DIY Network

DIY People: Faux Cabinet Painting

advertisement

DIYer Susie Goldenberg takes you through the process of faux painting your kitchen cabinets. Figure A Figure B Figure C Susie's finished cabinet door. The completed kitchen-cabinets project makes for an eye-popping pleasure!

Susie Goldenberg creates the rich look of pine on previously painted cabinets and doors. It's a fast and simple method of faux painting that requires very little time or practice. This technique is only recomended for existing cabinets that carry a white, water-based painted finish. The results will resemble the look of distressed pine.


The only tools required are a paint brush, cheesecloth and sandpaper. Mix faux glaze with a colorant darker than what you desire as a finished look. You will be wiping most off a significant amount of the glaze, so a dark colorant will still come out much lighter.


The steps of transforming your white cabinets to pine are as follows:

1. Lightly sand (figure A) the surfaces you wish to paint. It's not necessary to remove the existing paint, just prepare the surface to accept the glaze. The more white paint is removed, the darker the end results will be.
   
   
   
2. Throughtly clean the surface after sanding to remove loose paint from the surface.
   
   
   
3. Using a brush, apply the glaze (figure B) to the outer edges of the cabinets and decorative molding.
   
   
   
4. Remove excess glaze with clean cheesecloth. The more glaze you remove, the lighter the finish.

5. Apply the glaze to the center of the cabinet door in a vertical motion (figure C) to replicate the appearance of wood grain.
   
   
   
6. Remove excess glaze with cheesecloth. The harder you rub, the lighter the finish.

Before taking on an entire kitchen as Susie did, try the technique on a piece of painted wood. Experimenting with the mixture of colorant to glaze will allow you to determine the finish you desire.