Glazed white kitchen cabinets procedure?

[Kevin Barnett]

I'm looking to replicate this look.

Looking at a couple of references, I see everything from primer to no primer, oil to latex to epoxy, flat to semigloss to gloss, topcoat to no topcoat. The idea is to have a decently white cabinet with glazed recesses and a semigloss to eggshell finish. A lot of the examples out there have a more "tanish" cabinet. I imagine this is because they put glaze directly on flat paint. I'd like a whiter cabinet, if possible.

What would you suggest for a painting schedule to replicate this look? Starting from raw wood to finished product... for the outsides and insides of the cabinets. Thanks!

[Todd Burch]

You can start with wood, ply, MDF, whatever. Here's is what I would do...

1) Prime, then fill & caulk and reprime as needed.
2) Paint your base color. I'm lazy, so I would use spray lacquer.
3) Glaze. Apply and remove as much as you want to get the look you want. Practice on scrap.
4) Clear with desired sheen and material.

Todd

[Kevin Barnett]

Which primer? Lacquer Sanding sealer? Which brand have you had success with? Can you just use lacquer for a primer?

Which lacquer? What sheen?

Which glaze has worked best for you?

Which topcoat would you recommend (brand/sheen)?

[Todd Burch]

Primer depends on the substrate. If MDF, I use ML Campbell Clawlock. If ply, I use Kilz, or BIN. I do not use lacquer sanding sealing for pigmented lacquer. I use ML Campbell pre-cat lacquer. I've used both waterborne and solvent based. For a pigmented lacquer, check with the Mfr's rep for whether or not you need a sealer.

Sheen - I would do an eggshell or satin.

I use only ML Campbell products. That way, if there's an issue, I get to call ML Campbell and there is no finger pointing at the "other" vendor.

Todd

[Trey Isbell]

Just wondering if you ever achieved the look you were going for, and what you used. I am in the process of building my kitchen and just wanted a little info because I am going with that off white glazed kitchen cabinet look also

[Jeff Jewitt]

I would use maple if at all possible, at least for the rails and stiles. Finishing machined MDF is a bear.

1. Sand to 150
2. Two coats primer/undercoater, sanding ater the 1st and 2nd. Always doublecoat end grain and machined MDF because they suck up finishes.**
3. Two coats paint - hard to tell, but I would use a slight off-white
4. 1 coat clear gloss to give a slick surface for the next step.
5. Most modern kitchen cabinets have what's called "pin-striped" glaze that's neatly appied to just the recesses and details. This is done with a special spray gun, but you can substitute a ketchup bottle with a yorker type despenser tip and cut it to the size stripe you need. Use a burnt umber or raw umber (brown) waterbased glaze. If you make a mistake, the clearcoat you applied earlier helps you to clean excess glaze neatly.
6. Let glaze dry then 2 coats clear waterbased in the sheen you want. Typically we recommend GF HP poly with crosslinker as it's water clear and non-yellowing.

** Most of the finish failures I've seen in kitchens are from under-finished end grain that wick up moisture/water/vapor for dishwashers, sinks, coffee makers etc.

Note - if you want an effect more or less like the attached photo I did for an article, just apply the glaze over the whole surface which gives a "dirty" antiqued effect also seen on modern cabinets. However most I've seen in the past 5 years or so have the cleaner pin-striped effect outlined above.