This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
The kitchen continues. The trim is painted. The cabinets are primed. And now it comes time to paint.
We have found that our numero uno tip for painting any type of furniture and getting that factory type finish is to sand. It’s tedious and tiresome and a turd (had to come up with a third t-word) of a job…but believe me, it helps.
We use a sanding block – usually a super high grit count…I prefer 320 but 220 would work too if you don’t rub the edges too much. If you rub the edges you’ll get that distressed look…so if shabby chic ain’t your particular flavor of jellybean, well, don’t rub the edges.
For the cabinets, I decided to go with Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint. Now here me as I step on my soapbox. This may have been a mistake…we will not know till the cabinets are fully cured and we lived with them for a bit. But applying the paint with a sprayer? Not good. First let’s talk about why we picked that paint….
- heard it has amazing leveling ability…the open time is longer – so it helps eliminate any brush marks or that ‘painted-at-home’ look.
- easy clean up
- it’s an alkyd meaning it has the hardening ability of an oil based paint but it is waterborne
Now for the cons…
- open time is longer – so if you are spraying it on a vertical surface, it will drip and sag
- you have to apply it in RIDICULOUSLY thin coats….which is pretty hard to do with a sprayer
- thin coats = more coats = more money because a sprayer wastes a lot of paint
- it’s expensive per gallon (we got it on sale for $56 a gallon…and ended up getting THREE gallons. ay carumba.)
- so far, no dice on the hardening ability. With all the troubles we had with application, we held on to the fact that it would be better in the end because it would be hard as nails…so far, we have not seen it. The truth is yet to behold.
As far as color, I chose Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. I LOVE it. It is slightly warmer/richer feeling than the trim (which is just the bright white base in Lowe’s Semi Gloss paint) but doesn’t clash. It just looks good. I chose it after googling the tar outta the different whites and felt like I would need something that looks bright white but would be slightly better at hiding toddler fingerprints.
Once we had our paint, we prepped the room for spraying and my magician of a boyfriend went to work.
I only got a couple shots of him in action because I had to go outside onto the deck, hold my breath, put on a mask, open the door, run in with my camera, shoot him, and then run back out to breathe. The mist is intense with a sprayer.
When he first started spraying the paint, he treated it like he did the semi-gloss trim paint with nice even coats. But reminder: it’s thinner than that with a longer open time. So I heard the sprayer crank on, a few moments of spraying, and then Jer yelling…
KATIE! IT’S SCREWED UP! IT’S BAD! COME IN HERE! NOW! KATIE! THIS IS TERRIBLE!
Apparently I had failed to fully describe the type of paint we were working with. It’s thin. And the sprayer doesn’t do thin real well. So the first two cabinets near the dishwasher were dripping immediately. I ran to get my spare foam brushes as Jeremy sat with his head in his hands. He kept beating himself up thinking it was his fault. We both tackled the drips and sags and too-thick spray and decided in the end that this just meant he would have to do super fast super thin sprays. He modified his method and within ten minutes the first coat was on and he was done.
Then he laid out all the doors and did those too. They are propped up by scrap 2×4 pieces underneath.
Three coats later….
Then came time for the edges. Since Jer had to spray fast, that meant that lots and lots of edges need to be touched up. Basically, we had to use a mini roller and a foam brush to do everything that didn’t get a nice layer already. Jer helped me do it while Will watched Barney. God bless that purple dinosaur.
Some folks were asking about putting up plastic as barriers and if Will wanted to run through them. Yes. and No. He called them doors. And liked looking through 🙂 But in general, once we figured out a good taping method, we just told him that he couldn’t touch them and he could only look. That seemed to work with him.
Our method for taping up the plastic doors was pretty simple. We use Frog Tape because it is like the Chuck Norris of tapes….you just can’t beat it. Just tape a strip around the opening where you want the actual seam to be for the paint. Then cut your paper for the floor to extend past the doorway for any potential overspray, drips or footprints and tape that down too. Cut your plastic to be two inches wider than your doorway (one inch extra for each side) and it can be seven inches longer for the height (one inch on top and six on bottom). Hang your plastic starting at the top using the Frog Tape (we used the 1.5 inch tape so it gives plenty of stick on both sides) and then pull taunt to the bottom and tape the bottom. Then do the sides.
When you have to use the room, peel back from the top by grabbing the tape (not the plastic or it could rip). Our tape restuck and held true through over a dozen of opening and closings.
So that’s our paint-the-cabinets-and-tape-off-doors-and-don’t-kill-each-other-while-we-try-to-finish-process. We do still have a tiny bit of touch up to do on the edges of the doors (we decided to go ahead and hang them up so that we could put up some dishes that were growing spiderwebs in the foyer). Next up – CEILING! Did you notice the ceiling in some of the later cabinet painting pics? It happened in the middle of the cabinet painting process 🙂
Update : Looking for more info on something you see in our house? We have a Shop the Bower House page with paint colors and links to accessories, furniture and decor!
I declare that paint gun to be your best investment ever!
Almost there! Go Katie Go! (Oh, and of course the man that has made it happen!)
It will be so worth the turd 😉
Wow. It looks amazing. Way to go! I can’t imagine doing this when pregnant!
Looking good!
Here are my two cents for BM Advance.
