Specialist hand-painted kitchen painting

Professional kitchen painters work to a system and to highest standards. It doesn’t matter if you have a modest 15 year old oak kitchen or a new luxury bespoke kitchen, there will be no difference in attention to detail, quality of products or attitude – specialists work to a standard, not a price, it is best for all concerned. (Check out our newsletter to see some of the issues that arise where this ethos is compromised.)

Below is an overview of the processes that Traditional Painters adopt when hand-painting kitchens If you want to see how this applies to real examples, check out our many case studies. There will probably be information on a kitchen completed by us in your area.

What is the basic process for painting my kitchen?

As a rule of thumb, preparation has to be to the highest standards ie abrade and clean down every surface, vacuum off and tack rag as required. Invariably primer coats or bonder coats are required, and we would prime all surfaces with a suitable high performance coating usually selected from Tikkurila, Zinsser, Mathys, Classidur or Mythic. These are not mickey mouse retail quality.

We tend to tint the primers to match the topcoats to provide extra depth of colour. Rubbing down between coats provides a stronger and smoother end result.

For finishing coats, a minimum 2 coats of a water-borne satin-matt paint, or for a traditional hand-painted oil finish, 2 coats of oil eggshell finish. Any of the kitchen cupboard paints listed have their good points too, of course.

Going into detail

More often than not, homeowners take this opportunity for a really good clear out of pans and dishes that haven’t been used since the kitchen was first installed!

Masking and protecting your kitchen
A beautiful hand-painted kitchen is dependent on meticulous preparation from start to finish – however there is far more to preparation than rubbing down.

The first preparatory step is to protect the flooring and worktops. This approach keeps your kitchen clean and safe from paint spots and other potential accidents. It is not a “waste of time and money” as some will claim. Paper and plastic can be removed every night, so you have access to your kitchen.

Dust sheets on steroids
We use sturdy paper and plastic and dedicated poly non-slip sheeting to fully cover 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, where we remove doors and drawer fronts, we label doors and cupboards and even hinges, to make sure everything goes back in exactly the same way as it is taken out.

Clean off woodwork
We clean and degrease all the end panels, cornice and plinths, before moving on to the doors and drawer fronts.

Dust extraction sanding Once free of any contaminants, it is time for a lot of sanding. We use a new generation of abrasives and vacuum extraction sanders to ensure perfectly smooth surfaces and to prevent the creation of the fine dust that ordinarily will find its way inside cupboards, and further afield. To complement dry sanding with the dust extractor, we have the option of wet sanding too. Either way, an approach that will reduce dust to a minimum and key every square inch in preparation for painting. This is a very important step and is never rushed.

There will aways be a small percentage that escapes capture, so, before we arrive, it may be advisable for kitchen cupboards to be emptied.

Priming
This is the most important coat, and when it has cured it is a perfect platform for subsequent coats. Once prepared and primed, it is almost irrelevant whether the substrate was laminate, MDF or oak. At this stage fine surface filling and caulking of joints is carried out.

This shows the primer and undercoat stages on a lacquered oak kitchen door. That could be laminate, or pine or new timber. With the correct primer, the finish coats will work fine!

Clean up
Once everything has been painted to completion, it is time to 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 found.

We would be constantly snagging (checking) our work as we go through the stages, and are confident that when it is time to hand over the finished kitchen, it is finished to the best of our ability. Of course, the final say is yours.

Wait
I recommend that customers hold off for a few days before loading the units and using the kitchen full tilt. Technically speaking, the oil paint we use is touch dry the same day, but then dries by oxidation, so although it skins over and is touch dry within 16 hours, it can take up to a month to dry throughout its thickness.

Water-based paint is touch dry inside 1-4 hours, but also doesn’t cure throughout its thickness for at least a week, so whichever route you take, it is always best to be gentle on your painted kitchen in the early weeks.

Prices please!

Please note, the level of service we offer is not for everyone. We aren’t just flogging you a couple of coats of paint! That isn’t enough to do justice to upgrading the most expensive item in your home.

Standards of workmanship have to be extremely high, and we wouldn’t do you the disservice of a “knock it out cheap and cheerful” job, or skimp on coats, because that doesn’t save you money in the long term. (In fact some cheap paint jobs won’t even get you out of trouble in the short term!)

Our prices reflect the amount of work that goes into painting a kitchen properly, and judging by the number of clients who have employed us, our prices are fair. By dealing with us direct, especially on re-paints, you also avoid the mark-ups that your kitchen company would apply.

If you reckon on £100 a door and £100 a feature ie count up doors and multiply by £100, and add wine racks, open shelving units, over mantle at £100 each, that will give you a realistic ballpark to prepare and paint the WHOLE kitchen. It is not £500 to hand paint a kitchen, even the very smallest are from £800 to £1000, but as you can see, we aren’t just selling you a quick coat of paint.

Email us photos of the whole kitchen and we can give you a firmer price and take it from there, with no obligation, of course.

If you aren’t comfortable with our ready reckoner budget, you might want to look for other options to refurbish a kitchen, but please please don’t accept low ball prices without question. Ask why the price is low, ask what the specification is, ask how many kitchens they have painted. These reviews demonstrate that you get what you pay for.

Please Tweet or share on FB …

Traditional Painter is an invitation-only, nationwide network of independent businesses, with years of professional experience. Every member of our team guarantees a showroom-quality, hand painted finish for your kitchen, with exceptional customer service at every stage.

Our transparent pricing structure ensures unwavering quality and service for kitchens of every style or size.

If you would like to employ the services of your local recommended TP kitchen & furniture painter, please use the map widget below.