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Painting cabinets?


Jim/Alona

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Are they really wood or fake plastic printed to look like wood?

 

Real wood can usually be painted with good surface preparation, plastic I have no clue about.

 

Here is a starter, Google has lots of tips on brands of primer and paint if you look for: painting varnished kitchen cabinets or something similar.

 

Varnished wood: http://www.wikihow.com/Paint-Varnished-Cupboards

 

Here is an interesting take on plastic wrapped cabinet restoration:

 

http://farmfreshvintagefinds.com/thermofoil-cabinets-french-linen/

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had a 91 Winnebago mini that we wanted to refresh by painting the vinyl covered wall board. A trip to the paint store brought the advice for the correct primer. Don't remember the exact product but any good paint store should know. Also be sure to CLEAN the surface thoroughly, TSP is recommended. The project was a great success.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Most cabinet shops or countertop shops will be able to provide you with an assortment of styles and finishes.

 

- Pvc doors of unlimited colors and patterns

- Laminate doors, half wrap, full wrap, square edge.

- Wood doors or frame and rail with veneer panel or solid panels. Oak doors are a porous and a jump out in your face grain and generally get grotty around the handles and pulls.

- There are engineered grain doors with horizontal grain.

 

I'd hang the unfinished doors where they go, using the same hinge location, remove the doors and number behind the hinge where it fastens to the door and put a pce of tape over the number so it can be removed after finishing so you know where it goes. I've done lots of this.

 

Sand and prep the wood doors for paint on a rubber bath matt or the shelf liner material so as not to leave burnishes which will show up. Also use rubber gloves so as not to leave greasy fingerprints on the wood which will show up.

 

When or if you drill handle holes, have a pce of wood or plywood behind the door so you don't blow out the back of the handle screw hole.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, I found a primer at Home Depot that can be used on our type of cabinets which has been working so far, then two coats of paint and the finished product looks good! I'm painting every cabinet/drawer in the motorhome and then will start on the walls. After that we'll rip up carpet and put down vynal, recover the dinette and couch and beyond that we'll take a break or a divorce might be next! lol. Plan on going back into fulltiming in March!

Jim & Alona traveling with River, Rocky & Indy.

Our home, a 33' 1988 Southwind which we love!

 

http://arjrontheroad.blogspot.com

http://gatewatchers.blogspot.com

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Jim,

How about posting what type of cabinets they were, plastic over pressed wood, or real Oak with a gloss finish? And then what kind of primer you found that works. Save the next guy from starting from scratch. Thanks! Sounds like it will look nice. Today there are as always folks willing and able to do major or total restoration updates to a rig and trade on sweat equity for a great looking and working rig for them. We did that with our first rig, a 1990 ( we bought it in 1997) 34.5 foot HitchHiker and found it easy to work on these things if from a decent manufacturer. I ripped out the booth and installed a counter with chairs I custom made to hold our all in one printer at one end with a cabinet for software etc. I even found a way to fill the holes in the linoleum flooring easily that was invisible and durable too. Pics of the Formica counter I made are in the website photos below in my sig block. I hate most RV booths because of my back and size. I am 6 feet tall but they seem to be made for my wife at 5'2".

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Suggest cleaning well with a degreaser. Going to be messy, but skipping you'll have chips and cracks in the paint. We've used Kiltz primer. You can find in any of the big box home stores. Give the cabinets a gentle sand. Clean with a damp cloth. Start thin with a brush or spray is better. If you spray, tape and mask anything you don't want to overspray. Let dry with a gentle sanding. Clean with a damp cloth. Using this process first will give you a better chance of your final paint job sticking to the cabinets. One other note, if you do this in the winter, make sure you use a latex, warm RV and crack windows to let moisture out. If oil base, make sure you have no open flames like pilot lights. Use a good respirator to minimize headaches and dizziness.

Jerry and Joan

2014 Ford F350 with 6.7 turbo, TrailerSaver

2014 40' Heartland Gateway Fifth wheel

iLoveRVlife.com

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We once had friends paint an under eaves closet with Kilz to hide water stains from before re-roofing. The fumes were horrible!!! Please, be sure to use adequate venting when using Kilz.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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That's a great idea RV, I'll do that (this is Alona, Jim is doing the mechanical stuff and I'm painting). I'll post some pic's soon. Thanks everyone for your help!

Jim & Alona traveling with River, Rocky & Indy.

Our home, a 33' 1988 Southwind which we love!

 

http://arjrontheroad.blogspot.com

http://gatewatchers.blogspot.com

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  • 4 weeks later...

Consider using Chalk Paint. I've used it on a number of surfaces with great success, although not in an RV. One of its greatest features is that no primer is necessary. The ultra-fine chalk that is added to the paint gives it enough "tooth" to adhere to most surfaces. Just make sure you are painting over a clean surface.

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