1. I was a die hard fan of oil based for all trim and furniture painting. Better durability, better leveling, longer open time.
2. Advance came along, I talked to my favorite paint guys and they loved it. So I tried it. I painted all the wainscoting and trim in my house with it.
3. Take away: MAGIC PAINT. It looks awesome, goes on awesome, holds up awesome. AND YOU CAN LOSE YOUR PAINT THINNER FOREVER!
4. Plus, it is cheaper than oil based paint. I paid about the same as you for a gallon (all the way up in Boston) and I would have paid around 10 dollars more for the oil based.
5. I know, you can buy cheaper paint, but I’m a BM snob. (Sounds like I’m a poop snob).
6. I have no experience with a sprayer, but I can say, if you are using it with a brush and roller you will not regret it.
The suspense is killing me – I can’t imagine how eager YOU’VE been! Can’t wait to see what it all looks like pulled together 🙂
Holy frog tape, Batman! Go Bowers gooooooo! 🙂
So excited to see it all complete! Makes me wanna be brave and paint our cabinets!
I’m surprised you had so much trouble with the Benjamin Moore Advanced paint. We just used it to paint our kitchen and it worked out beautifully, and much harder than regular water based paint. We brushed it on though. I wonder if the method of application has anything to do with how long it takes to fully cure.
Okay, I had to comment. I am a lurker and don’t comment on much of anything I read on the internet. I have been reading your blog for a couple years now ( i love it!). I know this post is about kitchen reno goodness and all but what popped out the most to me…….Jeremy’s BIG ORANGE hat! I was so happy to see Jeremy supporting my VOLS. We need all the help we can get. I have lived in Chattanooga for a few years now but am from Knoxville so my blood runs deep deep bright vibrant orange. Please tell Jeremy thank you from a VOL fan for supporting us way down in Dawg country.
And of course, your kitchen looks like it’s coming along nicely. I can’t believe you are taking this beast of a project on while almost fully percolated. 🙂 Good woman Katie Bower. Good woman!
Oh girl, I hope for your sake these cabinets cure up hard as nails and last a really long time. That is a lot of cabinets and trim to paint! It looks good in the pics though. I can’t wait to see it all put back together!
Now I have Humpty Dumpty going through my head. 😉
Gosh! It already looks amazing! I want to get a paint sprayer and just spray everything in sight! Your kitchen is going to be gorgeous!
It looks great… I can’t wait to see the end result. We use Simply White for all our trim for the exact same reason… I wanted a bright, but slightly warmer white with the thought that it would look cleaner with a dog and baby running around.
Looks so great!! I found with the advanced paint if you wait the recommended 16 hours between recoats it hardens wonderfully. I hope it cures perfectly for you too. Can’t wait to see the final reveal. =)
It’s going to look absolutely AMAZING when you’re done! Yay! 🙂
It’s going to be beautiful!! BM Simply White is the BEST white color. I adore it. We did all of our kitchen cabinets in that color a couple of years ago. It does hide fingerprints a lot better than a standard ultra white out of the can. I mean, it’s still white, so, you will see icky, jelly prints, but just dirty smudges and dust, not so much. Here’s hoping it hardens beautifully for you! When we did our cabinets we used BM Satin Impervo and it did cure up nice and hard, but we gave it a couple of weeks before rehanging doors.
Can’t wait to see that new baby!!
Looking good so far! What’s the backspash going to be?
WOW!! talk about time consuming
I’m a furniture refinisher, and have done several kitchens now, as well as a bedroom set in BM Advance. (One kitchen was Simply White as well– so pretty!) There is definitely a learning curve with water based alkyds.
I ended up having to buy a smaller needle for my sprayer. BUT, once I adjusted the outflow of fluid, I had much less trouble with sagging & dripping.
As for hardening, there is a 30-day cure time, and they will be amazingly durable! I painted a client’s son’s bunk beds a year ago and they still look brand new. Ladder & everything!
Can’t wait to see your final results!
Did you use the Benjamin Moore Aura line? What finish did you use. I’m getting ready to paint my kitchen cabinets with the above paint in Simply White too, I’m just trying to decide if I’m going Satin, Semi or Gloss.
Oh, KB. I feel your pain. Think of me virtually hugging you right now. Yes, my arms wrap around your cute little belly. 🙂 The cabinets are looking great! Seriously. When Ben built our kitchen cabinets, I got the lovely task of filling, sanding, priming, and painting everything. By hand. We used Acry-Shield paint (here’s a link: http://ourhumbleabowedblog.com/2011/11/17/gray-matter/) because it has a self leveler and hardens. It was nice to work with using a brush and foam roller, but I don’t know how it would work in a sprayer.
