Shaker kitchen painted with Little Greene Paint Company “Sand Piper”
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Kitchen painted with Farrow & Ball “Clunch”

Kitchen hand-painted and finished with a distressed paint effect
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In answer to the question, do hand-painted doors last? the answer is ‘yes’. Clients who take good care of their custom-painted kitchens get years of use out of them, and unlike sprayed or factory-finished examples, they look more authentic as time goes by. The kitchen top left was painted nearly 12 years ago now.

Empty kitchen
With the best will (and extraction sander) in the world, dust will find its way inside cupboards. Therefore, before I start work, I ask that all the kitchen cupboards are emptied.

Dust sheets on steroids
I use sturdy paper and plastic to fully sheet up the floor, worktops, appliances, and any furniture in the kitchen. (If necessary, the coverings to the oven / hob / sink can be removed / taped out the way at the end of the day so you can have access to the basics.)

Labelling
Next stage is to remove doors and drawer fronts. I label doors and cupboards and even hinges, to make sure everything goes back in exactly the same way as I take it out.

Prepare woodwork
I prepare all the end panels, cornice and plinths first, before moving on to the doors and drawer fronts. I then paint the frames etc first so they are dried off before the doors and drawers. This eliminates sticking problems.

This shows the primer and undercoat stages on a previously unpainted kitchen door.

Clean up
Once everything has been painted to completion, I remove all masking tape, clean and buff up hinges and glass panels, rehang doors and drawers, replace handles and tweak the hinges so that everything lines up as well as possible and nothing jams.

The floor coverings and worktops are cleared and cleaned up and left as I found them.

Wait
I recommend that customers hold off for a few days before loading the units and using the kitchen full tilt. Oil paint dries by oxidation, so it skins over and is touch dry within 16 hours, but can take up to a month to dry throughout its thickness. Therefore, the longer the paint can harden off, the better it will last.

Masking up

Protecting from dust