Painting Cabinets

[jking]

I am coordinating a project at my church & we will be painting some existing kitchen cabinets. The cabinets currently have a varnish or poly finish (not sure exactly what it is, I doubt anyone remembers what was used either). We'll be sanding before we paint, but, I'm not sure if priming is going to be necessary or not. The guy in charge of doing the painting doesn't think so. If we were dealing with bare wood, I'd tell him to do a primer coat first. Since it already has finish, is sanding it good enough?

[Shep]

I would certainly prime it first even after sanding. It will really even out the finish one the paint is applied. I'm sure you're aware, but remember to take the doors off when doing all this. Paint and primer love to run when you're not looking. I've seen many paint projects like this that look like a DIY project gone bad.

[messmaker]

I used primer. Been pretty happy with results.

[Rand]

I would prime them with Zinnser B-I-N shellac based primer. It seals in the old stain so it doesn't bleed through your new paint.

[jking]

I would prime them with Zinnser B-I-N shellac based primer. It seals in the old stain so it doesn't bleed through your new paint.

Shouldn't the old finish do that? If I wipe the cabinet with a wet paper towel & don't pull up old stain can't I consider it sealed?

Is my approach to this right? The way I've always done it is if I am painting over a finish that I don't know what it is, I'll sand it to scuff it up & smooth it out a bit first. If I'm going over paint (which I'm not in this case), I'll typically just go ahead & paint. If I'm going over a stained/clear finish of some kind (which I am in this case), I'm inclined to prime & then topcoat. I've had the guy that's going to be doing the painting tell me priming isn't necessary, & I've had other people (not involved in the project) tell me I don't need to sand - they make special paint so you can skip the sanding. I've seen primers claim you don't need to sand, but, I haven't seen topcoats make that claim.

Maybe sanding isn't necessary, but, I generally prefer to do things "better" rather than "adequate".

[crokett]

Sand to scuff it, then prime before you paint with a good primer. Primer will help the paint cover a lot better and will help the paint stick to th cabinets better.

[billwmeyer]

Prime

I always said primer wasn't needed. My results proved me wrong. Now I always prime. It isn't worth the risk.

Bill