Just think, you’re near the finish line! Wahoo! We’re all invited for a kitchen warming party, right? I’ll bring appetizers! 😉
Cararra marble 🙂
xo – kb
We actually tried both of the smaller sized nozzles but both were the same result. I am sure this is why you get clients because DANG this was hard! And I am so glad to hear about the 30 day wait period…because that means we still have at least ten more days. Thanks so much for your encouragement!
xo – kb
I used the Benjamin Moore Advance paint on my kitchen cabinets also. I would love to know how your cabinets are holding up down the road. I sanded the heck out of my cabinets, primed using the zinsser smart prime and applied two coats of the BM paint. Small spills and sticky finger marks (two little boys) wipe off great. I have noticed that anything metal (measuring cups, toy cars, etc.) will leave a silver mark on the cabinet. It is as if the metal transfers on the painted cabinet somehow. No amount of soap or water takes it off. Those cleaning erasers are the only thing that will take it off, but it also takes a bit of the sheen off too. I seem to be the only one who notices (when the light hits it the right way), but it bugs the heck out of me since it took me so long to do them all my hand. Again, I would LOVE to know how the paint job holds up down the road.
We used the Advance line in Satin. We do love the satin finish 🙂
xo – kb
We waited actually a couple days between coats…just to be sure and because Jeremy could only do it on certain nights. Hopefully it will cure all the way soon!
xo – kb
He bleeds orange. And yes, we joke that Will is a Steelers fan and this next boy is a Volunteer 🙂
xo – kb
Yeah – that’s what we were thinking too!
xo – kb
Your number six was the key I think. If we ever tried it again, we would definitely go with a brush and foam roller!
xo – kb
Good luck with the paint curing. I hope it works well for you. I used the same paint after reading about it over on YHL. It took us four thin coats over a coat of white primer to fully cover our dark cabinets! Unfortunately for us it’s been a disapointment and I wish I’d used oil as we did for our upstairs cabinets. The final cure was not very hard despite following the instructions to a T and a lot of experience painting. Because everyone else has had such fantastic results with it, I’m assuming the original finish of our cabinets must have been unusual in some way. We have to be careful with bumps because the paint dents and scratches easily, but on the bright side the kitchen looks fantastic with white cabinets. Not trying to negative, just interested to see your initial comments as every other Advance paint user I’ve run into has had nothing but rave reviews.
What sheen did you use? I used the satin finish and I wonder if that could happen for us!
xo – kb
I used the satin finish also. I just used the same paint on all my dining room chairs and three barstools. I ended up using poly over the barstools, because the boys sit there all the time. I am not going to worry about the dining chairs, since I stained the seats and only painted the legs and back.
I love the way my cabinets turned out and love the satin finish. They look like they were sprayed, but I used a brush and foam roller. There is NOT a single brush/roller mark. I am just totally confused about the metal marks.
I can’t decide which one I’m more excited about, your little bundle of joy or the kitchen to be revealed – y’all rock!!
We finished our kitchen reno about 1 year ago. My honey HAD to buy/use a paint sprayer. He wanted that old enamel paint look ( we have a 1920’s farmhouse). He also HAD to buy the Benjamin more advance paint like you guys. We had the same exact problems. We got it figured out by the time we painted the cabinets. But I still have sanding/repainting all the bead board in our house on our to do list. The good news is that the paint is HARD AS A ROCK!! It did take a little longer for it to cure, but we are happy with the end result, i’m sure you will be too. Its spendy, but worth the money!
I painted our kitchen cabinets this summer for the second time. (the first time was 18 yrs. ago). I am not sure what type of sprayer you were using, but I can highly recommend a HVLP (high volume low pressure) spray gun. There is very little overspray, so very little wasted paint. Cleanup of the gun is simple, too The spray can even be cranked down to a small pattern for jobs like spraying chair rungs or the spokes of a chair back.
I didn’t want to spray in the kitchen and tape off everything, so I brushed the cabinet boxes, and sprayed all the cabinet doors outside. The paint I used was Benjamin Moore’s Regal, in a pearl finish. Because it is latex, it had to be thinned about 25% with water (this is true of almost all latex or acrylic paints used in a HVLP sprayer). Perhaps the Advance paint (since it sounds like a thinner paint) could be sprayed in an HVLP without thinning. The key is the very thin coats which are easily done with the HVLP. Not that any of this is of use to you now that you are done, but perhaps someone else can benefit from this info.
The most visible part of the cabinetry is the doors, so if they are beautifully finished with a spraygun that is the part that most people will notice ,and any brush marks on the boxes won’t even be noticed. I might also mention that the HVLP is really not the tool to use if you want to paint walls, but for furniture and cabinetry, it is very good. I am sure you are happy to be winding up your kitchen project, and I bet the Advance paint will be perfect, especially with all the prep work that was done.
Same here Sarah! I thought I would be thrilled beyond belief. But maybe you and I had higher standards 🙂
xo – kb
Good to know! I hope ours hardens up soon!
xo – kb
I just moved to a new house and also picked simply white for all the woodwork after a ton of googling. And I started with a gallon of Advance but didn’t like how thin it coated (I’m painting over dark brown wood) so I switched to Regal Select. Was planning to save the Advance for furniture projects but it’s good to be warned about the sprayer!
Oh.my.gawd!!! You are my hero….this is a HUGE undertaking…good luck and I can’t wait to see the finished product….2 questions though…..1-what does Jeremy do that he has enough energy to do this at the end of the day and 2-Is he a saint?? My husband would have thrown in the towel after the tape job! (and me out with it)
Good luck!!!!
