Repainting recently painted cabinets

11 years ago

If someone could offer me some advice I'd be so very grateful.

I had my kitchen cabinets painted this week. They are maple cabinets, about 15 years old, with whatever finish was put on at the factory. They were painted with one coat of an oil-based primer, and two coats of an oil-based paint. And I have two problems.

First, I'm having buyer's remorse over the way the painter prepped the cabinets, which is to say, not at all. He swore up and down and nine ways to Sunday that there would be no adhesion problems at all with the primer he used ... there was no thorough cleaning and no sanding prior to application of the primer. So, my first question is, does this sound right, or do I have peeling cabinets to look forward to? Normally, I'd just say it's too late to worry about , and just wait and see how they hold up, except for my second problem, which is I hate the color and want to repaint.

So, my second question is, how do I go about repainting? Do I just need to sand it all off and start from scratch? Or, if I do it now, with the same type of paint, will that work, or do subsequent coats have to go on within a day or two? What if I repainted next week, or next month, or in three months? And what's really stressing me out is that it turns out that I'm pretty sensitive to oil-based paints. I'm not sure I could use the same paint. Is it possible that I could repaint with something that has lower VOCs?

Thanks for any responses.

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Comments (3)

User
11 years ago
First, I'm so sorry that you hate the color. We've done extensive painting only to turn around and do it alllllllll over again!

Your cabinets should have been cleaned thoroughly, that's certain. Hopefully it wont be a problem with adhesion, but needed to be done for a smooth finish.

You can repaint using a good primer and 100% acrylic paint, which is lower voc.
deever thanked User
Michael
11 years ago
Nothing will fix an adhesion problem unless you get back to the substrate and clean it and sand it dull.
deever thanked Michael
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lam702
11 years ago
Wow, not cleaning them was not good. These are the things that make me glad we do so much of our projects ourselves, hard to find contractors who will take the time to do the job right. I would have scrubbed the cabinets well, rinsed them, and maybe even wiped them down with denatured alcohol to remove all traces of kitchen grease and dust. Then, scuff sand all of them and vacuum or at least wipe the dust off. Only then would I begin painting. Just painted our bathroom cabinets and I did the same prep - clean and sand before primer. Time will tell if your paint job adheres well, but the above poster is right, if that base coat is not properly adhered, subsequent coats won't help much. I am not a believer in oil based paint for cabinets anyway. I do love how an oil paint goes on and levels so beautifully. But the VOC's make me sick and, as I understand it, the finish on oil paints can "crack" as it is a very hard surface and as the wood expands and contracts, this causes cracking. Also, white oil paints can often yellow over time. I used Cabinet Coat per GW recommendations, it goes on smoothly and does level out well. A very hard finish when fully cured. This is the paint I would use for any cabinets and trim I have.