For this kitchen painting project I was phoned by a lady in Linton who wanted her bespoke hand made wooden ‘Jeremy Wood‘ modernised. It had been installed over 10 years ago and was now looking a little tired and worn in places. After emailing me over some photos I was able to give her a good idea of the costs involved and headed over to Linton a couple of weeks later for a consultation.
The Consultation
During the consultation I explained my process and the materials I would use in more detail. I only use the best material sand ensure every attention is taken at every stage to ensure a fantastic finish with premium durability. We then turned to colours and decided it would be nice to have a two tone effect – with the main units being painted in one colour and the island, freestanding pantry cupboard and range mantel painted in another. The colours that were eventually used were the equivalent shades of The Little Greene Company’s ‘Rolling Fog Mid’ and ‘Rolling Fog Dark’, both of which were expertly tinted by Holmans Specialist Paints in my specialist paints.
After discussing colours and arranging to paint some sample boards for her, we moved onto potential options for the walls, where I put forward the idea of a striped broken colour effect.
With a striped broken colour paint efect I could not only incorporate the colours/tones of the units, but offer her something totally unique, which she was keen to have.
Once all the elements had been discussed and any questions answered we arranged a starting date and the project was underway.
Preparation
As with all my hand painted kitchen and furniture projects the first thing I do is to remove all the handles and then thoroughly clean everything.
Once cleaned and wiped down with a damp cloth I moved onto masking off the floors, worktops, walls and various and other areas with 1200 lining paper and Edge Lock tape. I reason I take this step and use lining paper is so I can easily keep on top of hoovering up any dust and there is absolutely no danger of any paint getting anywhere it shouldn’t!
Sanding, Priming and Filling
Once all cleaned and masked off it’ sanding time. To ensure the primer gets the best adhesion it can – and therefore the best durability – thorough sanding is really important. Once sanded, and with all the dust hoovered up and tack clothed away, I applied a coat of high adhesion shellac primer. After another light sand I then applied a second coat of different high adhesion oil based primer. Once primed I then filled any gaps or holes with either caulk or fine filler. I have been using Tourpret fillers for some time and have been getting excellent results. Once filled I sanded the filled areas back, gave everything a light sand and then hoovered up and tack clothed away any dust ready for the next and most fun stage – the top coat painting.
Before I move onto the top coats I thought I mention that I used another piece of my invaluable kitchen kit, the * Erecta Rack. There were various drawers , doors and shelves that were much easier to paint if removed and so I set up my Erecta Rack in the corner and was easily able to paint these alongside the main areas. I cannot rate this system highly enough and recommend any serious furniture & kitchen to take the plunge and get one. It’s not cheap but is a doddle to use and can really help efficiency and ease of painting.
Top Coats
For this project I thought I’d test out the Fox Flock Roller Sleeve I had got as part of a tester bundle from Andy Cherry at mypaintbrush.co.uk. After only a few hours of use I realised these little rollers were really rather special and quickly phoned Andy up that same day and ordered another 30 for overnight delivery! I was using the Fox rollers alongside a mixture of artist brushes. I applied 2-3 coats of the my specialist top coat paint, ‘laying’ it off to ensure a beautifully smooth finish.
The Final Stage
After removing the tape, tickety booing and tidying up, the kitchen transformation was complete. Please see the pics below. The lady was over the moon with the way things were looking but there was no let up for this little decorative painter. The walls were still to do, but that’s another story and perhaps another Blog.
First Published on Traditional Painter.
Thank you for reading this Blog, should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Lee works as a kitchen painter throughout Yorkshire and is within easy reach for hand painting kitchen projects in Harrogate, Wetherby, Linton, Sicklinghall, Spofforth, Collingham, Boston Spa, Kirk Deighton, and the surrounding areas.