I used BM Advance when I re-did my hutch and I am really happy with it!! I used foam rollers and brush though so maybe the sprayer applied heavy to start with. I think you will be happy when it’s done, my hutch definitely cured to a hard finish. I can’t WAIT to see your end results!!! 🙂
Ugh! This looks like SO MUCH WORK! It makes me want to cry just thinking about it! I know when your kitchen is done, I’m going to be so envious of the end result. I’m sure it will be beautiful! But when I see all the work involved in getting there, I am perfectly content to live with my dated kitchen… at least until I have the money to pay someone else to reno for me (maybe by the time I retire…)! Plus, I don’t know how you live with all the paint fumes. I know you aren’t standing there during the actual spraying but I’m sure the smell still lingers in the air. I’m pregnant too and would be freaking out about all the fumes (I’m sensitive about fumes even when I’m not preggo). Enjoy your beautiful kitchen when it’s done. No one can say you haven’t earned it!
Actually it’s amazing because the plastic doors really do block a lot of the fumes and the paint we’ve been choosing is lower or no VOC so it’s not as stinky. I was shocked myself 🙂
xo – kb
haha…he doesn’t have enough energy. I coerce him 🙂 And yes, he is a saint. He actually really appreciates the fact that the blog helps pay for projects so when it is extra big projects like this, he is more inclined to get moving. Plus, he hated the old kitchen…he’s more of a clean-body than me so the old greasy stuff just wasn’t his thing.
xo – kb
So good to hear that all these folks like you have hard results. Crossing our fingers!
xo – kb
Wow!! My husband and I have been following this reno as we want to do our cabinets! Can’t wait to see you put it all together, looks good so far 🙂
Your cabinets look amazing so far! I can’t wait to see the end result. Simply White is one of my go-to whites when suggesting trim and cabinetry colours to clients. BTW, my family owns a couple of Benjamin Moore paint stores and I can assure you that the Advance paint will harden as it cures…it definitely behaves like an alkyd paint. So if you have any more questions about Benjamin Moore paint I would be happy to help you out 🙂
We used the BM Advanced paint on our trim work that was previously painted in oil based. One the paint covered the oil base paint awesomely without priming and left little to no brush marks. But it did feel like it took almost 3 days to cure. Since ours were on doors we shut some a little too soon and it smudged. So waiting as long as possible to put the doors back on will probably be good. We went with high gloss since it was trim and looks awesome.
Ooh, I had to avert my eyes, they were twitching that much! This looks like so.much.work! I’m a lazy DIYer and this is killing me, I need to paint my kitchen walls and ceiling and this alone is making me anxious and sweaty! It’s going to look amazing, Napoleon will be oh so jealous!
We tried the Advance paint to freshen up pantry and closet shelves and trim that had existing oil-base paint. After a good sanding and cleaning, my husband used a roller on the horizontal shelves and a brush on the trim. He is experienced and meticulous about painting, and he HATED the stuff. He said he would never use it out in the open where people would notice the paint job. Even working to apply it as thin as possible, the paint is terribly runny and drippy. The man at Benjamin Moore acknowledged this when we complained. You have to apply such thin coats that the coverage is terrible. It just doesn’t live up to a high quality, true oil-base. I had such high hopes for this paint, because unlike regular oil-base, it’s supposedly non-yellowing. I really liked the idea of the crisp white paint in my closets *staying* crisp white through the years. But we will never be using this paint again.
thanks…hopefully it will happen soon. Life is risky with non-hard cabinets and a toddler 🙂
xo – kb
I’m so impressed, Katie. I would be a basket case trying to live through this! I am discovering that I don’t actually like DIY. Haha. I prefer other people to do it for me and to be as minimally inconvenienced as possible. But I love watching other people do amazing things — like you guys! 🙂
That paint gun must have wasted a lot of paint, because while our kitchen isn’t as big as yours (we had 42 doors and drawers to paint, but two of them were huge 8 ft pantry doors) and we only used 1 gallon plus 1 pint. Three gallons is a lot!
I think it is looking great. I know that I used an enamel on my cabinets, and it took about a good month to cure. After that, I used some clear furniture polishing wax(just a minwax) on it to protect some more. You have to reapply it every so often, but I read that as a tip somewhere and use it on all my painted stuff now. Works pretty good.
I am so appreciating this series of posts on your kitchen. I’ve been itching to make the switch in our kitchen (we have light-colored, low grain wood cabinets right now that I actually like, as wood goes, but sometimes you just wanna white kitchen, ya know?)
Even though I’m super impatient for kitchen update posts, I appreciate that you’re giving a very real play-by-play of just how dang much work this is. I need to get that through my head. We may ultimately fall on the contract-out side rather than the DIY side of this thing if we take it on. But I feel like whatever we do, we’ll be more educated in our decision making process!
Katie!
First, do you like how ‘Katie’ rolled off my fingertips as if we’re BFF’s? Second, things are coming along ahmaaazingly! I look forward to your kitchen update posts ever since you started. I love how you show us step-by-step but it also leaves me wanting more…you’re such a tease. Okay, even I’LL admit that was a bit awkward. So 1. can’t wait to see the cabinets all painted. 2. You are my hero doing this preggo 3. GET ON THAT NURSERY WOMAN! 😉 4. Random question, what’s cutie patootie Will gonna be for Halloween?!
You know how I love a white kitchen, friend! Looking awesome.
