Series: An 80's Kitchen Reno- {Part 9- Cabinet Painting and Compact Hinges}

Friday, July 17, 2020

Back to work on the kitchen, the new cabinetry was built, and the new doors were here.  Now the transformation could begin.  I will forever be awed by the power of paint.  Often just having the right color can immediately bring a space or piece of furniture into the present. The most visually noticeable change to our kitchen was paint.


Before painting, I removed and labeled all the doors and drawers.  I also removed the old laminate backsplash.  Since it was attached to the side of the cabinets, I needed to sand the glue off the wood so that the paint would adhere and be smooth. I also did a general sand of all the cabinets and frames.


  But what a difference just priming made!
 

All of the priming of the frames was done using a brush and roller. I did about two coats of primer, and then it was time to paint.  I used Benjamin Moore Simply White Satin finish in the  Advance paint line and applied three coats.  


In between painting the frames, I started work on the doors.  Before painting I drilled for the new hidden compact hinges.  My hinges are referred to as overlay, because the door overlays the cabinet frame.  To get the right size, I measured the distance the door 'lays over' the frame. Mine were 5/8" overlay...not a standard size sold at big box stores, but they were easily found online.  I also purchased a template and forstner bit to drill for the new hinges.  I measured, marked and drilled for each one before painting, so as not to damage the new paint job.


I didn't have the Kreg Jig template when working on my kitchen, but I've since helped my Mom and Dad add hinges to their kitchen cabinets.  He purchased one and it was a great time saver on the project.



I sprayed the doors and set up my spray station outside and later moved to working in the basement.



After the final coat, I let them dry for another three days so the paint could harden before installing them.  Again I have an older kitchen, so I ran into an issue when I began installing them.  The first doors I put up were over my refrigerator, which had a newly built cabinet frame.  It went up smoothly.  The next ones, for the life of me I couldn't get to fit.  It turned out that the old cabinet frames were SLIGHTLY thicker than the grips on the hinges.  This prevented them from attaching and closing properly.  I literally had to walk away from the project before I figured this out!  


But once I realized it was the frame thickness, I found that I could work around it and push the back portion of the gripper INTO the frame so that they fit.  And with that, I got all of the doors installed. They still needed a few of adjustments with the screws, but that was to be expected.  Hopefully this can help the next person that runs into that problem.




screwing a soft close hinge into a cabinet door

Ashley and Mike over at Joyfully Growing have an excellent article about selecting and installing soft-close hinges--both compact and long arm.  I love their advice and explanation about the difference between long arm  and compact hinges.  I think I would have chosen long arm hinges had I known that was an option. 

The hidden hinges and paint made a world of difference in bringing the kitchen into the 21st century.  Up next was to have new countertops installed. 

 
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8 comments

  1. Hi-Can I ask how the Kreg jig helped with installing the hinges on your cabinets?

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    1. Hi, there! I had to think for a minute and re-read my own post because I couldn't remember using a Kreg Jig! But yes, my dad purchased one for him and my mom's kitchen and I think it helped because we didn't have to measure and make pencil marks for every single hole. I believe once we set it up, we could just clamp it to each door and drill directly into the door. Forgive me, it's been over a year since we worked on theirs, but I think that was what saved time! Oh and there was also pretty much no way you could drill down to far into the door. I didn't necessarily have a problem with that on my doors, but it's sort of impossible to do with the jig. I hope that helps!

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  2. What color is your paint for cabinets- its gorgeous!

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    1. Hi, it's Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117. I used the Advance paint line in Satin. Thank-you!

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  3. Love your kitchen! Can you come to my house? What color BM paint did you use on cabinets? Also what is backsplash tile you used and countertops? I have a cabinet painter coming soon to paint my oak cabinets. Very nervous about painting but really want to update the house

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    1. Hi, it's Benjamin Moore Simply White in the Advance paint line, satin finish. H

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  4. I came across your blog traveling down the Pinterest rabbit hole researching floor stain formulas. I am so impressed with your handy work! I have lots of doors and cabinets to paint and haven’t pulled the trigger on a spray gun yet. Which one did you use? What color of paint is on your cabinets?

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  5. Hello! What color and brand of paint did you use on your kitchen remodel?

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