We prime cabinets with Zinsser B-I-N shellac and top coat all cabinets with 100% acrylic paint
Zinsser® B-I-N® Primer Sealer
Looking for a “silver bullet” primer that covers everything unwanted? Zinsser® B-I-N® Primer permanently blocks stains, odors and wood knots.
- Shellac-base primer-sealer
- For interior and spot exterior use
- Greatest stain sealer
- Seals knots and sap streaks
- Seals pet, smoke and musty odors
- Sticks to all surfaces without sanding
- Lightning fast dry - recoat in 45 minutes
Benjamin Moore Aura
Acrylic paint is the best paint to spray on kitchen cabinets however you need a spray booth, air extraction system and drying racks to achieve our satin smooth result.
Acrylic paint takes time to dry and therefore everything painted must be allowed to dry in a very clean dust free environment. This is why most painters cannot spray acrylic paint on kitchen cabinets. They don't have a painting shop to do it.
Pro's and cons to different kinds of paints
- Oil base (alkyd) paint used on kitchen cabinets stinks for weeks, looks greasy in comparison, takes forever to layer between coats and yellows over time. We never use oil paint on kitchen cabinets. Being said: Its best for inexperienced painters or DIY because it levels out well and sticks to grease which means if you don't clean the cabinets very well it will stick relatively well.
- Hybrid paint is no better to Alkyd however it cleans up better than oil paint.
- Composite coating have a dead-look to them. They are hard but very brittle which is problematic and prone to cracking and chipping. Composite product are ideal for painters in a hurry to make money. Their selling feature is all about speed painting.
Lacquer and oil-base products yellow, shrink and crack over time. You don't notice this happening with stained cabinets because its how wood looks. Read more on chipping and cracking
- Acrylic paint comes in any colour and the colours look amazing;
- Acrylic paint does not smell or have harmful VOC off-gases such as alkyd, solid pigmented lacquer and composite paint.
- Acrylic paint does not yellow which is extremely important when painting older cabinets a shade of white;
- Acrylic paint is very durable and easy to touch up years down the road;
- Acrylic paint is more flexible in comparison to a "composite, alkyd or lacquer" finish. Seams and joints have less chance of cracking compared to alkyd, solid-pigmented lacquer and composite paint.
In this how-to video, we demonstrate the durability of Benjamin Moore acrylic paint and why we don't recommend solid-pigmented composite, alkyd or lacquer paint.
In comparison to all other types of paint or composites, acrylic paint takes more skill to apply but the end result looks superior on kitchen cabinets.