My husband is a HUGE UT fan and I was going to ask the same thing!! I didn’t know that at all. But Katie, you just lost me on the Steelers comment… Ravens all the way. 🙂
Katie this is looking amazing! I seriously can’t wait to see the finished product, but am loving the step by step breakdown!! This is real life DIY, and it’s so encouraging and enlightening. Thanks for sharing 🙂
We just bought our first sprayer and it was hysterical! I think we had more paint on us than on the fence we were trying to spray. But by our second try it worked much better and our lesson learned was to make sure you have the right tip size.
Does anyone use Sherwin Williams? I just used the Emerald paint for the first time and was really pleased with it.
Laurel
I can’t imagine how good it would feel after all this to peel all that tape off to expose all the nice clean lines around the windows and everything!! That’s my favorite part of using tape. Simply White is my favorite white…I have plenty left over from trim in our house, and this makes me want to paint our dingy cream kitchen cabinets. But not really right now, maybe later : ) You’re going to love being in your beautiful, bright, clean new kitchen! Can’t wait to see it!
I used the exact same paint and color and sprayer!! Crazy :). We had the same problem with the paint running, I had a few complete, UGH STOP SPRAYING! moments where the paint was just to thick and would just run and run. My husband and I hadn’t ever used the sprayer before, so it was a complete learning experience! But good news is the paint is very hard and very durable now, granted we left it for a weekend to dry and went out of town. So it had a few days to be alone and cure :). But the self-leveling of the paint is wonderful, no brush marks whatsoever!
By the way it looks amazing and love reading your blog!! You are hilarious :).
I wonder how the back splash would look painted! I wonder if it would look hip and rad or cheap and lazy? Hmmmm!
Aagghh, I can’t WAIT to see! I’m sure you can’t either 🙂 You are AMAZING Katie, I can’t believe you are doing this all while 8 months pregnant. If I knew where you lived, I’d send you lots and lots of chocolate- you deserve it!
Did y’all sand your door/cabinets in between priming and painting? Or in between coats of paint? I love being able to glean tips from this gorgeous kitchen reno.
We sanded between all the coats…but not the prime and first coat.
xo – kb
Looking good! I just got finished painting my 21 cabinets but I feel like an outcast using Sherwin Williams Pro Classic paint (and went with a Creamy). I did the foam roller and brush approach and did not have the issues you are reporting. In fact, felt like this paint dried REALLY quickly. I was happy about that as I had to use an enamel paint for a darker color in bathroom cabinets and felt like it took FOREVER to cure. This whole process truly has been a test of endurance. High five!
Oh lovely! I wish my kitchen looks so nice and stylish. Although I have added modern kitchen appliances in my kitchen so that I manage to cook good and delicious food items easily and efficiently. However, after reading your post I am thinking more. What more? I am planning to opt for kitchen remodeling service. What if I add some modern cabinets?
You are taking on a lot right now!
Can you please share with me what color your trim is and what color the ceiling in the kitchen is?
Thank you!
The new color of the trim is just the ultra white base by Valspar. We don’t have them add tint or colorant. And it’s Semigloss. The ceiling is now flat white – also by Valspar…it’s labeled ceiling paint.
xo – kb
Why did you paint the inside of that one cabinet but not the others?
That one cabinet is a glass front…so we can see the inside 🙂
xo – kb
Hey Katie, sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Advance in the sprayer 🙁 I did mine by hand (almost killed me) with Advance last year, and it has held up great! It does have a long cure time, so don’t lose hope! I always recommend it to people for cabinets because it really takes care of brush marks 🙂 In any case, it’s looking great in there, and I can’t wait to see the reveal!
Makes sense! You have a lot of cute dishes to display! Anxious to see it all in the end! Your taste is impeccable.
After the long hours living without a kitchen, removing, sanding, priming and painting late into the evening while pregnant, if you had to do it over, would you hire someone? Not sure the cost, but maybe in your reveal post you could share some thoughts. When is DIY just honestly too much hassle even though it’s doable!
I’ve used BM Simply White on all the trim and woodwork that we’ve painted “white” in our house. I love, love, love the creaminess of the white–so I keep using it. But I have to say that it is a very thin white and it seems to take a lot of extra coats to cover fully until you actually reach an even and correct “color.” (Our kitchen cabinets took 5 coats. Yes FIVE! And those were even with oil-based Regal.) But honestly, it’s my favorite white, so I will continue to use it over and over and over again.
A thing about waterborne paints is that they will take 3o days to fully cure and reach that rock hard finish. Which is their MAJOR downfall. So don’t worry, it WILL get there! I just painted all of my little man’s trim with the Regal waterborne enamel paint, and it is holding up well to his 2-year-old antics despite being nowhere close to the 30 day mark yet!
Can’t wait to see the final results.
I have a post planned for surviving a kitchen makeover…and to be perfectly honest…no. I would still do it ourselves. I am so cheap that if someone else did it, I would be a perfectly good pain in the rear end for them. Nothing would be good enough for my dollar. Plus, I am so proud of us. That’s pretty priceless 🙂
xo – kb
Good to know. We were freaking out that it would never cure. Here’s hoping it’s just around the corner!
xo – kb
For some reason I cannot view your blog Amanda. It is marked private.
