Sisters with Flair

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Turquoise, my new bff




I love the color turquoise and couldn't wait to paint this cabinet in our guest bathroom. I wanted it to feel more like furniture than the cheap builder cabinets. There are lots of different ways to go about repainting a cabinet but here are the steps I used. I've found that skipping steps= nightmare later on, so this task took 4 days total to do. I hated dealing with OIL based paint but I wanted to ensure it didn't rub or scratch off, especially in a humid area like the bathroom. So put on your shlumpy clothes, break out your favorite man-cheatin' country songs and get ready to love your ugghhuly cabinets into fabulousness! All for under $50.
Step 1: Remove all drawer and cabinet fronts and wash with soapy water
Step 2: Degloss the laquered cabinets. We used a product called liquid deglosser by Crown. We just rubbed it on and it dried almost instantly. FYI: Stinky stuff!
Step 3: Primed with OIL based paint, tinted dark gray. You have to buy oil based paints at specialty stores like Sherwin Williams. We only had to do one coat! Let dry overnight.
Step 4: Paint with turquoise OIL based paint. We had to thin with some MEK or paint thinner. Stir alot! We tried brushing it on with a paint brush but found it to be really sticky & goupy. So we ended up spraying the drawer fronts and cabinet doors with an HVLP paint sprayer. We brushed on the paint on the cabinet sides. We had to let this dry for 6 hours and repeat 3 times. Total pain! We painted the back side of the doors too, hence this took 4 days!
Step 5: Gel stain magic! I used Minwax Gel Stain Mahogany 605 . Make sure its GEL stain if you are doing this over OIL based paints. I used gloves and a rag and rubbed it on and rubbed off the excess.
Step 6: Wait 24 hours for the gel stain to cure before applying Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane. This will protect the finish from rubbing or scratching off.
Step 7: Break out the Ben & Jerrys, pull up a chair and sit and watch your new turquoise baby. Take pictures of her, carry her in your wallet, show her off to all your friends because you will love her as much as your newborn baby!

I'm linking to this fabulous site:

13 comments:

  1. Alright how come I didn't know you had a blog??? You have such cute ideas, I'm adding you to my page to check back often. My blog is private so I'll send you an invite (if I have your email address?). LOVE the turquoise cabinets!! You're AMAZING!!!

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  2. Looks amazing!! Totally my fave color ever! What a night and day difference- can't wait to come and visit so I can use it!

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  3. While the pictures look amazing, in real life it looks so good you'll want to pinch its cheeks! It really looks like a piece of furniture. Amazing job Andrea!

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  4. This is absolutely gorgeous! I love all things turquoise!...My question is what you used to hang the mirror on the mirror! I'm moving into a different house soon, and it has this big, expansive boring mirror...I'd love to steal this idea if you can give me a pointer!

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  5. I love it! I'm not sure that I would have the guts to go that bold, but I'm glad you did! It looks fabulous! Great work!

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  6. Im just stumbling across your blog..I love it..Im wondering what color the paint is you used on the cabinets? I love it and Im thinking of painting my new goodwill computer desk turquoise. Also...Im loving the bright green of your dinning room...the combo of the 2 might be amazing :) Id love to know the green color also ...so nosy I know

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  7. You have inspired me!! I have the same kind of 'builder' cabinets in my kitchen and bathrooms and I hate them! But since they're so cheap, I didn't think I could stain them. I've definitely going to give this a try this summer. Did you use anything special or sand to remove the gloss finish before you began or did you just wash the surfaces really well with soap and water?

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  8. Love the bold color! And the frame on the mirror! -- I just did that too. :)

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  9. Great color - looks fabulous! Love the distressing too! Amazing job! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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  10. wow - that turquoise is so different and fun. I love it! And what a fun idea to put the frame on the mirror. It looks great!

    Thanks so much for linking up to the CSI Project! We really appreciate it. I hope you will come back next week for our Hardware Store challenge!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  11. Love me some turquoise!! It looks fabulous :)

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  12. Sooooo cute--love it with the gray!

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  13. Cute! I'm thinking about doing this color on mine (they look JUST like your before pic!!) I'm going to go an extra step and slap on some fabulous eclectic looking knobs - maybe antique glass knobs or perhaps something more colorful. Thanks for the inspiration!

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