How do I paint my kitchen?
by
Lex
+10
My kitchen is paneled with the fifties favorite - knotty Pine. Not all that terrible except we have never had an exhaust fan in the kitchen. The paneling was installed in the mid-fifties. My parents did not want to mess with replacing drywall so they put it in Every ROOM! As you can see the buildup of grease and dirt is awful. What would be required prior to painting? I have considered investing heavily in sand paper and just sound the entire mess off the walls rather than cleaning.
Both pix are from directly behind the stove.
This section is indicative of the rest of the walls. Rough
Hi Lex you might want to consider TSP before sanding. Here's an article about it, everyone I know swear by it for taking grease off a cabinets. Getting the grease off would save you A LOT of sand paper. https://www.weekendcraft.com/journal/how-to-clean-your-kitchen-cabinets-with-tsp
Yep. You can sand without having to clean. Seal all knots with Kilz primer then prime all the knotty pine. Then you can paint your color. Double priming the knots will prevent bleeding.
Hello,
Sanding can be very labor intense - we invested in the sand paper and mini shop vac with adaptor. We tried sanding our cedar log walls and ended up using a contractor. Besides being physically demanding its very messy even with that shop vac hook up. It’s definitely an adventure —we eaily did a small bathroom but the size of the den (+ ceilings) was out of our abilities ( past hx one shoulder repair) and we wished to repoly.
A scrubbing with TSP or Krud Cutter might do the needed prep. Agree with above poster be sure to seal the knots that can be a persistent rebleeding problem.
Best wishes with the update, it will be amazing when its done!
The problem is the paint will highlight the dings and flaws in the wood, not to mention the vertical woodwork between each panel. You will also have to sand over the varnish or the paint will bead up and not lay down on the wood properly. I would carefully take the wood off, and sell it at a garage sale or advertise it in the local Craig's List. Many people want this for basement rec rooms.
Drywall is not the hardest thing to do. There are so many videos online that any beginner can do a professional looking job only if they take the time.
Another alternative is to look for a retiree, who is advertising in local papers that can do it for you.
My sister had her paneling painted, and it is beautiful with the vertical lines. That paneling of yours makes me wish I could go home again.
We had knotty pine in two houses. We cleaned, stripped off the varnish and white washed the knotty pine in a den. I loved it, but stripping off the varnish took a long time. In our next house, we CV leaned the knotty pine, sanded just enough to remove the the gloss, primed with an oil based primer, and painted it. It looked great.
A relative had a kitchen done in knotty pine, and wanted the room to be brighter. After scrubbing the walls, he used a high-quality white paint, with Kilz first applied to cover the knotholes. When all done, the kitchen looked fantastic, so don't hesitate to paint the paneling.
If the cleaning and painting don't work out the way you hope there are other options. It's possible to put drywall OVER the paneling. But window sills,door trim, outlet and light switches might have to be adjusted to accommodate the additional thickness. Using a thinner drywall would help. You might be able to paper over the paneling. There are heavier papers and liners meant for that purpose and then you may paint the paper. We have knotty pine in our living room and I am so sick of it but have decided it's too much trouble, too costly and way too messy to do anything about. Good luck.
Hi Lex; Here is how I would tackle this project.
Put bed sheets, plastic or drop cloths on your counter tops. Make sure you have painters tape and spackle along with a putty knife. Buy a package of microfiber cloths.
Start by cleaning the kitchen walls with a cleaner degreaser in a spray bottle and clean off all the grease with a microfiber cloth. You can buy that at an auto store. Or use TSP.
If you have holes fill with spackle. Let the spackle dry well. And then sand down smooth.
You do not need to sand the paneling, just get the grease off. Tape off the sides, and anywhere where you do not want paint. Get a good bonding, stain hiding primer like Zinser or Kilz Premium. Use a latex primer for easy cleanup. You can have the primer tinted to the paint color if you are painting anything but white. I would put two coats of primer on the paneling. Buy several gallons of paint. Mix them all in one large 5 gallon bucket so that the color stays true. Wood paneling is porous it will take a lot of paint. HINT If you cannot finish your paint job in one day, Put your rollers and brushes in a plastic grocery bag and keep in the refrigerator. Let them warm up before your next use for about 30 minutes. You can do this for as many days as you need. It will keep the rollers and brushes pliable and soft. To paint the groves use a brush. Make sure you do not leave lots of paint on the smooth part of the paneling. I also like using a ½ inch roller nap, on paneling.
Feather out with your brush to spread any paint that ends up on the smooth panel. Or roll it out. It is going to take several coats of paint to get the walls to look great. Since you are doing a kitchen, I would use semi gloss to make clean up easier. I would also buy a good acrylic paint. Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and Behr Majestic are good paints.
It is a project that will take a few days but so well worth it. The hardest part will be the cleaning.