# Hand painted new kitchen cabinets



## Packard (May 2, 2018)

I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and leafed through some home design magazines, including some from England.

A few of the high-end cabinet manufacturers in England ("bespoke cabinets") adverts (British for "advertisements) listed "hand painted" as one of their advantages.

I would understand that to be a skilled worker with high quality brushes applying the finish.

What would be the motivation for this? Why would they offer it as an advantage over sprayed paint?


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

Packard said:


> I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and leafed through some home design magazines, including some from England.
> 
> A few of the high-end cabinet manufacturers in England ("bespoke cabinets") adverts (British for "advertisements) listed "hand painted" as one of their advantages.
> 
> ...


The looks.
Many people don't like the factory like finishes spraying produces.
There are homes where owners requesting (and paying extra) to have all the trim hand painted, to see nice straight brush marks.


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

The better your skills at hand painting, the more the surface looks like a sprayed surface.

Do the painters deliberately leave brush marks? Avoid sell-leveling finishes?

I get the difference between walnut and Formica; and the difference between leather and Naugahyde. 

But the difference between the same paint perfectly sprayed and imperfectly brushed evades my understanding.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Packard said:


> The better your skills at hand painting, the more the surface looks like a sprayed surface.
> 
> Do the painters deliberately leave brush marks? Avoid sell-leveling finishes?
> 
> ...



For the rustic homes crowd, a nicely brushed finish is a very common demand. In fact, I, myself, prefer it in older houses. With a good leveling paint the brush marks are subtle and much in demand. Spray looks to factory finished, perfect. (OR so my clients say.) 



FYI: ALWAYS BRUSH IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN!


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

FYI: Brushing IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN! applies only to clear coats.
With solid paints makes no difference on primed wood.


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

People with money tend to like to say, “This was all painted by hand.” They don’t want it to look like it was sprayed in a factory with a thousand other people’s cabinets. 

I have a disclaimer of sorts on my labeling for sample boards that states-
“This is a hand painted finish. There will be a range of texture, contrast and character of the finish which demonstrates the beauty of decorative painting.”

...or something to that effect. I’m not looking at a label at the moment.

The homeowner on the Georgetown job I did a couple years back insisted there were to be no rollers on the job site. I got caught by his sister rolling Bin. I told her why I couldn’t brush it, didn’t matter.

Anyway...


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

fauxlynn said:


> The homeowner on the Georgetown job I did a couple years back insisted there were to be no rollers on the job site. I got caught by his sister rolling Bin. I told her why I couldn’t brush it, didn’t matter.
> Anyway...



You needed to discuss that part of the project prior to starting. It never works to_ try and get away with something_, in my experience, it will always be found out. You could have sweet talked them into the BIN parts at the. Oh Well...
Ritzys pay well but can be a real PITA!


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

EveryDay said:


> FYI: Brushing IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN! applies only to clear coats.
> With solid paints makes no difference on primed wood.




I don’t agree. Especially in the context of hand painted cabinets. 

For example, where the styles and rails meet (whether mitered of butted) the brush strokes should follow the grain of the piece for the best look. It looks cheesy and to me to see painting where the applicator doesn’t pay attention to this. 

I’ve had a few customers request bursted oil cabinets over the years. Mostly hipster types. Not surprised it’s more popular in Europe. I can imagine more people over there would want that “old world” or “classic oil” look. 

In any case, I’m just about positive the people selling this look as a specialty item are paying attention to the grain patterns. 


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## Optimal1 (Oct 9, 2016)

My wife has bought numerous hand painted dressers from pottery barn. She likes the look. It is not regular latex paint either


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

jennifertemple said:


> You needed to discuss that part of the project prior to starting. It never works to_ try and get away with something_, in my experience, it will always be found out. You could have sweet talked them into the BIN parts at the. Oh Well...
> Ritzys pay well but can be a real PITA!


Yeah, I’ve been doing this for many years. I know what I need to discuss with my special clients. 
It DOES sometimes work to try to get away with something. Sometimes it’s NEVER found out. Imagine that. 
I don’t sweet talk my clients into anything, especially when in this case in particular the client was in Europe while I came and went as I pleased to complete the contract. 
NONE of my clients are PITA. But if they were, I certainly wouldn’t spout it off on a public forum. 
My clients pay me well for what I do and it has always been my mantra to give them what they pay for, even if it’s all by hand.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

Optimal1 said:


> My wife has bought numerous hand painted dressers from pottery barn. She likes the look. It is not regular latex paint either




Could be chalk paint. That’s been a trend in some areas for a while now, especially in refinished furniture.

I’ve applied it a couple times, but don’t really know much about it. It does seem to have tenacious bonding capabilities that help it go over old lacquer/varnish furniture well. And it’s matte, which people seem to like a lot these days. 


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

@fauxlynn It seems to me we are obligated to say what we mean, mean what we say and do what we say we will do. How nice for you that "It DOES sometimes work to try to get away with something. Sometimes it’s NEVER found out." I Imagine that to be a breach of contract whether or not you are ever found out. 

I sweet talk the truth to my clients on a regular basis! By sweet talk, all I mean to say, is giving them the straight goods in the nicest possible way. My contracts are on paper and I feel honor bound to complete a job exactly as written OR arrange to have it amended before I make changes from the written agreement. 

None of your clients are ever a PITA. You are the only painter I've ever heard that could say that. Even my some of my best clients are a PITA on occasion. You are a very lucky soul!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

We did a cabinet job a few years back in a historic home. They had previously been done with oil based enamel, applied by brush, and that’s what the owners wanted again. We gave the surfaces a decent sanding with the Festool so the brush marks wouldn’t be compounded, only subtly visable, and the HO’s were very pleased.


