Cabinet Painting Kit Reviews
Tamara | Provident Home Design
Tamara used the Rustoleum Kitchen Cabinet Transformations kit on her kitchen cabinets about 2 years ago (see the full post here).
“Our kitchen cabinets have held up really well to cleaning; any dirt of grime has come off with just using lysol wipes. The absolute only wear we’ve encountered is a bit around some of the most used cabinet knobs.”
Tamara rates the kit as a 4 (Great) — “I would give it a 5 if it wasn’t for the wear around the knobs.”
Andrea | Decorating Cents
Andrea painted her kitchen cabinets nearly 4 years ago using the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations Kit in chocolate, featured here.
“Our cabinets have held up great. I wipe them down a every week to get off any dirt and dust but hasn’t caused them to fade or chip. My biggest concern was the island where many feet kick it, but so far no chipping or peeling.” See more here.
YES, Andrea would “definitely use this kit again. Only, I would choose a darker finish from the start this way I wouldn’t need to use the glaze. Also, I would roll on instead of brushing. I like the effect the brush strokes and glaze gave the cabinets, but if I ever want to change the color of the cabinets, I would have to sand down the strokes to give them a smooth finish. I would recommend the kit to a friend because you can skip the sanding.”
Andrea rates the cabinet durability and wear as a 4 (Great). “Being that the cabinets are painted, I was expecting much more wear. They look just as good now as the day they were painted.”
Reader Tami
Tami refinished her cabinets about 2 years ago, using Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations.
“I was off for the Thanksgiving holiday with no travel or cooking plans. So I thought I would repaint my kitchen cabinets. Cabinet transformations had me at “no sanding required”. I bought the kit and one kit did my entire kitchen (it’s not big). I took off all the cabinet doors and labeled the doors and the openings with numbers written on paint tape (as suggested). Then I set up an area in my garage with saw horses and to put the doors on. I was only able to do a few doors at a time so this was a slow process. Then I used the cleaning solution, primer coat, base coat, antiqued and finally the clear coat. While the doors dried I went inside and did the cabinet frames. So there wasn’t a lot of downtime.
I won’t lie, this was not an easy process even without the sanding. It isn’t for the faint of heart! I also had some cabinet hinges that were brass that just weren’t attractive. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a replacement anywhere. So I got creative and spray painted them black, then sponged a layer of copper and finished them with a sponge of black. This matched the new handles I put on and I was very happy with the result. They have held up really well. There is one cupboard that has a few scratches from fingernails, but I figured when it gets bad enough I’ll redo it. Right now it’s not really noticeable.”
YES, Tami would use this kit again, and she rates it as a 5 (Amazing. I expect this to last for many years.)
Tami’s tips: Allow yourself plenty of time. Don’t rush the cleaning process. This is important to get any grease and grime off. If you scrimp here your paint will not last.
If you choose to antique your cabinets go light. If you get too heavy the look will be dirt not antique.
I have used chalk paint on my bathroom cabinets and I love this process….also no sanding and you can finish it with either paste wax or varnish depending on the look you want.
I painted before replacing the countertops. If you have tile and plan on replacing it I would suggest demolition first. It’s quite messy and ours involved sledge hammers! LOL
More from readers
We also asked our Facebook followers about their experiences with cabinet painting kits — read all about it here, and feel free to join the conversation!
Have you ever used a cabinet painting kit? (such as Rustoleum, Nuvo/Giani, etc — where everything comes in one…
Posted by Remodelaholic on Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Read more about how painted cabinets hold up to wear and tear on the next page –>
IN THIS POST:
page 1: painted cabinet reviews
page 2: cabinet painting kit reviews
page 3: chalk painted and milk painted cabinet reviews
page 4: waxed and gel stained cabinet reviews
We painted our light oak cabinets white. Biggest regret–We used an oil based paint, thimking it would be toughe and more durable. Then, about six months later, we noticed that “white-white” wasn’t so white any more! They were turning slightly yellowish. A DIY friend told us that oil ALWAYS begins to turn yellowish! Wished we had known and had used a water based, enamel paint. We DID carefully sand doors, drawers, and cabinet frames meticulously. Then used a sprayer (2-3 coats). Cabinet frames were painted with a brush and/or roller. Over all, the paint held up great and we are getting ready to repaint cabinets in our new house….but with WATER based paint this time!
Thank you for sharing, Gail — and good luck with your repainting!
Thank you for sharing our kitchen. It was a pleasant surprise. 🙂
Thank you, Nan! Have a great day!
I painted my cabinets bright lemon yellow, all by hand with a brush over the ucky “whitewashed” look that was popular 30 years ago. I wanted that old, country kitchen look with the cabinets looking like they had been painted many times over the years (hence using the brush) and got exactly the look I wanted. I only lightly sanded with one of those spongy sanders, and used a nice water-based high gloss for easy clean-up. We tried removing a door, painting it, and replacing it, but it didn’t sit right after that so I used an artist’s brush around the hardware. Paint has held up well and messes wipe right off.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa!
Hello, I had white cabinets that needed light touch up so I meant to just touch up the dings and ended up fanning out and painting larger sections that I wanted….got over zealous.
When the light doesn’t hit them, they look good, but when the light hits them you could see paint marks that look and feel rougher than the professionally finished sections.
So I bought 600 to 800 grit finishing sandpaper and lightly sanded it. I can’t tell if it made things worse, it’s smoother but it kinds looked like it scuffed it more too. Then I applied (per the cabinet manufacturer recommendation) Deft satin brush on lacquer to try and blend the flat look into the more satin finished areas, they look ok but is there any way to buff out the rougher/scuffed looking areas?
Please help, I’m worried I ruined my nice cabinets. Thanks!
Stephanie
Stephanie — will you message us over on Facebook with your question and if possible a couple of photos? I don’t have particular expertise here but I bet our readers there do! https://www.facebook.com/Remodelaholic
A kitchen remodel definitely seems like a lot of work but the results seem worth it.
I wish you would have included a couple chalk painted technics. As my husband and I are planning to do our kitchen cabinets that way. Would have loved seeing how it has held up for anyone who went that route.
I can not tell you how helpful this post has been!! I have been going back and forth about what method to use to paint our kitchen cabinets and then I found this post! I feel much more confident now making a choice! Thank you for doing the legwork to seek out the results of these different painting methods! It has been invaluable!
You’re welcome, Virginia! Thanks for the kind words.