okay, I am commited by these pics to do my kitchen

[angstlessk]

I bought a home in Detroit because we could not afford the home we bought for 20,000 in VA cause we refinanced for 40,000...but it was worth 120,000 in perfect condition...which we did not have the cash to create perfection...so we sold for enough cash to purchase a home in Detroit and move....sight unseen we purchased this home AND LOVE IT...AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

here is my 'before' kitchen pics..I do not have a camera..but my friend does have a picture phone..so I can post updated pictures when she returns.

before: <a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="kitchen-before"></a>

I have cleaned the cabinets with TSP, in some areas I had to sand down the grease...they say do not sand dirt and grime..but if the only way to get it off is to sand..then SAND.

I have so much to say about painting kitchen cabinets...is ain't easy but is IS CHEAP!

[angstlessk]

1. i decided to do the upper cabinets first...I alwsys start with the hardest first

I began cleaning the cabinets over the stove...gross grease and my TSP bucket was filthy after one cabinet cleaned...then rinse which was also filthy....I kept washing and rinsing and washing and rinsing till all the upper cabinets were ready for a primer...and I primed...the hardest first..the frames...with high density plastic paint brushes...and the finish was 'baby behind smooth'...

Then I thought...oh..all those 'high density roller' attributions would come true for me on the flat cabinet doors...NO.....it produced that horrid 'orange skin' appearance but that was the primer..I have yet to put on my CABINET COAT paint...and since I have spent a week prepping i do not want to rush my painting.

[angstlessk]

2. those are GREAT structural cabinets..and the hardware is solid brass

which I have painted with rust oleum....gloss black...hope it either remains black or maybe the brass on the sides will appear and look rustic?

[angstlessk]

3. I also have purchased granite paint for the fromica and purchased vinyl look like wood floors

I hope to post pictures of the final product...but at the rate I am working ..it will be 3 months from now!

[angstlessk]

4. okay, you noticed I am missing a few drawers..and trust me.I am not happy

but I purchased AS MY BIRTHDAY GIFT...drawer boxes and fronts...one with a runner, because the two missing drawers you see have the runners which I will use with my new drawers!

[angstlessk]

5. I did a step by step on painting cabinets but it is not the FUN step by step

it is the EXCRUCIATING step by step..which will result in great cabinets...the old prime...like you have the energy and back bone to prime ALL CABINETS...I did the upper cabinets first because they were the hardest....washing off the 20+ years of grease is not fun..but necessary..over the old stove got cleaned first, because it was the hardest.

The primer was hardest over the cabinets that flanked the sink because the step stool made me use my back muscles to paint the sides of the cabinets

[Mist]

9. The *hardest* place to paint in my kitchen was the light fixture over the sink. Strained

my back in a couple of places. Quite a lot of reaching involved in painting that area!

What color are you going with for the cabinets?

[angstlessk]

12. Mist..white...I love clean and white is clean...but time might change my attitude?

[angstlessk]

6. oh oh oh..I took down those horrid greasy things and cleaned the glass and put up 'false'

stained glass ....i swore if I ever took down the greasy blinds..I would replace it.and I have... the 'false' stained glass is 1,000,000 times better than the greasy horizontal blinds!

[angstlessk]

7. my choice of cabinet paint is CABINET COAT...because I refuse to

spend all my time prepping the cabinets and not use the ABSOLUTE BEST PAINT AVAILABLE to paint my cabinets..and there is Cabinet Rescue.which I know nothing about.

[Warpy]

8. Well, it looks like those awful floor tiles will come up easily enough

since they're already coming unstuck in places. I have no idea what they were thinking in the late 70s with that diarrhea yellow.

I've had to use paint scrapers and mineral spirits or straight ammonia on cabinets to clean them, but never sanding. It just gums up the paper and doesn't work all that well. Steel wool might do better.

I used to live in slummy apartments that had been vacated by students who lived on broiled meat and never cleaned anything. Your place is a palace in comparison.

I'll bet it will be gorgeous when you're done.

[Mist]

10. Ah, the '70s--acres and acres of "harvest gold." yecch....nt

[angstlessk]

11. i have to date...primed all cabinets twice on the face an once on the backside AND

spray painted all hardware...the handles of course are easy..but the hinges might be a problem..I sprayed them with the black..front and back..then in the closed position...seems closed and black is just fine?

[angstlessk]

15. ya know, I thought I could cheat on my floor...heat gun, ply up the old ugly 'diarrhea yellow'

tiles and put on dots of vinyl glue/caulk and be done with it. Well I have googled my fingers off and to a wo/man they say REMOVE THE OLD GLUE...so I broke down and purchased two gallons of glue remover. Pray for me, please!

[Ineeda]

13. my story for inspiration....