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

Jmayspaint said:


> I don’t agree. Especially in the context of hand painted cabinets.
> 
> *For example, where the styles and rails meet (whether mitered of butted) the brush strokes should follow the grain of the piece for the best look.* It looks cheesy and to me to see painting where the applicator doesn’t pay attention to this.
> 
> ...


Yes, agreed, the stiles and rails should be painted according to their horizontal and vertical positioning even if the wood grain pattern is barely visible or not visible at all like in the case of MDF or previously painted cabinets, and the panel painted vertically of course.


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

fauxlynn said:


> People with money tend to like to say, “This was all painted by hand.” They don’t want it to look like it was sprayed in a factory with a thousand other people’s cabinets.
> 
> I have a disclaimer of sorts on my labeling for sample boards that states-
> “This is a hand painted finish. There will be a range of texture, contrast and character of the finish which demonstrates the beauty of decorative painting.”
> ...


That was so unreasonable of her especially after the explanation was provided, considering that (thin runny) Bin primer had to sanded down a bit (not as much as for spraying of course) before top coats are applied so the brush strokes on primer are not even noticeable under the top coats.
Two (or more) top coats are what matters to have nice brush strokes effects, but if someone is obsessed then yes nothing you can do about it.


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

EveryDay said:


> FYI: Brushing IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN! applies only to clear coats.
> With solid paints makes no difference on primed wood.


Tho the OP was talking about cabinets but my post responding to another member's post was referring more to let's say if you were brushing a wooden table with a clear coat, of course you would brush in the direction of the wood grain on the table, and the grains on the tables (I think, always go length wise by tradition) so it's natural to brush that way too,length wise, but I guess somebody would try to brush perpendicular because the brush strokes are shorter and therefore easier to control I guess, but of course that would look bad.

What if the woodworker decided to make a full size rectangular table but with the wood grains going not length wise but on the perpendicular, would you then also brush with the grain, or length wise. 
I know this is a hypothetical question but not exactly, because some woodworker might just do that just to be different and then what brushing principle would apply?
With the grain or with the length of the table?
I guess clear coat will get brushed with the grain but solid paint would be brushed length wise, so the grain direction with solid paint is irrelevant. 




Jmayspaint said:


> *I don’t agree. Especially in the context of hand painted cabinets.
> 
> For example, where the styles and rails meet (whether mitered of butted) the brush strokes should follow the grain of the piece* for the best look. It looks cheesy and to me to see painting where the applicator doesn’t pay attention to this.
> 
> ...


Of course rails and stiles will be painted/brushed length wise, be that up and down or down and up on stiles & left to right or right to left on rails, so direction of the wood grain is irrelevant. 
Nobody will paint/brush them on perpendicular (against the wood grain), only on parallel with their lengths, be that on horizontal or vertical pieces.
Nobody would brush rails up and down same as stiles are painted, that would look terrible and wrong. Rails need to brushed left to right or right to left. 
So direction of the wood grain is irrelevant here. As I said if they were made out of MDF there is no grain to be concern with but the same painting/brushing direction principle applies, horizontal and vertical.


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

I brushed on General Finish's chalk paint (really an acrylic meant to look like chalk paint), and while you could see the brush marks during the application the finish dried with no brush marks and looked like it was sprayed. 

I'm not sure that a chalk paint is suitable for cabinets. It scuffs easily and the scuff marks show up as shiny spots. 

The GF paint is rated indoor/outdoor and is an interesting finish if you need no brush marks on a matte finish.


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

Packard said:


> I'm not sure that a chalk paint is suitable for cabinets. It scuffs easily and the scuff marks show up as shiny spots.


I applied a chalk paint to kitchen cabinets about three years ago. When it finally sunk in to the client that they may not hold up with a family of five, I clear coated them. But totally negates the look of the chalk paint. 





EveryDay said:


> That was so unreasonable of her....


I didn’t take it that way. She was put in charge while her brother was gone. 


My point of including that anecdote was to show that clients want what they want. It may make no sense to us, the applicators, but that’s what we’re paid for. Unless there is some chemically incompatible reason why coating A shouldn’t be friends with coating B, let them play on the monkey bars together.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

My point of including that anecdote was to show that clients want what they want. It may make no sense to us, the applicators, but that’s what we’re paid for. [/QUOTE]

Reminds me of a client who spent an absolutely absurd amount of money having genuine mahogany passage doors fabricated for the interior of her house, only to have them painted and fauxed back to look like mahogany. This wasn’t an afterthought, but part of the original plan.

Being a very discerning wood guy, I had difficulty distinguishing the faux finish from a real mahogany surface. The artists did an absolutely incredible job and I’m certain it cost some crazy money. Why did they want this? I dunno...couldn’t figure that one out, nor did I question it..


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

@*Alchemy Redux* : I had a client that had a Faux Finish done to all her walls on the first floor of her home and then had the entire job painted over with artist's water color varnish because that was what her decorator told her to do. 35 years ago that stuff was over $200 a gallon.


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

Thanks all for your replies.

Packard


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

Optimal1 said:


> My wife has bought numerous hand painted dressers from pottery barn. She likes the look. It is not regular latex paint either


There was a TV show on years ago Debbie Travis's "Painted House", she would paint cabinets and furniture using mainly milk and chalk paint. Very informative show and I must say she was "easy on the eyes".
It looks like she has become a media marvel, dabbling in writing, tv production, branding, etc.


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