In a nutshell, no!

Lacquered oak, limed oak, pine, poplar… lacquered timber kitchens are perfect candidates for hand-painted finishes. I have been using a water-based high adhesion primer over lacquer since the early 90′s and I have not been made aware of any adhesion issues thus far, which tells me it is probably a good solution!

Factory applied lacquers tend to have a stain blocker in them as well, so I don’t worry about knots bleeding through the primer either.

All in all, the Dulux Supergrip primer I use works over lacquer just great.

This post explains the process of painting a laminate kitchen. Once correctly prepared and primed, laminate is like any other surface and can be finished as you wish.

There is a full list included on my best paints for kitchen doors page.

My niche as it were is “traditional” oil based eggshell finishes on kitchen cabinets. Oil based eggshell is traditionally the paint specified for hand-painted kitchen cupboards. In my opinion, Little Greene oil eggshell is the de facto low sheen oil eggshell. It has the right level of sheen to deal with normal wear and tear, but isn’t so glossy that it shows all the marks. It has that traditional look and is suitable for interior AND exterior use.

Paint Library also do an Exterior Oil Eggshell.

Johnstones oil based eggshell also gets the thumbs-up from a couple of my hand-painted kitchen colleagues working elsewhere in UK. I don’t use it, however, because it has a modern sheenier shine.

Annie Sloan chalk paint is a good option, whenI am asked to refurbish kitchens or furniture that has been waxed.

I would suggest contacting either Simon of Spectrum Decor who sprays in situ, or Lee at 5Bridge who can offer a 2-pack factory spray finish.

Mythic non toxic low odour acrylic paints are the way to go. I have successfully painted new MDF / poplar units with Mythic eggshell enamel. Brilliant paint, that you can barely smell even with your head stuck in the paint bucket. It can be colour matched to anything and everything and for your situation, it is a good durable option.

I do also rate Little Greene acrylic eggshell very highly, and also Sikkens Satura comes highly recommended by other professionals. If you ask me what I think about Farrow and Ball water-borne hybrids, many painters are using Estate eggshell on painted kitchens. Personally, I can get a beautiful finish ith it too, but don’t like to jump through hoops, or take chances. What I mean by that, I just refer to my inbox with loads of messages from specialists, DIY and all levels in between with inexplicable quirky F&B issues. I don’t particularly want to take the risk, especially when I have paints that just work every time.

Farrow and Ball colours, I agree, are fantastic, but in this day and age with the colour matching facilities available, if you have a painted sample or a piece of fabric or a picture frame, you can get that colour without having to compromise on choice of paint.

I wouldn’t recommend a painted kitchen in a commercial kitchen, or where you have a big family of boisterous teens who slam kick and knock their way about. But if you appreciate that a painted kitchen needs to be treated with a little respect, you will get a lot of use out of it.

That question is a bit like how long is a piece of string, but as an idea, the more coats, the better it lasts.

I hand-painted a kitchen in 1997 with 5 coats plus decorative finish plus 2 clear coats ie just about the top spec possible. It has been very well used, and has worn and been scratched in places, but intrinsically 14 years later it is still as solid as the day I painted it. It would also be quite straightforward to prepare and repaint.

I upgraded a lacquered pine kitchen with oil-based Farrow and Ball paint in March 2008. That was my standard specification of a high adhesion primer plus 3 coats of paint, and a year later the homeowner proudly told me “It is still as good as the day it was finished, and it gets a LOT of use!”

In 2008 I painted a 34′ wooden boat that has been bobbing in the bay for 3 years and it is still immaculate. I use similar painting principles on kitchens.

The Little Greene oil paint I use now is way superior to that Farrow and Ball paint. Tech support are very secure in the ability of their paint to deliver a top job, so I too am very happy. A primer plus 3 coats will wear well and won’t peel – and when it does start to get tired, it will be easy to repaint. Extra coats equals extra life.

If you beat your painted kitchen with sharp objects and slam and bang your way around the place, the finish will die quicker. 2 coats of finish paint straight on bare laminate probably won’t last either.

Chaos isn’t quite the right word! To refurbish a decent size kitchen of 20 odd cupboards would take at most 2 weeks on my own. I ask for the units and worktops to be cleared away before I arrive. I sheet everything up but, make sure you can get to your appliances and prepare basic meals and access water in the evening and morning.

A lot of clients try to go away on holiday. That works quite well.

This explains the process without getting too technical. I stick to a tried and tested system for sheeting up, masking, sanding, stacking and labelling / hanging doors etc. so what you see on my website is what you will see in your kitchen.

The day after I have painted the top coat, the doors and drawers are dry to the touch and you can carefully open and shut doors and start to re-use the kitchen. However, please bear in mind that paint dries a little harder every day and is not fully cured for 30 days if oil or 7 days if acrylic. At that time, it has its optimum sheen and is ready for everyday use.

(A bouncer I knew asked this once at an interview, but he wasn’t referring to painted kitchen doors!)

I wouldn’t say that eggshell, or any paint for that matter, is 100% resistant to marking or chipping when hit really hard with a sharp object. But you can use a painted kitchen without kid glove treatment.

