Top 3 Problems with Painted Cabinets St. Charles

Cabinet painting has been a solid foundation of how we help people with improving their homes with painting. Finding a paint contractor in the St. Charles (and fox valley area) that can help you navigate the Top 3 Problems with painted cabinets is not easy. Everyone wants to hear how easy and affordable with our knowing there can be issues with painted cabinets. So let dive in St. Charles!

Hey Everyone, I am David Cook with Dfranco Painting and Wallpaper, painting in St. Charles, Geneva, South Elgin, Bartlett, West Dundee and Elgin to name a few locations we serve.

Frequently asked questions about cabinet painting?

Here is a video to help with this one..

Water damaged cabients

Look familiar? Water damage is the number one problem with wood cabinets. It doesn’t matter if it is stained or painted cabinets, wood floors, or wood furniture, water will cause permanent damage to wood.

There several ways water can cause damage to wood cabinets, floors or furniture:

• Leaving wet rags hanging on cabinets
• Not using coasters on your furniture
• High humidity
• Washing wood (painted or stained) with water and leaving heavy water residue on the wood surfaces

After 15 years of painting and re-staining cabinets, water damage is always an issue.

The cabinets by your sink get the most abuse!

• Water from washing your hands, doing dishes, cooking, and cleaning usually take their toll in this area of your kitchen cabinetry.
• Next are the cabinets or cabinet panels next to your dishwasher. The ventilation from dishwashers was not given much thought as to where the steam goes. They have traditionally either gone out the top damaging countertops or out the sides damaging the cabinet right next to your dishwasher.
• Do not use harsh chemicals to clean cabinets – vinegar and water are all you need. Chemical cleaners will cause the finishes of your cabinets to break down faster and then allow water into the wood.
• Fix any problem as soon as it is seen, don’t wait for it to get worse!

Will paint peel from my cabinets painted cabinets?

When the time is taken to do the right prep work on your wood cabinets -the paint will not peel from your cabinets.  When we are getting cabinets ready for paint we have a multi-step process to make sure the paint sticks to the wood:

• We clean the entire cabinet surface with TSP, degreaser cleaner. This can take several times to get cabinets clean
• We also scuff sand the surfaces to give the primer something to stick to. When the cabinets are previously painted, the surface is slick so paint or primer has nothing to stick to. Think of it as glass vs. your skin – they both look smooth but one is more porous than the other.
• Bonding primer is what should be used as your primer for cabinets. This stuff will bond to almost anything! Without the right primer, paint will have issues with sticking to any wood you are painting.

The devil is in the details!! All of the prep work is the key to a great, long lasting paint job.

As for the paint- USE THE BEST! ILVA, ML Campbell, Shur Wood Aqua Chem, And now Urathanes, they are the best finishes to use for cabinets.  They are great paints!!!

How can I stop paint chipping on my cabinets?

I do want to put it our there- we cannot prevent chipping paint. No one can. Paint chipping from a painted cabinet from the surface will happen. When paint chips is from the wood being damaged. If a wood cabinet is dented- the paint will chip.

We would love to say there is magic way to prevent chips from happening, but there is not. Just like your car- we can’t prevent it.

Can you fix the peeling paint on my cabinets?

No.  If the paint is peeling from your cabinets then the only way to fix it is to strip all of the paint from the door(s). Sanding is usually the top method for that.

Other questions about cabinet painting?

These are the top 3 problems with painted cabinets we are asked,but if you have other questions about cabinet painting – please contact us and let us know!