How to prepare laminate for painting

I have had a few emails asking questions related to How to prepare laminate for painting.

How do I paint a kitchen with laminate doors?

How do I paint a kitchen with highly lacquered natural timber doors?

The answer is the same for both, and as usual – it is all in the preparation.

How to prepare laminate for painting with a coat of Dulux Supergrip Primer

1 – You take a bucket of water.

2 – You dampen the surface of the door with a damp sponge.

3 – Dip the 180 grade (black) wet ‘n’ dry in the bucket, then sand the mouldings and fiddly bits. Wipe off the residue with a damp sponge.

4 -You use the green Oakey sanding block (fine / medium grade) to provide a grip/key on the flat surfaces.

5 – To remove, for instance, old plastic bumper domes, I use the Beeline scraper which gets rid of glue in one or two swipes.

6 – When the doors have dried off there should be a layer of dust on the surface. Use a nobbly kitchen cloth or nappy to remove the dust easily.

7 – Vacuum the dust up

8 – Wipe over surface with a tack rag.

The laminate or high gloss lacquer is now ready for a coat of Dulux Supergrip primer.

Tips for preparing for Dulux Supergrip primer

a – The chemists would probably say the Supergrip is grippy enough for the laminate not to need sanding beforehand, but – sanding wet does more than provide a slightly roughed up surface for priming.

By using a wet abrasive, you also remove all nasty grease and kitchen crud – something not usually emphasized on the side of a tin of primer for laminate.

b– I am a big fan of Zinsser primers, but I have found that Supergrip is best for laminate. I used it, or a similar Dulux creation as far back as 1990, it worked then, so I am not too keen to change!

c – To get an idea of how vigorously you need to sand laminate, draw a cross with a pencil and sand off the mark. That is enough grip for the primer.

d– It takes about 8 hours to sand / clean down the laminate doors and frames in a kitchen with 15 units.

For a different perspective on painting “plastic” kitchens check out this article from Richard Willott, Traditional Painter for E Anglia. Renovating a vinyl wrap kitchen in Belton He can be contacted at FX Decor.