Painting kitchen cabinet doors - Dulux Renovator range

Welcome to the Workshop community @VanessaL. I'd be happy to answer your question.

There is only one white pre-mixed colour in the range available off the shelf. The Renovator range can be tinted to light and mid-tone colours from the standard Dulux range. The darkest colour it can be tinted to is Malay Grey

Here is a D.I.Y. step-by-step tutorial on How to paint kitchen cabinets with the Dulux Renovator range. The tutorial includes all the necessary tools to complete this project.

If you need further assistance or have other questions, please let me know.

Mitchell

All comments

Welcome to the Workshop community @VanessaL. I'd be happy to answer your question.

Here is a D.I.Y. step-by-step tutorial on How to paint kitchen cabinets with the Dulux Renovator range. The tutorial includes all the necessary tools to complete this project.

If you need further assistance or have other questions, please let me know.

Mitchell

I have recently painted my kitchen cabinet doors using this product.

Very, very pleased with the result and so is the wife. Really looks like a new kitchen.

Our doors and end panels were at least 20 years old, and while structurally sound, they had lots of markings and colour variation/fade.

Really, by any other measure, they were at the end of the service life.

Carefully applied, with good prep and in three coats, the result will look a lot better than the display item at Bunnings!!

We did use the recommended undercoat however if you are not worried about tannin bleed through I would not use it as it is fiddly, dries quiet rough (alcohol based -it dries in seconds) and needs lots of sanding back of the undercoat. The undercoat really was 50% of the work.

Of course the boss was not happy with the first colour chosen, after one coat on a few cupboards. We (i.e. = I) were prepared for this as we only bought one litre initially, and it was a simple matter to change colours at the early stage. After this we bought a couple of paint tester pots for $10 and painted a big board and put in the kitchen to assess the colour. I recommend you do this first.

Picking almost any colour is one of the great features of the system.

Remove all hardware from the doors. We then put new handles on the doors - if yours are old this makes it look new!!

Really try and sand/fill the door/panels so that the product goes onto a smooth surface. The smallest hole or mark will show predominantly when painted. Hardly news = preparation is the key.

We used the gloss- again very pleased with sheen level and appearance. Easy to clean and possibly a bit more tough?

I painted both sides at the same time putting the doors on a board with four nails (obviously painting the back first). Be super careful you don't trip onto this, and keep kids away !!! Really cannot see the tiny nail marks on the back. Also keeping the doors horizontal stops any paint runs.

One thing we noted with wooden doors they naturally have very small gaps where the panels insert. When painting these tiny gaps become very noticeable on the front and back of the cupboard - recommend spend five minutes per door filling and sanding these smooth.

Also despite the claim of "rapid dry" fillers, fill everything (especially larger "holes") at least the night before - otherwise your sanding will mark the gap filled areas. Really needed to dry.

Use the recommended micro fibre roller - cheap in packs of ten. We used a new roller every day ($2) and disposable trays ($1) - for about $3 we did not want to risk any dags on the finish. You can use the end of these rollers like a "paintbrush " to fill in any corners or edges on the front of the door, do this first (you'll see what I mean when you use one) and then roller it out neatly. You do not need need (and I would not recommend) a paintbrush with this technique. We ended up doing three topcoats which I would highly recommend as the last coat really gives great finish, and the last coat is quick.

Apply paint thinly each coat. After carefully laying off and happy that you have a good, but fairly thin coat - NEVER EVER go back. Pick up any errors with the next coat. Lightly sand between coats. I lightly "wet" (more like damp) sanded with 400 paper.

The 2 Litre tin will do a lot of doors, a big kitchen, and goes a lot further than you expect!!!

End panels paint easily in situ, no need to move, again three thin coats better in my view than two thicker coats.

It dries to touch dry in an hour - but slowly hardens over two weeks or so. Be very careful reassembling the doors- yes I scratched one with my screwdriver.

