Painting laminate kitchen doors

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viggy
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Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by viggy »

My white laminate ikea kitchen doors are nine years old and beginning to look a bit chipped - I have a lot of cabinets so it won't be particularly cheap to replace the doors, and I don't especially love any of the ikea ones right now anyway.

I've thought about painting them to refresh the space and give me another few years out of them, especially as I still like my splashback tiles (white), my work surfaces (a kind of butchers block wood effect laminate) and my floor (slate grey tiles).

Has anyone painted laminate doors successfully? Any suggestions of what colour to go for? I'm not averse to colour, but I have cabinets top and bottom so anything too dark might be a bit overwhelming.
Mayday
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mayday »

Not kitchen cupboards, but I painted a laminate bedside table. I'd say make sure you use a primer that includes laminate (I usually use a wilko one as it is the best I've found) and a foam roller.

You aren't necessarily limited to ikea if you did want a change, I've used a company a few times for various cupboard doors and they are very reasonably priced. The company I have used before is homestyle https://kitchenandbedroomdoors.co.uk/
Disco
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Disco »

Not painting but my friend got some cheap vinyl sticky stuff that covered and refreshed her cupboard doors.
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Cosmopolitan
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Cosmopolitan »

Also look at Custom Fronts. Lots if people make fronts for Ikea cupboards. I have painted laminate kitchen cupboards before, I used Annie Sloan chalk paint and then covered with 2 layers of Decoraters Varnish. It held up really well for 3 years and then I moved out.
Mountain Goat
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mountain Goat »

I'm about to do this viggy (with a mini roller). I was going to prime with BIN but will research and see if that has laminate in it....I now can't remember where I read to use BIN, or why (and I may have just retained it as one suggestion as I already have it).

I'm using a pale green, because mine are currently a truly ugly dark green and a pale green should still work with the tiles but not be as gloomy. They currently have really ugly dark pine frames/edges, which I'm painting white. I'm not confident it will look great but it will look better and tide me over hopefully.
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Mayday
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mayday »

BIN is really good, Goat. I only use the wilko one because it is cheaper but have used BIN before for furniture I've sold.
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mountain Goat »

Oh that's good to know, thanks! I've used it already on a few tricky things (grease stains, wood knots etc) and really liked it, but none of them were laminate.
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Cosmopolitan
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Cosmopolitan »

This is really good to use to seal it all in, I really recommend it
https://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/v ... rs-varnish
Mountain Goat
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mountain Goat »

That looks good, thank you!
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H1ppychick
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by H1ppychick »

I did this 25 years ago in the kitchen at my old flat (early 90s Changing Rooms era - I thought I was Anne McKevitt!*)

It was pretty successful. You have to key the surface slightly so that paint will adhere, then prime then mini-roller it. I got a nice even finish that way.

*I had sunny yellow walls and blinds, and painted the doors from grey to either light blue or mid-blue, alternating. If you remember the yellow & blue crockery from The Pier from about the same time, my kitchen basically looked like that.
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F'Artiste
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by F'Artiste »

I’ve painted my kitchen cabinets, of which a third were laminate. I used a normal wall paint over a primer, which is probably a big no-no :look: (but mine is just make it look better until we replace the kitchen or move). I used a navy eggshell/sheen paint (Homebase own?) and it seems to hold up quite well.

ETA: It could probably do with a varnish on top to protect the paint as my usual kitchen spray seems to take some paint off, but for a refresh it worked quite well.
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Mountain Goat
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mountain Goat »

That looks brilliant!

Hippy, that sounds so early 90s. :love2:

I'm relieved other people are doing/have done this, I was a bit wary but thought that it can't look worse than it does now. Now I feel like it might actually look acceptable. :))
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Cosmopolitan
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Cosmopolitan »

This is what mine looked like about 2years after the painting. It's definitely worth doing.
kiwi
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by kiwi »

viggy wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:00 pm My white laminate ikea kitchen doors are nine years old and beginning to look a bit chipped - I have a lot of cabinets so it won't be particularly cheap to replace the doors, and I don't especially love any of the ikea ones right now anyway.
As I discovered yesterday Ikea have changed the sizes of their modular kitchens, so any doors/draws that are available now don't fit the old style units. :verm: M is talking about getting ours sprayed rather than painted.
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Kenickie
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Kenickie »

What's BIN?
If your back's against the wall, turn around and write on it.
Mountain Goat
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Mountain Goat »

This stuff Ken:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-b-i- ... 1ltr/29661

It's good for using on difficult surfaces.
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Kenickie
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by Kenickie »

Ah thank you!
If your back's against the wall, turn around and write on it.
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viggy
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Re: Painting laminate kitchen doors

Post by viggy »

kiwi wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:20 pm
viggy wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:00 pm My white laminate ikea kitchen doors are nine years old and beginning to look a bit chipped - I have a lot of cabinets so it won't be particularly cheap to replace the doors, and I don't especially love any of the ikea ones right now anyway.
As I discovered yesterday Ikea have changed the sizes of their modular kitchens, so any doors/draws that are available now don't fit the old style units. :verm: M is talking about getting ours sprayed rather than painted.
Fucking hell IKEA! :lg:
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