About a Hand Painted Kitchen in Sligo
ARCHIVE – Adam Bermingham, former member of Traditional Painter in Ireland, writes about a Hand Painted Kitchen in Sligo that he transformed. This renovation of a tired pine kitchen took place in a picturesque part of the country for great clients in time for their daughter’s wedding.About a Hand Painted Kitchen in Sligo
There was more work here than the number of doors would lead you to believe. Included in the contract was the remainder of the room; walls ceiling & woodwork. I had the beautiful scenery above to look at for a full 2 weeks.
Before the Painting can start…
Six weeks before the start date I had visited the house in Sligo to view the kitchen, discuss the project with the clients & make the booking. It was a mixture of solid timber, veneer & laminate.
First things first, all the doors & drawers off, I labeled them & went back to the workshop. I get a lot of work done on these in the morning before I leave & in the evening when I get back. Two hours per day over 2 weeks is 20+ hours over a fortnight, that’s a good chunk of work done.
Cleaning, a very important process, often forgotten.
“If I’m going to be sanding the doors anyway, what’s the point in cleaning them first?”
In the majority of cases it would be totally unnecessary to sand enough to remove dirt & grease, & in the process clog up a ton of sanding discs. What’s required on the majority of doors, especially a veneered door like the ones here, is a deep clean & a key of the surface. I use 220 grit paper.
On a recent kitchen contract in Bushfield, from a grease point of view the worst I have ever tackled, I used Tikkurila Maalinpoisto, It is a paint stripper, diluted 50/50 with water & it worked a real treat. But on this kitchen in Sligo I opted for my standard cleaning product Krud Kutter.
A simple process, dilute roughly 2 parts in 10 with water (you can increase this amount for tough tasks). I spray it on & leave for 10 minutes, to let it do its work. Then out with a coarse scouring pad, be sure to get into every corner. Rinse well & it’s time to sand.
Preparing the Surface for Paint
Once the surfaces are fully dry after cleaning, it’s time for sanding. The aim is to provide a key for the primer to adhere to. Very few large, flat areas in this kitchen, so I mostly used a 180 grit sanding pad. The doors, back in the workshop, were a different story. Sanded front & back with 240 grit orbital sander . The molding & edges I sanded by hand.
Tikkurila Otex Adhesion Primer
For many years I used Zinsser Coverstain as my “go to” oil based primer. But thanks to Mark Nash & other specialist kitchen painters at Traditional Painter I use Tikkurila Otex, it really is a fantastic product. Easy to use, amazing coverage & sands glass smooth ready for top-coats.
To apply Otex I use a standard set up these days. Fox Paint Brushes in a variety of sizes right up to 3 inch for the door backs seen above, Fox Sash Brushes for detail & Fox Sleeves for getting large areas covered as fast as possible.
2 coats of Otex applied, a rub down followed by vacuum & it’s time for top-coats.
Tikkurila Furniture Feelings
For finishing I opted for Tikkurila Furniture Feelings, a water based finish best described, in my opinion, as semi gloss, a mid-sheen level. These days, I use Feelings or Helmi Matt, also from Tikkurila, if water based is in order.
My choice of sheen level depends on a number of factors. In this case, natural light was minimal so I chose Feelings. In other cases I might choose Helmi Matt, a softer finish that works very well in grey shades for example.
Process for a tired pine kitchen in Sligo
To keep disruption to a minimum & complete contracts in the shortest time possible, this is how we go about hand painting your kitchen.
As outlined above, I removed all the doors and brought them back to the workshop. This takes place approximately one week before we start on the frames, and takes 4-5 days on average. Over the 2 week period, work on the doors continues with the goal of having all complete by this time.
Of course these are rough estimates & depending on a number of factors including size & condition. This is one major advantage of employing a company with a specialist workshop.
The Finished Product…
The colour was the equivalent of “White Tie” mixed into the coatings outlined above by Holmans Specialist Paints.
I was very pleased with the results here, as was the client.
Happy Painting.
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