However that is the beauty of this system - a light sand, repaint one coat and it is invisible again...

There is a light paint odour for a week- absolutely nothing too bad (my wife is very sensitive to paint smells and she had no worries).

We have a big kitchen and did it in three stages, finishing each and then moving to the next stage. You will get a great result but there are no shortcuts, don't do too much or you will tire and "rush." Took longer but was more manageable.

Again, if your cupboards/doors are in good nick, literally you will have a new kitchen. For about $200-250 of paint/sandpaper/brushes/trays (plus handles- if you need them).

Hope that helps.

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @stevem. It's fabulous to have you join us and many thanks for your valuable feedback.

Given this is a relatively new product I trust your experience will be very helpful for those members considering a refresh such as this. Your cupboards look amazing and you've potentially saved yourself thousands of dollars at the same time.

The information you have provided is spot on and very helpful for anyone giving this a go for the first time.

We look forward to hearing about what other projects you have going on around your house and garden and would encourage you to let us know if you ever need a hand or would like to share them with the community.

Many thanks for your contribution.

Mitchell

Caron

@stevem

Thank you for the tag. Your kitchen looks fabulous. I see you did this in sections - how did the opened tin of paint last in between? When I read the instructions it says to use within 7 days of opening, I'll need to do mine over a period of a few weeks as I don't have the space.

Great job and fabulous information/notes.

Thank you for sharing.

@Caron

Many thanks.

Caron, that instruction regarding 7 day life (I'm pretty sure) is for the other two pack paint, after you mix the two parts together. The two pack is for benches, tiles or the first coat on vinyl wrapped doors.

Check the videos on the deluxe renovation range product webpage.

However, you don't use the two pack paint for cabinet Screen Shot 2020-09-07 at 1.18.04 pm.png wooden door/panel kitchen painting. It is straight paint- no mixing (except for the tint) required. My impression is that this lasts like any other paint.We did our kitchen over about 6 weeks with "interruptions" from work getting in the way. No problem at all with the paint. Not complaining mind - happy to have job at the moment!!

Before using, definitely stir carefully with a stirrer, despite the shop kindly mixing the paint, there was a lot of product at the bottom of the tin, that took over 5 minutes to mix. They recommend not shaking as this mixes air bubbles in.

I've shown another photo, to you an idea of the result. Trust me - the before look was pretty ordinary.

Caron

Looks fantastic!

That makes sense - my cabinets are laminate, not timber so I’m now reconsidering my whole approach.

I might do a little more research before embarking on the project - liked how you weren’t afraid to experiment, some testing might be required first.

Appreciate all the commentary - assists a lot as once I have done my cupboards will be doing the same for my mum and sisters kitchen!

Just awesome @stevem your post is just what I need right now. I've been slowly renoing, bathroom - vanity area and kitchen. New bench tops, live edge river red gum, coming up awesome. Just contemplating which paint to use for my cabinets, which I know is going to be a massive task here as the previous owners painted the kitchen cabinets and bench top without the prep, just to make things look nice to sell quick. Everything looked ok till I moved in and started using the kitchen, Ughhh the patches on the bench tops started to appear in weeks, the more use the more I noticed white patched showing through, worse still the doors were painted white and almost chocolate underneath. Not a good look.

I've been procrastinating as I know what a big job it's going to be as I will have to try and get the cabinet doors & draws back to the beginning.

Your post has come at a good time as I was toying up with the Dulux renovator products or the White knight range. I spoke to a staff member at Bunnings who had trained to use the Dulux range and she impressed me with her knowledge. *( I get frustrated with staff at Bunnings or anywhere when they don't know or seem to care about the products they sell, but this gal seemed to know her stuff). Hearing & seeing how well you have done has given me a second tick of approval and I now think I am ready to start looking at colours. I have an idea on what colour I want to go with but not 100% on shade. After reading your post I feel ready to get into the cabinet draws & doors now. Thank you for your informative post, much appreciated.