Oh wow….this is a big project but its going to look amazing! Looking forward to seeing the final product 🙂 Please keep us updated with more progress! Excited to see more 🙂
Sorry! I am gonna remove it because apparently it’s not available anymore! I wish I had her email address to see why!
xo – kb
Katie,
Can you please share the name/model of your spray gun?
Did Jer have any complaints using it (other than what you mentioned in this post).
Thanks!
He does like it for the quick clean up and the easy use. Also he likes that you don’t need a giant compressor to use it. There is definitely a learning curve and it definitely helps for painting large pieces of furniture quick…but you do lose a lot of paint in the process and you have to be uber careful about drips.
Here is the post that shows it in the original box…sadly that’s all we have.
xo – kb
Hey Katie! We are finishing our basement and I am thinking about picking up a paint sprayer for all of our trim & doors that we’re going to have to paint — as well as all the primer we’ll have to put on our new drywall. Would you recommend your sprayer for that?
If I recall, you guys did use it for all of the trim work (on walls & ceiling) in your office — did you have similar dripping issues when you did that room?
I’m just really wondering if it would be worth it to spray all of the drywall with primer as it sounds like such a time saver, but dripping issues (especially when drying to paint the ceiling) could really negate the time saving aspect of spraying versus rolling….
Thanks so much!
Definitely. I would say that as long as you don’t have only a few rooms to do at a time (the engine is only built to handle an hour or two at a time of spraying) then go for it. And make sure you practice since your speed of spraying and your distance and technique makes a difference.
xo – kb
What kind of sprayer did you use? I used the Advance paint when I sprayed my kitchen cabinets, and had no issues like you describe. I used an HVLP sprayer, and it was a dream to use for this project! I’m thinking maybe the sprayer is the culprint vs. the paint? I do heart the Advance paint though – it does take some time to fully cure, but the end result is so AMAZING!!
http://evolutionofstyleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like.html
It’s a Graco TrueCoat Plus. I definitely think it was part of the problem…but also the reason it looked so good because our other option was a brush and roller.
I think I am just so used to waiting one day for a coat of paint to dry…so waiting almost two months was horrible.
xo – kb
I am looking into purchasing a sprayer and am torn between one with a preset spray setting and another that is adjustable. My gut is telling me to get the adjustable but its $60 more. Just wondering which one you went with and if you have any regrets?
Ours is adjustable but only through different nozzles. I am a big fan of the one that we have (it’s a GRACO brand) and it is nice for light work!
xo – kb
I am curious how your paint is holding up on your cabinets. I love your kitchen and am in the process of my kitchen renovation and would love your feedback!
Thanks!
That’s the one I was thinking of. Thanks for your reply 🙂
It’s doing great. It finally cured and we are so happy with it!
xo – kb
Great makeover. I am currently trying to decide between BM white dove or simply white for my kitchen. I was curious what finish did you use on your kitchen cabinets satin or semigloss? How is it holding up with kids? Thanks
Satin (mostly because there was no other choice…the BM Advance only comes in Gloss or Satin.)
And it is holding up great so far…of course, it is still relatively new so ask me again in three years 🙂
xo – kb
OMG, I’m so nervous now. I’m starting on my cabinets this Monday. I have the Advance paint in Snowfall White, I will be painting brand new wood cabinets in my parents garage. I have a sprayer ready and back up brushes too. Can you tell a difference where you sprayed and where you had to brush/roll???? I brushed my new interior raised panel doors 2 years ago, only 7 of them so I do Not want to brush/roll if possible. Thanks 🙂
The difference between the foam roller and the spray is slight. Anytime you use the brush it is a little more than slight. So that is what I would recommend…stick to the foam roller and the sprayer as much as possible…or brush first and then use the roller/sprayer after 🙂
xo – kb
Great kitchen makeover. Just curious what primer did you use on the cabinets? I know young house love recommends Zinsser Smart Prime but I am having a hard time locating it at a local retailer and want to avoid ordering a primer online. Which primer did you use? IK am getting ready to paint my kitchen cabunets in Simply White after testing several whites. I am sanding right now. Lots of work. But after seeing your kitchen, I’m motivated to get it done right.
Thanks, Angelica
Here’s the post all about it 🙂
xo – kb
Hi Katie! Totally late to the game, but we are about to paint our cabinets, did you use an oil base paint? I’ve heard this was the best way to go, I just wanted to get your opinion. Thanks so much!! PS- i’m a boy mom too.. ( 4 and 1)..and just love reading about your boys!
I used Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint. It turned out awesome 🙂
xo – kb
Hi Katie,
I love your blog. So informative! I’m getting ready to paint my kitchen and trying to decide between Advance and BM Impervo waterbourne. I am going to use a brush and roller on the boxes and spray the drawer fronts and doors. Have you noticed any yellowing in your cabinets? I know Advance isn’t a traditional oil paint, but have heard it can yellow some.
Thanks!
No…mine hasn’t yet but it still has been quite new. I don’t know if they would yellow over time…perhaps you could ask Sherry at Young House Love because her cabinets have Advance and have been exposed for about a year longer than ours.
xo – kb
First of all, most enamels are thin but dry extremely had. It looks like too many doors and areas painted in one room, in summary poor painting technique.