My advice - be fearless!! I have a tiny but open 60's era kitchen. The Formica cabinets and countertop were in excellent shape, but dated. I have a very limited budget but after a few years couldn't stand it any more, and hell, I like to paint. The hood was a copper-colored mess - I couldn't afford to replace it, so I cleaned it and used turquoise Hammerite paint on it. (It's a smelly solvent-based paint that gives a high-gloss 'hammered' finish. No primer needed.) 1000% better. The counter and backsplash is Campbell's tomato-soup-red which I kinda liked (the color, at least) so I left it that way. The cabinets were that typical 60's gray-white woodgrain. I sanded and primed all the cabinets and painted the lower ones a low-gloss black latex. On the upper ones I used semi-gloss wall paint. Yes, wall paint - the same paint as I used on the walls - a light gray-ish teal. The floor is white ceramic tile and the still-functional original cooktop and wall oven are white. It looks great and has, so far, remained intact after three or four years. I wipe down the finishes with mild cleaner but haven't had to scrub hard, so I can't guarantee it's durability. I replaced the knobs and viola, a cool-looking kitchen for no more than $100. Another successful project was the guest-room vanity - I painted the same white woodgrain Formica base, replaced the no-enamel-left sink and nasty faucets, and tiled right over the Formica countertop with gorgeous glass 1" mosaic tile. (I had never tiled before and the only hard part was trimming the glass tile to fit the sink edge.) I splurged a bit on the tile (on sale online for about $100, including shipping!) and a new light fixture but, again, an updated bathroom for very little money. I had a handy friend install the light, but I did the "plumbing" myself - very easy. BTW, I'm 62 with rheumatoid arthritis, so if I can do it, you can, too. Good luck.

[angstlessk]

14. I turned 60 during my update and my birthday present was drawer boxes and fronts..

thanks for the encouragement, though I am not as brave as you with color. I used my base paint for the black granite counter top to paint my golden harvest stove hood, and it looks 'better'...may put on a black gloss paint I used for my hardware???? but I am strictly black and white with red accents. We just bought Apple Red paint to paint our 'COFFEETIME' coffee cup holder which is dark wood right now. We have a collection of Mickey Mouse cups that are white, with Micky being black and a spot or two of red on each cup. In all my perusals of kitchens I have seen the black cabinets and love them, but our kitchen is so small it would look even tinier, and it is not a bright place with only one window, a few feet from our neighbor's house, and too many entrances, so white seemed to be a natural selection.

I have finished my counter tops and after I removed the GLOB of caulk along the counter top behind the sink I discovered the sink area dips down and there was a gap along the back wall. Well, I just 'created' my own back splash by snapping a chalk line and taping my back wall and incorporated that into the granite on my counter. It looks great, but somehow the primer seeped up into the painter's tape and there are little spider web sized lines that run above the straight line. It is not noticeable at a glance, but up close you can certainly see it.

GIANI Granite is a WONDERFUL PRODUCT....my counter top looks like a million bucks...no more gouges. In fact I thought I knew where the old gouge was when I looked at the counter but discovered it was NOT the gouge at all, just a black spot on the 'granite'. I was all prepared to 'camouflage' the gouge, but it was already camouflaged!

Us old ladies can get er done for sure!

[angstlessk]

16. I wanted to wait till the floor was done..but i am so exhausted

It might be a week before i even begin the removal the all that crap!! so in the interium...and this is very foggy...a cell phone pic...an OLD CELL phone pic

[NMDemDist2]

17. it's looking fresher already

but it is a LOT of work, take a rest then hit it again, you're in the homestretch!

[Warpy]

18. White paint does so much to perk up tired cabinets

and your decision to go tuxedo and put in a dark grey counter sets them off beautifully.

Make sure the windows are open when you use that glue remover, preferably with a fan exhausting the fumes out.

But you knew that, right?

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. looks really nice. Well done. n/t

[japple]

20. Looks great. The countertop looks very nice with the white

cabinets. You deserve a break!

[Paper Roses]

21. Looking Good! I've been following your progress and am impressed.

Care to answer a quick question? I am interested in the product you used on the formica counter tops and read some information about it on-line. Might be just what I need. My old (1970) formica is in good shape but the very faint pattern has worn off so it now looks splotchy. I cannot afford a professional to come and lay a new surface. I'm a do-it-yourself person anyway.

Can I ask what you did around the sink? My sink overlaps the formica and I doubt I could remove it in order to redo the counter top. Did you have any problems with the sink edge? How did you do it?

Any web sites you are aware of that talk about the product with instructions? How long is it supposed to stand up to everyday use?

Thanks and keep up the good work.

[Neecy]

22. This is an option

http://www.wallpaperillusions.com/

I have a vanity in one of my bathrooms that's in good condition, but the top to it was ultra-nasty. I tried applying this over it - it's very simple, you just trim around the existing sink and then clear coat it. It looks nice, I didn't have to tear out the vanity or the top, and took me an afternoon to do it. There's no reason you can't do this to kitchen countertops - there are examples on the site and directions.