Painting Cabinets

[mustrmrk]

Has anyone painted these interior plastic coated 'wood' cabinets with success. I'd love to brighten up our interior but am worried paint will not stick. What prep and paint did you use?

thanks

[Debbit]

I have painted the interior of two toy homes. A dolphin and a sunrader. In both cases the "wood" was worn off and scratched. In both RVs I was in a hurry, hot summer and I wish I'd taken more time and done a better job. But even though I didn't do much prep, the paint has stuck.

What I did was use edgers and masking tape and lightly sand the surfaces before painting. On the dolphin, I took the doors off and did a better job, and it looked better. But still I don't much like the brush marks. The better quality the paint and tools, the better it hold up and looks.

I've painted the sunrader twice and still only partially happy with the way it looks. Now I'm thinking wallpaper on the long boring "wall".
The sunrader is harder to like the painted surface because there is so much of it. Walking in the rv, you face a lot of wall. The bathroom door, a section of wall with a cabinet in it, the tall closet then the fridge. So a long, windowless, unbroken wall of paint. We put a mirror up, and that helps, and I tried some colored glaze to break up the look of it, but didn't like that either, so repainted it.

I'd say the layout of the rv has a lot to do with how the paint looks. The dolphin had no long sections of walls, windows on both sides. I wallpapered the walls around the windows, and painted the upper and lower storage cabinets with a darker green, then the kitchen cabinets with a lighter color. Because the kitchen was at the back end of the rv, it really looked great.

I'd say if the floor plan lends itself to looking better painted, do it right. Sand surfaces lightly. remove doors and use a sprayer outside.
Use a sponge roller on the cabinets left inside. Home Depot sells a paint that has a "primer" added. It works well. I'm sure there are other good paints that would work too. Paint will scratch, scuff and chip though, so save some for touch ups. Good luck!

[Pete1122]

We took the doors off, sanded and painted them with a roller. We also replaced all the hardware, it takes some time with makes a big difference.

[paulnptld]

It can be done. I used a premium paint by Behr. $60/gallon, but well worth it. I'd recommend at least three coats to get it right. Well worth the effort.

[snail powered]

Has anyone painted these interior plastic coated 'wood' cabinets with success. I'd love to brighten up our interior but am worried paint will not stick. What prep and paint did you use?

thanks

A primer that says it will stick to vinyl wallpaper will do the trick. The paneling has a vinyl coating. If your ceiling is wallpapered it too will likely be a vinyl coated paper. Lots of people need to paint over vinyl wallpapers so it is not difficult to find suitable primers.

Zinsser brand "Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Plus" will work. They sell it at Home Depot. A neighborhood paint store or hardware store that sells paint will also have a primer formula that will work over vinyl. If you buy a paint formula that says it has primer in it just check to be sure it says it can be used over vinyl wallpaper.

Tip: You can have your can of primer tinted to more closely match your finish color, that helps with needing fewer coats of paint.

Prep is the standard routine for painting a kitchen

1. remove hardware

2. Wash surfaces to remove grease and dirt, rinse,

3. Sand lightly with 220 grit paper

4. remove the dust from sanding

5. put on the primer

6. check for any lumps or flaws in your prime coat and sand if needed

7. paint with the paint brand of your choice.

Large flat surfaces I use a foam roller, it leaves less texture behind.

For cabinets I roll what I can and while the paint is wet I tip it off with a brush. Brush strokes always go in the direction of what a wood cabinet normally has for its natural grain. I do this for both the primer coat and the finish coat.