New kitchen in the W Midlands without the mess and expense of new

If you are looking for a solution to get a New kitchen in the W Midlands without the mess and expense of new, read on.

Martin Guest is the Traditional Painter member for the W Midlands (Staffordshire, Birmingham and outlying areas). He was asked if he could bring this custom made wooden kitchen into 2019.

Drawing on his many years’ experience, Martin delivered as promised – a new kitchen without the disruption and inconvenience of installing a new one.

Looks like a new kitchen to me!

To learn how he did it, over to Martin.

This hand painted kitchen is in Solihull, West Mids. It is made of maple protected with a clear factory varnish (acid cat).

Down to work

I dismantled and stored the doors and drawer fronts on 2 Erectaracks which I take with me on every job.

Every surface was thoroughly cleaned down and degreased before I started sanding with a 120g abrasive. I take great care to key every square centimetre of the surface, so the high adhesion primer can work its magic. Experience has also taught me to pay attention and not get so carried away with sanding to the point that you break through the varnish. In other words high quality sanding is not about brutally taking everything down to the bare, regardless. You sand everything but only as necessary. In this case, the coating had been going strong for 20 years and was still in great shape, so it made no sense to remove it.

All hardware was removed ahead of painting, door s labelled. Handles were to be replaced with new “touch point” knobs.

Painting the kitchen

I applied the Oil primer 100% by brush. The primer was colour matched to perfection to the selected topcoat colour.

This little trick of a tinted primer maximises the overall depth of colour we can achieve. I have few issues nowadays with paint coverage, but again, experience has shown that that the opacity of some brands in some colours leaves a lot to be desired. Nothing worse than having to apply extra coats just to make a paint look how it is supposed to.

To maximise the level of finish and durability, I use 320g abrasive between the primer and first topcoat. I finish off with an even finer 400g sanding paper between first topcoat and the final coat.

End result

The Client is completely amazed at their “new” kitchen. Thought that it looked a million dollars! Not that I charge anything like a million. The new handles really make the new colour ping, giving a true high-end, bespoke look to their existing kitchen.

More testimonials for Martin Guest’s work

Marble worktops look particularly good against this new colour.

Behind the scenes of a hand painted kitchen in the W Midlands

Martin, in Traditional Painter fashion has worked hard to perfect his craft. He has also invested no little sum in equipment that makes a difference both to the final finish and to the smooth running of a job.

Dustless sanding

Until 2010, dustless sanding was barely a thing in UK decorating. Traditional Painter didn’t invent anything, but we certainly invested, and got behind the “new” technology borrowed from the automotive industry. Nowadays Festool or Mirka or Flex, Rupes, Makita sanders are basic equipment now, and thank goodness for that. That’s clients speaking, not us! Imagine having your kitchen taken over AND covered in dust. Ten years on, it is unthinkable to work around dust.

LED lighting

Martin invested quite a lot in lighting. It is maybe not the first thing that springs to mind for a kitchen painter’s kit, but if you plan on working 8 hours a day in order to meet the promised deadline, you don’t want to get caught out by dark days, early nights and patchy lighting in a kitchen! So the Festool Duo lights are on hand. Low energy, fully illuminating, no heat lights, another one of those “little things” that makes a difference.

Paint brushes

Martin designs paint brushes. The Fox brush, that was developed at MyPaintBrush under Martin’s guidance from start to finish, with its many iterations and variations. He has also advised other UK companies how to try re-think their brushes for the 21st century. The UK was oil based paint forever til 2010 EU legislation pushed for water-based paint. All well and good, but we found ourselves far behind the rest of the world in terms of brushes for water-based paints. UK painters couldn’t get a good enough finish with UK brushes, which in turn slowed down adoption of water borne paints. You see how the trade here works, right!

The playing field for good brushes is a lot more level now, having been dragged into the 21st century. There is no best brush any more either, that old chestnut consigned to the archives. But for the longest time, we looked to the US mainly for inspiration. Purdy, Wooster and Proform.

What next?

If you want to talk about a new kitchen in the W Midlands, Worcestershire, Herefordshire. Staffordshire or Shropshire without the mess and expense of new, or the finer points of brushes, lighting, sanders, paint, colours, coffee and music, Martin is the one to call