If plinths are well recessed they don’t seem to mark, but if you think your plinths are vulnerable to kicks from size 14 boots or over-zealous vacuum cleaner, maybe consider replacing them with pre-finished timber, or stainless, or stone. Edges could be tastefully reinforced with a metal edging piece.

If you are concerned that painted units and furniture may not stand up to the rigours of your household, a natural wood finish or a factory lacquered or sprayed 2-pack finish may be more appropriate.

Eggshell finishes especially Exterior grades, are great for a kitchen environment and food and liquids can be removed with a gentle wipe down with a blue J cloth. I would advise against a daily scrub with an abrasive pad, as this will literally wear the paint away over time.

Gentle non abrasive cleaning agents can be used. Look through the eco Krudkutter range for a gentle but effective stain remover.

If you mop the floor be aware that water and suds have been known to seep under plinths, swell the wood and then push the paint off. Plinths can be protected somewhat from water damage by inserting a “windscreen wiper” seal into the underside of the plinth to create a good seal.

I use oil paint because it is still the best material to achieve a high class traditional hand-painted finish. Oil-based paint can be sanded down hard between coats, it has body and flows out well, and it is durable. Admittedly, even with the reduced amounts of solvents in 21st century paint, it has a strong odour compared to water-borne paints, but much better than the good old days of red eyes and milk to settle the painter’s stomach.

I am not anti-water-based at all. Acrylic / water-based paint is fast developing as a viable alternative to oil, and some paint lines are almost as good as oil. In fact, I now recommend and like to use acrylic eggshell ahead of oil paint on door frames and skirtings and windows. But for kitchen painting, water-borne paints tend to be a bit “skinny”. I have developed a method to use just water-based products on new pine that gives as good a finish as olde worlde oil paint BUT it takes a lot more work.

I stick by my thesis that water-based enamels excel when spray painted on a surface that is near perfect to start with. (That thesis is however under pressure with every passing day as the manufacturers make advances.)

There are about 130 Farrow and Ball colours, a few hundred English Heritage colours from Little Greene, and we are able to source our favourite paint in any of those colours. But generally, customers have chosen from the strong off-whites, lighter creams, mid greys plus mid blues / greens.

There are no rules for colours, but I do think people miss a trick playing safe or fixating on having to go for a light colour. The featured kitchen on my site is dark purple-blue alongside lighter blue and off white. It looks fabulous and makes the most of the changing light during the day. Also if you are refurbishing an orange pine or dark oak kitchen, even the strongest paint colours are still going to appear lighter than the dull wood of old.

I have known many people who almost worried themselves to death over colour choices, so I am happy to recommend online paint colour advice from Ingrid of Lilou Interiors. From the comfort of your computer desk, you can now benefit from her amazing talent for pinpointing colours that suit both the room and your taste. And for less than the cost of a gallon of the wrong colour paint you have in the garage!

Absolutely not! And I think I know why that painter had a problem – Some factory primers don’t cooperate with water-based paint finishes. I always recommend bonder coat plus oil paints if I’m not sure what the primer is! Ordinarily though, on refurbishment work, paint fails due to poor preparation and incorrect (or no) primer.

I am fastidious with my preparation and cleaning and I have a good array of tried and tested problem-solving primers. I would be more disappointed than you if my paint went flaky in your hand-painted kitchen!

I have come across this a couple of times. Either make a point of turning the kettle round, so the steam billows out into the room rather than up under the wall unit, or plug the kettle in somewhere else – or use a microwave to heat your tea and coffee!

I replace like-for-like handles as part of my painting service, and I can sand back the edges of any doors ahead of painting, so they don’t rub on the frame, and I can tweak door hinges for England, but beyond that I am not geared up for any modifications to new handles or cabinetry.

So if your new knobs come with different fixings to the originals, or the new spindles need cutting to length or piloting new holes or fitting new runners, it is best to call in your local joiner or fitter for half a day, well ahead of my arrival.

I know many of the UK kitchen painters are more willing to take on small joinery works themselves, but I know my limitations.

Replacement knobs and handles, they also do 3 day express delivery.

Wicker baskets and runners

From a practical point of view, it works out fine if you finish breakfast before I arrive at 8.30, and have your dinner after I leave around 4 or 5pm,. We can all have a cup of tea or coffee any time during the day!

I assume my customers want me in and out as quickly as possible, so I give a fixed price based on the assumption that the cupboards and drawers and worktops are cleared before I start work, and I assume I will not be working round the family and tripping over the dog.

Ideally not, unless you want a hairy finish on your door and a howling painter.

By definition, a traditional hand-painted finish is applied by brush, so yes, if you look up close, you will see brush marks. However, there are a couple of tricks that enable me to improve the quality of my finish way beyond the normal standard.

1 – Sanding down between coats builds up a smooth base for the top coats.

2 – Using high quality brushes and a modified coachpainting technique, I can greatly reduce the ridge effect that you tend to see on every day paint finishes.

3 – In some cases, I would add a paint conditioner that increases the flow and “levelability” of the paint.

However, the bottom line is, I cannot apologise for the look of a hand-painted finish. It is a traditional technique, and its charm, if you like, is that it does not look like a blemish-free spray finish. It is my speciality, however, so I do achieve an above average finish!