Kitchen cabinets are often the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel and as a homeowner, protecting your investment should be the first thing that comes to mind. If you’re tired of the look of your cabinets, the right choice may be to refinish your existing quality cabinets instead of simply replacing them. David Soskin, at Dave’s Decorative Painting and Custom Refinishing may be your solution in order to maintain and extend the life of your quality cabinets while giving yourself the ability to completely restyle them to meet your new kitchen aesthetic goals.
There are many steps that go into properly refinishing a cabinet to give it a full “second life”, and David Soskin is a strong believer that cutting corners or taking shortcuts will sacrifice longevity as well as drastically negatively affect lifespan. The first crucial step in a refinish paint effort is to prep the old surface to accept the new surface. A combination of scoring and priming the surface is the first step which may be repeated as many as 2 or 3 times even, in order to make sure the surface is primed correctly. Dave uses a proprietary “high build” primer to make sure that any blemishes are completely covered. As a general rule, the better the primer and priming job, the better the final paint will look. Another rule Dave follows is that if you can scratch it with a finger nail and see the original paint, the cover up effort was sub standard.
Dave uses several types of paints to achieve the level of quality completion that can be expected from his paint studio. Considerations that are taken include how long the paint requires to dry, how thick or thin the paint is, and the mixture of water to paint. Dave prefers to use an ALKID based paint which is a newer technology than a typical acrylic latex. Another important factor when selecting paint for a particular job is color and color matching. While all of the paint manufacturers have access to each other’s color guides, each of their colorant chemistries are slightly different and may need to be tweaked in order to achieve a perfect match. Watering down colored paints for use with a HVLP (high volume low pressure) paint system can also effect the color as well as create a different sheen than intended. The threshold of thinning paint to where it holds intended sheen requires a significant amount of experience. While contactless apparatuses allow for zero blemishes when used properly and in controlled environments like Dave’s custom built facility in Wilmette, sometimes the best way to apply the paint in a home is still to use a small roller or brush, which often requires a completely different mixture of paint all together. All of these are factors that should be taken into consideration during the preparation process before attempting a major kitchen refinish.
To learn more about David Soskin, Master Painter, or to discuss your home renovation or refinishing project, contact Dave’s Decorative Painting and Custom Refinishing today!