Just get some awl grip high build primer from your marine store. You wont regret it its one coat and done for grain issues or blemishes. Great video!

[whatchinmewatchu]

Filing the grain is much much easier if you use a spray on high build, or filler primer. It also seals the wood and give a great base for shooting on pretty much any paint. Just used. 400/600 grit then spray on a single stage lacquer

[TheSHANEPRO]

What size needle do you use on spray gun. Can I get the same results with an hvlp turbine sprayer? I'm learning and trying to get that factory finish . Excellent job by the way 👏

[EdwoodCA]

*8:58** tiny caulk smearing device... couldn't find it on your amazon storefront. Can ya add it next time you add to it, please? Thanks much for that tip!!*

[apswirl]

I agree with the comments. You do very good work. The patience and care is evident. Not wearing any protective gear or using any decent dust collection when sanding though. Ouch. I feel sorry for your respiratory system. Quality doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your health. Look out for your future self!

[shmiggz]

Man, 340k subs! I think I started watching around 20k. Keep up the good work.

[TheSavatom]

That knife you wanted ID on looked like a K-bar.
Great video, good scoop. Glad I found you and have subscribed.

[JenDH]

I was searching for James Taylor, but I came across this video and couldn't stop watching. My boyfriend has a cabinet shop. He loves to make them, but he hates painting them. I think he'll enjoy this video.

Your knife looks a lot like one of those Rambo knives that my brother wanted when we were younger.