Oak cabinet painting locks the tannins in golden oak under a shellac primer, deals with the open grain by filling it or keeping it, and lays a hard sprayed enamel over 1980s and 1990s doors that are solid, well built and simply the wrong colour.
The west-end subdivisions around Vansickle, Rykert, Grapeview and Fairview were built or re-kitchened during the golden oak years, and the 1980s oak replacements in north-end bungalows are the same doors. Insurance covers every job, and oak is the substrate we see most.
Oak Bleeds Through Cabinet Painting Unless A Shellac Primer Stops It
Tannins in oak, cherry, walnut and mahogany travel up through a water-based primer and appear as blotches of pink, yellow or brown, usually at the edges first. A shellac-based primer is the one product that reliably blocks them. It dries in about twenty minutes, sands to a fine powder and gives the topcoat a hard, sealed base.
This is the step a cheap oak cabinet painting job skips, and the blotches show within weeks on a white or cream finish. On a navy or charcoal finish the bleed is less visible but the adhesion problem is the same. We use the shellac primer on every oak door, every time.
Grain Fill Is A Choice In Oak Cabinet Painting, And Both Answers Are Valid
Grain filler, brushed on thin two or three times and sanded to 320 grit, gives a smooth surface that reads like painted maple or MDF. Leaving the grain open gives a finish that is just as sound but shows the oak's texture through the colour. Some people want the smooth, factory look. Others like the texture, especially under a deeper colour where it reads as a feature.
Grain fill adds a day of labour and the quote shows it as its own line. It is the single biggest price difference between one oak cabinet painting quote and another, so ask what the other quote includes before comparing numbers.
Honey Maple And Cherry Cabinet Painting Skips The Filler
Honey maple from the 2000s, common in Grapeview and the newer streets of Western Hill, has a tight grain that needs no filler and paints cleanly over a standard primer. Cherry has the tannin problem oak does and gets the shellac primer, but its grain is closed enough to skip the filler. Both take the same thin sprayed topcoats of waterborne enamel or 2K polyurethane. If the doors are solid cherry or a good white oak and the finish is the only thing wrong, cabinet refinishing may be the better choice, and the visit is where we will tell you.
Oak Panels Move In Winter, And Cabinet Painting Has To Allow For It
Oak raised-panel doors are built with a floating centre panel, and St. Catharines winters with forced-air heat shrink that panel enough to show a hairline of bare wood at the edge. A flexible primer and thin topcoats handle that better than a thick, brittle film. Where a hairline does appear after the first winter, it is a touch-up and not a failure, and we will touch it up.
Get An Oak Cabinet Painting Quote In St. Catharines
When a kitchen is golden oak on solid boxes, oak cabinet painting is nearly always the better value against replacement. Ask for the visit or call +1 (905) 367-8017 with the street and roughly how many doors there are. The St. Catharines Cabinet Painting home page covers everything else we paint, islands and vanities included.
An oak kitchen with sound boxes is the best candidate for cabinet painting there is, and the shellac primer plus the grain-fill decision are what separate a lasting job from a blotchy one.
Oak Cabinet Painting Questions
Will the oak grain show through the paint?
It can. Oak has open pores, so unfilled grain shows as a woven texture under the colour. Some owners like that on a shaker door. Filling the grain in two or three rounds gives a smooth door. A sample door shows both looks before you decide.
Why is shellac primer used on oak?
Oak carries tannins that bleed through ordinary primer and stain the paint yellow or brown. Shellac primer locks them in. It also grips well on old stained and varnished wood after scuff sanding, which gives the topcoat a stable base.
Does maple or cherry need grain filler?
No. Maple and cherry have tight grain, so the filler step is skipped and the finish goes smooth without it. That keeps the cost down compared with oak. Cherry that is in good shape can also be refinished instead of painted if you want to keep the wood.