Yep. Wrong kind of sprayer. That sprayer might be OK for latex but you would have had much more control, far less wasted paint and less overspray with an HVLP sprayer. If you were willing to work a bit slower, an LVLP sprayer would have allowed for even less wasted paint and overspray.
Katie-
My husband and I are gearing up for a kitchen revamp…..did I read correctly, you would go with the Advanced paint BUT use a brush and roller if you were to do it again? Just want to clarify before my husband drops some cash on a paint sprayer…..
For cabinetry, yes, I would do the doors and frames with a sprayer and Advance paint…but do SUPER fast and light coats.
xo – kb
Hi Katie,
I’m about to start painting my kitchen cabs. Thanks for all the great tips. Did you spray the cabinets down on the floor as pictured or does the sprayer lose it’s prime when pointed towards the floor?
Thank you!
Emily
It doesn’t spray quite as evenly when you point it down or up…it works best when held parallel to the floor…so we did need to angle it a bit but thankfully it worked out.
xo – kb
Hi Katie,
Cruising your blog since you’ve had many “discussions” about your sprayer. Here’s our issue and not sure if you or a reader can chime in. Husband is using our HVLP to spray latex satin paint (just from Lowes basic white since it’s trim type project…slide in liquor cabinet, hard to explain…anyhow…) and the first coat feel gritty. Rub your hand on the raw wood smooth sanded silk, on the spray side grit! Any experience with this??? Scouring the internet but so far no dice.
With all paint, you will definitely have some grit…whether you apply it with a paint brush or a sprayer. I recommend that you use a between coat sandpaper between coats for a super smooth finish. Also, all paint is not created equal. If you are looking to refinish wood with paint, some paint has a longer ‘open time’ that allows it smooth better.
Hope this helps!
xo – kb
we just used the ADVANCE on our cabs 10 days ago, boy are they still soft.
How longuntil yours dried completely, and is it as good as they say
once full cured thanks
I will tell ya…it took a solid six weeks for it to fully cure. I am really hard on cabinets and need something hard as nails…and I can honestly tell you that it will cure and when it finally does, it is worth it. I get food all over our cabinets and can pick off the dried bits with my actual nails without messing up the finish. Most times I use a paper towel and spray but if something rubs it hard on the white, I sometimes use a Magic Eraser. Hope this helps!
xo – kb
I hope so, It feels really soft now 2 weeks later
Is that how yours were? I tested a spot and could peel
it off with my nail if i scraped it. Not sure i would use
advance again with kids, im sure theyre gonna damage them somewhere
Oh yes. It was soft for a really long time for me too. I don’t know if I have a humid house or what but it felt like A REALLY long time.
xo – kb
We are about to start our cabinets very soon (my husband has started building side panels and thicker molding…and a slot for fridge) I enjoyed your blog and am ab to purchase a paint gun. What would you suggest? Also going to look at the BM advance like you used, but what primer do you suggest? Also, how are your cabinets holding up? And one more question. our trim and shutters are painted a contractor white (i think sherwin williams simply white) I want antique white or creamy white cabinets…but do you think that will clash too much? Some considerations were BM dove white or simply white…also like linen and want to do a glaze in the creases. what do you think? thank you!
Wanted to make a quick remark about using Advance BM paint. I just started my kitchen cabinets and island in July. Taking my time and multiple coats with sanding in between. Had little confidence at the outset as I have never taken on a project so big. I am almost finished with only ten doors to go (lots of doors/drawers and the island sooooo much labor). But I have to agree with impatience with the curing process. I am losing confidence that it will be “hard as nails finish”. Trying to be patient but not my strongest trait. Have had some incidents of peeling very easily with my nail. Will keep hoping for good outcome.
How long has it been? July you were finished? Because I will attest mine took well over six weeks…closer to two months to cure and now it really is hard. Hope that is the case for you too!
xo – kb
Hey Katie,
I too am using the advance paint and was just curious if you used a sealer afterwards or dI’d you find that over time it hardened enough not to use one?
Thanks,
Monty
It hardened up but took forever! It was well over the 6 week rumor to cure. I think mine took close to 2 months and then FINALLY it was hard as a rock.
xo – kb
I used Advance paint with the Wagner Conversion sprayer. I am having a horrible time getting a nice finish. I’m very frustrated! I’m thinking about changing paint or paint sprayer.
How long did you wait before spray coats? Can says 16 hours to re coat? Did you wait that long? (Also it comes in semi gloss now. ) I have a graco true coat and hate it. It wastes so much and found it so so hard to clean. 🙁 I also have a little critter sprayer and am considering that.
I started painting my newly Installed dining room paneling and built in s with roller and brush and am hating it so I’m Sanding a ton and wanting to spray.
Yes. We definitely waited at least that long between coats. It was more like a day or two.
xo – kb
I’m in the middle of painting my cabinets white with the Benjamin Moore Advance. This post has been so helpful! I have sanded, primed and put the first paint coat on but it’s feeling a little rough to the touch (using a roller). Would you recommend sanding again at this point to get a smoother finish or will the second paint coat be smoother? Did you sand in between primer and paint? Thanks so much!!
