Painting cabinets question?

Question

I'm planning on painting my kitchen cabinets tomorrow and I'm using this wood graining tool. You basically put a light coat of brown down, let it dry, and then put a dark coat on and use this tool and it makes it look like wood grains and knots.

If I have like a forest green color on my walls, should I go with lighter browns to do the cabinets? I know too many dark colors make the room seem small, but for resale value what do you suggest?

(I was planning on doing a light brown, and then a chocolate color to do the graining with)

Mr. Magestic...I have no idea what that means.

Answer 1

well if the space is larger..then dark colors would make it appear smaller true.. but if the walls are dark green then youd want a color lighter as to balance out the room..ya wouldnt want everything in it dark..so id add the lighter colors and maybe not so dark of the wood grain effect..maybe alighter graining effect as well..to help balance out the room and also youll have dimension with the lighter color on cabinets the med., darker color in grain and the dark on walls... also take into consideration the ceiling and the lighting when determining the darkness of the grains good luck!!

Answer 2

You might opt to do the cabinet frames and sides as a solid and only grain the doors and drawer fronts.

As for the actual graining process, you should buy an "extender" for glazing or use at least 1-1 mix of paint to Floetrol. The glaze extender will prolong your working time. You can get this at a Benjamin Moore dealer or Lowes or Ace. Ben Moore will be higher quality.

Keep a bucket of water, a damp rag, and a dry blot rag. Use a foam Whizz roller to apply the glaze one or two strips at a time. Then draw your graining tool down the door starting from the top. Do not stop. You can alter the grain pattern by rolling the tool up or down. Dip the tool in the water, blot it on the wet rag and dry it on the dry rag before the next pull. Make sure there's no lint on the tool. PRACTICE FIRST. If you have small areas where your graining tool will not fit, don't force it. Use a small, synthetic artist's brush and lightly dab it in the paint/glaze. Then streak it briskly through those narrow areas. Be careful to maintain a relatively uniform density and grain direction.

As for color, the green walls sound nice. Make sure whatever brown you use is a true brown and not shaded with red, green, or yellow. (Unless you are trying to mimmick a certain species of wood, in which case you better be really good at graining.)

Once this is done, I HIGHLY recommend a satin or gloss clear coat, otherwise the cabinets will wear and get dirty quickly. You can apply the clear with a foam roller and/or a high quality brush (e.g., Wooster, Corona, Purdy).

I did a steel raised panel door with a graining tool, changed the hardware, and people think it's a thousand dollar wood door. I like to say "nope, still the same crappy steel door that was there."

Answer 3

Mr. Magestic meant that your idea sounds good and you use the light brown with the chocolate color for graining....

I suggest the same thing but don't make it too country looking. Buyers are going to want to see more potential.

Answer 4

Hi
look like hes saying looks good keep with your plan
whats on your floor?
does it blend with your color choice??????????

forest green is a dark color
have you tried lighter green or green apple color
dark will not reflect light in a room
so if your kitchen has low light then used light paint

my 2 cents

Answer 5

I think your cabinets will be beautiful. Look how the table in this site turned out. It's really pretty.

I know you're using paints instead of stains, but it's the same basic idea.

Answer 6

Resume with you`re plane.It will look great.