Refacing Cabinets Idea's

[bomni]

Okay, so our cabinets on our Boler are in rough shape (kitchen & upper above stove). We thought we would veneer....so I spent all of Sat. doing it. It looked great...

I came out today and it had bubbled...everywhere.

So today, I'm removing it, because after a lot of thought about our weather I think it's really not the best way to go anyway.

I am not wanting to removed either of the cabinets again, since we just put them in (before of course we looked at them critically and realized they are in rough shape).

My thoughts are something that I can cover them with...maybe painting if someone can suggest a good durable (Canadian) paint.... I hate paint upkeep and chips. But I would rather try some other type of covering.

I'm wondering if anyone had a good idea...relatively cheap and not to complicated, that a rather handy, but inexperienced & impatient lady can achieve.... I'm not veneering again and the old veneer is already ripped off.



(I think it was a combo of not enough glue & sudden heavy rain causing a lot of dampness)

[Rick G]

Hi,

In my previous Boler the cabinets were painted flat black when we got it. We refreshed that with semi-gloss black Tremclad, put on with a foam roller, and it looked really good for that trailer. The paint was fairly durable, in that it would not be affected by normal wear, but you could scratch it with enough effort. You can see pictures on this old thread here: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f56/reno-s-gone-wild-exterior-access-doors-42298.html

Good luck.
Rick G

[realgranola]

If I ever get up the nerve, I'm trying this : Jonathan Fong Style - Warhol Kitchen

[bomni]

Hubby says paint only, since we are in a rush to get the trailer together for camping season .

Thanks for the link to pictures and info on paint Rick, I think we are going that route. I have seen some people use an Enamel based paint, was that the type of Tremclad you used?

Julie, I love Andy Warhol, and if I had some prints laying around, I would most definitely like to try this. I am saving that link though, we have ugly melamine cabinets in our kitchen!

I was actually thinking of using some type of wallpaper, but am now a bit discouraged after the veneer disaster. I'm wondering if we could use wallpaper and then varathane over top of it, I have water based artists varnish that I could use. Kind of like the Warhol kitchen in application...I have never wallpapered before.

[Ed Harris]

I have been using a paint called "Breakthrough" for years on Road Cases and AV stuff that I build.
It is the toughest,thickest yet quick drying industrial finish I know of that is easily applied with a brush.
Once dried it is almost unbelievable really.
It is a single coat solution and can be colored easily although I only use flat black.
It does stink some until done and the company making it Vanex has been bought by PPG so I don't know how tough it may be to find up north?

A google search turns up sources for it all over so it might be worth investigating. I have used it to easily cover bad surfaces and ended up with uniform results many times.

Ed

[bomni]

Thanks Ed, We were looking at Tremclad tonight at good old Home Depot & they didn't have any enamel or a type that looked like the right one.

I found some vinyl wallpaper though! We are going to give it a go, it is not paper backed and we are going to get some extra adhesive.

Our cabinets need a bunch more fibre glass work and we did a ton already....,...so we are hoping this will work better coverage wise, since it is quite thick. Even if it is only a couple years, we are getting tired & want to get out camping, not be fiberglassing all spring!

We are also going to look for the Breakthrough paint so that when we do repaint we have a better idea of what to use. We may need some to touch up our other fiberglass benches. Looks so far like we should be able to find it up here.

Thanks everyone for the help

[saltree]

Wonder if anyone has tried vinyl beadboard to reface cabinets?

[Carol H]

If you have a Cloverdale paint store near you then take one of the doors into the store and have the staff help you will choosing a primer and paint that will work on them. I have always found their staff to be real helpful in finding the correct paint for the job - way more knowledgeable than the box store staff.

[bomni]

Originally Posted by Carol H

If you have a Cloverdale paint store near you then take one of the doors into the store and have the staff help you will choosing a primer and paint that will work on them. I have always found their staff to be real helpful in finding the correct paint for the job - way more knowledgeable than the box store staff.

Carol, we haven't try there, but drove by today and almost popped in (on your suggestion) to see what they suggested & if they knew of anywhere in Canada to find Breakthough Paint, but we're a bit rushed.

We actually have fantastic cabinet doors that the previous owner made, white formica with flecks of gold circa 1970's. It's the actual fibreglass cabinet front's that we are trying to rehab. Hubby wanted to paint them, but I was much more in favour of something fun. We compromised...if this doesn't work it's paint only from here on out. When I seen the Andy Warhol project...my artistic side won out on my rational side

We bought some thick vinyl (Seagrass Matte pattern) wallpaper and extra adhesive, we haven't applied it yet...fingers crossed. It's all vinyl with no paper & is quite heavy.

[john warren]

i want to know more about the veneer, what glue did you use? how long had you had the veneer before you applied it, what was the humidity like.
something failed on you and i would love to know what?
i have laminated a lot of things in my life and never had that happen. and i sure am not claiming it as a sign of my skill.

[bomni]

Originally Posted by john warren

i want to know more about the veneer, what glue did you use? how long had you had the veneer before you applied it, what was the humidity like.

Well first off, I had never veneered anything and didn't do enough research, so it was wholly my error.

It was a pine veneer. I bought the veneer the day before and took it outside with me day of use. I used a solvent based contact cement, but, the issue were a.) I didn't use enough of the adhesive, I didn't realize that I needed to have a fairly thick coat & b.) I did it on a nice warm dry day & the weather changed unexpectedly that night & through the next few days. It was raining quite a lot, still a little warm and the humidity went way up. So the combo of those two factors finished the veneer totally.

Apparently a family member had the same experience with a different cement and according to him he used enough, but they had a weather change too & were doing it in an unheated garage. Luckily mine was a fairly small project, his was a china cabinet!

We live on Vancouver Island & this time of year it rains pretty much non stop, so I guess it was really a bad choice to do it right now.

[Ron F]

Matt,
I glued 1/4" birch to the front of our cabinet when I rearranged the appliances and added a propane furnace. It adds more material to the front, but when sanded and varnished it looks pretty good. I used 3M 4200 Fast Cure to glue it to the cabinet. Clamp it overnight and you're good to go.
Ron

[Rick G]

[QUOTE=bomni;300839]Hubby says paint only, since we are in a rush to get the trailer together for camping season .

Thanks for the link to pictures and info on paint Rick, I think we are going that route. I have seen some people use an Enamel based paint, was that the type of Tremclad you used?
QUOTE]

I used standard Tremclad rust paint from Canadian Tire, Walmart, or wherever in Canada. It is designed to cover most anything that can take paint. This is the same paint I use to repaint the frame every couple of years. As an oil-based paint, it stinks for a few days, so make sure the trailer is well ventilated.
Rick G.

[bomni]

Thanks Rick, I'm going to pick some up for the area's that I'm not using the vinyl wallpaper on. I tried to find the breakthrough paint but no luck locally. Turns out Home Depot has only the Tremclad rust cover type, but, Canadian Tire has a way bigger selection of other Tremclad paints. I was trying to figure out which on to use from Home Depot's small selection which is why I was confused.