The Free Cabinet That Got Away...

[Willa]

I spotted this in the free section of Toronto's CL a couple of days ago.

Luckily my cabinet quota has been filled, no exceptions. I hope whoever got this FREE (OMG !) beauty appreciates it:

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[Manalto]

I'd drive to Ontario for that!

[phil]

That's a neat one.. You win some you loose some;-) at least its free to play

[awomanwithahammer]

What do you mean, your cabinet quota is filled? That's never stopped me from getting more stuff that I don't need...yet. I'd have a hard time letting this one go.

[Willa]

What do you mean, your cabinet quota is filled? That's never stopped me from getting more stuff that I don't need...yet. I'd have a hard time letting this one go.

I did not even inquire about it. I did however send the posting to a friend who had been a great cabinet enabler.

My house seems to have a lot of doorways and windows, so there is very little wall space left for other cabinets. That said I was all worked up about a set of three identical HUGE cabinets that looked like they were from a church or school - that were too tall for the ceiling in my back room (last plausible place where "maybe" one more cabinet could fit). They were $ 100.00 each. I think they were over 8 feet tall x 24" deep x 36" wide ? The photos just don't look like they are that big but I guess they were. The doofus seller advertised them as being great for repurposing and described and measured the pieces of wood they were made from, sigh.

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Currently I am not watching a cabinet that is allegedly from a convent. It's a nice cabinet - needs some work, marked down to $ 250.00 CAN from $ 450.00 CAN. I think the only cabinet exception I might be able to make would be a cabinet that was a wardrobe type cabinet, where I could store shovels, brooms, extension poles etc. Also it would have to be thrillingly cheap or free.

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[Corsetière]

Oooh! That one would have been perfect for me!

[Manalto]

A few questions about painting cabinets, old and new - supposing the natural wood finish is not an option, how do you like to paint cabinets? A good quality latex? Oil? What if there are imperfections? Are there any faux finishes or distressing that you find appealing?

I ask about this because I just acquired a new pine cabinet for the kitchen (the seller called "jelly cupboard" which is a term, as far as I can tell, that is an effort to justify an inflated price). The wood is too inferior to keep natural (filled knots)so I have been debating which finish to put on it. Most of the faux antique finishes look cheesy to me, but I'd like to do something to make it look a little mellow. Also, what about the interior? Oil-based enamel for easy cleaning?

[Willa]

I prefer an oil based enamel as it is the toughest finish. Usually the older (painted) cabinets were previously finished with an oil based paint or varnish.

Oil based enamels are now scarce. You will probably only find a DTM paint - "Direct To Metal" which is pretty much the same as an older oil based alkyd. This is fine to use on wood surfaces.

To be on the safe side I would give your new/old cabinet a good scrubbing with water and tsp - especially if it has been used in a kitchen or lived with smokers. Give it a quick water rinse after. Make sure it is completely dry before you paint it (ie let it dry overnight).

You could use a water based enamel, like Benjamin Moore's Advance. IF you are doing this, you need to clean the piece with TSP first, then paint it with an adhesion primer. This will bond the old paint or varnish layer to the new paint. I did this with the antique trim boards I usred in my kitchen and powder room, and the paint is still perfectly stuck with no failure a year later. It looks and feels like oil enamel after it is fully cured. Advance is a little tricky to work with. It's thin, so it can get drippy. You also need to leave it alone and not recoat for a minimum of 16 hours.

Do NOT paint any furniture with latex paint meant for walls. The results will make you very sad. It feels gummy and will scratch off easily.

It's better if you take all the doors and hardware off before you paint.

Unless the piece is made from fabulous marquetry, I wouldn't feel bad painting it over with opaque paint. There was a period where varnished knotty pine was all the rage - but to my eyes that never looked good.

There are some books published in the 90's about faux finishes, with recipes. You can probably pick them up for cheap on Amazon or your local thrift store (if they stock a lot of books). How successful the results are I think depends on the skill and artistic bent of whoever applies it. Will it look like an convincing 18th century piece or fit right in with a suburban 1990's "country kitchen" with cute duck wallpaper borders ?

* ALSO - if your cabinet seems to not be varnished and the wood feels bare - then you should use a stain blocking primer as the tannins will seep through and stain your fresh paint.

[Willa]

Also - I am currently ignoring this cabinet on local Kijiji. The white area is where the seller scrubbed it clean. It has florentine glass, and looks pretty good over all. $ 600.00 CAN:

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[Gothichome]

Willa, for $600.00 I would let this one slide.