I would sand after the first coat. The primer is supposed to allow the paint to adhere…so you don’t want to mess that adhesion up!
xo – kb
Thank you so much for posting about this. We will be starting our cabinets soon. Did you cabinets have wood grain and did that show a lot after painting? Also how is the Benjamin Moore paint holding up?
The paint is holding up fairly well…there are only two spots were the paint is showing any wear…the trash can drawer (probably because I have to scrub it every day!) and the end panel of the cabinets where the trash can is (probably because we didn’t sand it well enough for proper adhesion) but overall…it’s exactly what we wanted. And our cabinets did not have the texture of wood grain but it did LOOK like grain but that doesn’t show through the paint.
xo – kb
As a professional painter I’ve been through this process many times in the past. Dealing with white over white and assuring proper coverage has always been a challenge and surprisingly difficult. To avoid the headache of having to apply multiple coats of finish paint I’ve started to use at least 2 coats of quick dry (1-2 hrs.) oil-based primer, it appears in your photos you really didn’t get adequate coverage with your primer.
I must not understand the point of primer then…I thought it was to get adhesion – not coverage. That is what I have been told by paint developing brands…do you use it as an additional layer of coverage? Also – I wish I could have used oil-based but really with small children and being pregnant in this space, it’s not ideal. That’s why we went with the water-based (approved by my doc!).
xo – kb
do you happen to have a good close up of the spray results? I used a wagner spray gun for my garage cabinets and though it covered well it left a bumpy looking finish not the ultra smooth factory finish. Thanks!
You can look at the photos in the reveal post to see some more pictures….and then there are these too.
xo – kb
I recently sprayed new cabinets (I had them made) with BM Advance. I used the Critter sprayer, vs the type you used and had a little more success. I thought it may be helpful to anyone who is reading. I only used 3/4 of a gallon on a large kitchen. The Critter also has less over spray than that of a power sprayer. I have one of those too! My Wagner creates a more textured surface, where the Critter is silky smooth. Your kitchen looks great!
Good advice!
xo – kb
Hi Katie and Mia:
I’m so appreciative of this dialog as I prepare to refinish our new rental home. Do you recall the size of the spray tip that worked best with the Benjamin Moore Advance paint? Also, did any level of compression work better than others?
Wondering how you painted both sides of the cabinet doors without marring the paint if it takea so long to set up. And then once both sides of the doors are painted, how long before you can hang them? I’m assuming you didn’t wait the 2 months to hang the doors and install the drawer fronts. I must admit, the cure time and the finicky application makes me waver on using the Advance.
On another note, I used the Sherwin Williams Proclassic Enamel on upper cabinets over 5 yrs ago and they look as good as when I painted them. I read your comparison of SW and BM and your island mishap. One thing I’m pretty hardcore about is using oil-based primer. I’ve never had good results with the water-based ones.
I have heard other people say that about the oil based primer but when it’s something inside and I am pregnant (both things were true at the time) then I hesitate. I wish there was something that stuck better but still didn’t cause harm!
xo – kb
This post has been so helpful! I also wondered about when during the curing process you hung the cabinet doors back up. I can’t imagine having them in my garage curing for that long! Also, like the question above, how long did you have to wait before flipping the door panels to paint the back sides? Now that it’s been a few years, have you noticed any yellowing? Thanks so much, you’re kitchen looks fantastic!
Getting ready to do this! Excited and scared! How long exactly did it take for you paint to finish curing so you could move back into your kitchen?
We moved back in relatively soon but were REALLY careful with the frames and didn’t replace the doors for at least 4 weeks because they took the longest to cure. It’s the difference between being dry and hard, ya know?
xo – kb
I have sprayed for many years and have done several kitchens this year, all with advanced. Not sure why people are talking about several weeks before handling. I spray 2 coats on the doors and install them the next day. They’re not totally cured but plenty hard enough to handle and install. I use an airless with a 410 fine finish graco tip with awesome results. Only prob is an occasional spit from the gun which I take care of with a very light brush job.
I am glad to hear you had faster dry times than we did. Of course, we live in a humid environment and did it during the summer so that probably plays a role.
xo – kb
Just a quick question. What was the name of the color on the dark gray island? By the way love, love your kitchen.
Did you prime and, if so, would you brush and roller the primer next time?
I wouldn’t necessarily do it based on the method…more on the speed in which I could finish. Does that make sense? Like if there were a few cabinets I probably would roll the primer on because it would be faster than all the spraying prep. If there were a lot of cabinets, it would still be faster for me to spray. I think the reason is that I wouldn’t want that primer to cure without the paint layers on.
xo – kb
Since this paint is self-leveling, I’m wondering if you can do touch-ups on your cabinets without it showing.
I have used Behr Alkyd paint for a cabinet in the past. Once the paint cures usually at about 7 days, it still will not past the fingernail scratch test. Find an inconspicuous spot and rub the edge of your finger nail across it. If it scratches the paint then your going to have problems with any surfaces that come in contact with anything hard. I sprayed three coats of Miniwax water based polyacrylic over the alkyd paint and the dry time is 30 minutes between coats. Water based will not yellow over time, like oil based.
You may need to lightly sand with 220 grit between coats. But now the shelves pass the fingernail scratch test. As polyacrylic is much harder than Alkyd paint in my experience.
That’s a great tip!
xo – kb