Paint your cabinets to make them look old
Painted wood is a trend right now in both furniture and cabinets. In fact, chalk paint has become fashionable. There are many websites that provide instructions and even how-to videos on how to paint furniture with chalk paint. The look goes particularly well with country-style or shabby chic décor.
My kitchen cabinets are the old oak cabinets you see in almost every house built in the 1960s and 1970s.
They’re also starting to look pretty bad. I’ve decided I’m ready for a change, so I’m going to paint my cabinets to look vintage.
With kitchen cabinets, they’ve probably already been varnished or otherwise coated to give them a shiny look, so before you do anything else, you need to scrape them down so the paint adheres. This can be done in two ways: by sanding them very well, or by treating them with a chemical, such as Krud Kutter Gloss-Off, which is a great cleaner and shine remover all in one. It will remove all the excess “junk” from your cabinets. Sometimes you need to sand and use something like Krud Kutter to get the job done right.
Once you have prepared the surface, you are ready to start painting. But first remove the cabinet doors. In the end, it will look much more professional if you remove the hardware and maybe even upgrade it. Another very important point is to use high quality paint, either oil based or something like Advance by Benjamin Moore, which has the qualities of an oil based product (such as adhering well to the surface being painted) although basically it’s still a latex. .
You’ll want to do a primer coat and a top coat in acrylic or semi-gloss. It’s also a good idea to paint the inside of the cabinets first. That way you’ll get used to the character of the paint, and if you use a paint gun, you’ll be able to work out the kinks in the out-of-view part of the door.
After all of your cabinets have dried, it’s time to do the antiquing. Wrap a sanding block with 80-grit sandpaper and sand the corners and edges, leaving the bare wood exposed in spots. Some put a little Vaseline on the edges and corners before that last coat of paint. This makes it easier to remove that last layer, giving it an older, more worn look. Do not be afraid. Just watch it to decide when it looks worn enough. You can always repaint and start over.
Next, rub gold paint over an old enamel. Let sit for about five minutes, then rub with cheese cloth. Again, this will require your artistic eye to determine if it looks just right. Finally, dip a brush into some stain; Squeeze out most of the moisture, then sprinkle it across the surface. This will give the appearance of aging. A good beating with a heavy chain and a nail hole or two and voila, you have some shiny new “aged” wood cabinets.