Jason

Great to see you have found @stevem's post useful @Old-gal24.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need assistance with a Bunnings product. We are more than happy to help.

Jason

Thank you once again @Jason as always, your support is so appreciated.
I started my vanity area reno prior to the cold weather and my arthritic hands/body have pulled me up big time. Now with the weather warming up I'm back into it. The vanity area only needs me to grout some tiles I had to add as the new live edge river redgum bench top I added was larger than the original tiles, and of course I couldn't purchase the same tile, not that I wanted to. I've added the extra tiles and now have to grout and have decided to repaint the lot. And after reading a few posts on here today, feeling motivated and more informed to tackle both tasks and get this area completed.
Next will be the bench tops in my kitchen and the same painting over one small area of tiles. And putting pressed metal over the bigger area behind the hot plates. I've decided to have a go with new draws for the existing cupboards as I am finding it very hard to reach items on the bottom shelves and so much wasted space not using them.
I'm finding it a bit over whelming all the jobs I need to get into after a horrid winter with arthritis and ISO with Covid. Shocking illness. But giving things ago as I either can't find tradesmen or they just don't want to turn up for small jobs here and there.
We are blessed to have so many gifted crafts men and women on this site, it really helps immensely when you need some advice, inspiration and like me motivation.

Thanks to you all for taking the time to share your talents.

Thanks again Jason 🙂
This old Gal

Ari

@Caron - I painted my laminate cupboards and they came up well (not as nice as @stevem's kitchen though !).

Here's a before and after. I wasn't brave enough to paint both sides at the same time so the job took me four half days altogether. I did this three years ago with White Knight Laminate and Tile paint. My kitchen is 25 years old, all in good condition just ugly colours. I did two coats and it's lasted well, though we don't have kids.

Definitely do a trial and learn on the back of one of the cupboard doors, but otherwise I found this an easy job if you're capable of removing and replacing door hinges and handles. I used a roller and a brush for the awkward parts. About $250 all up.

Before

Old Kitchen.jpg

After

New kitchen.jpg

Caron

Oh wow - that looks brilliant, amazing how a colour can change things. I love how fresh it looks! Great job and thanks for the tips!

newbie23

I have laminate cupboards and just finished painting them using the Dulux range.

Was time-consuming as I painted both side and separately.

Washed them about 4 times before starting to paint.

Found the White knight laminate cleaner the best for this.

Be careful with the primer as I found it a bit thin, so tended to run a bit on application.

Otherwise I was really happy with the product.

Here are some before and after.

CathyO

Thanks so much Steven for your tips. I haven’t started yet and will let you know how I go.
your information is great and easy to follow.
does this work as well on varnished doors.
cathy

https://www.porterspaints.com/paints/speciality-finishes/chalk-emulsion

Cathy,

Should be no problem.

Dulux renovator range has a FAQ. Google search " dulux renovator range faq" and it will be a pdf download (they don't seem to allow link posting here).

My cupboards were lightly stained. From Dulux FAQ and my (limited!!) experience.

1. Clean with sugar soap+++. Must be absolutely no kitchen grease or paint will not adhere.

2.Fill any holes

3. Sand lightly but remove any vanish shine or loose bits. An electric hand sander is great investment!

4. Get the surface as smooth as possible. My need repeat steps 2 and 3.

5. "When coating timber doors that are aged and may have breaks in the original coating what is likely to happen and how do I apply a fix?

Aged timber doors will have usually have been previously painted with a clear coat. Wear and tear on the clear coat will generally cause, chips, breaks and wear spots in the coating, exposing the underlying timber. Renovation Range has no tannin stain resistance and will sometimes show signs of tannin staining in the first coat.

To eliminate the tannin stains, apply a coating of the Aerosol version of PRECISION Smoke Stain and Odour Blocker. This can be applied to areas where breaks in the original clear coating are detected prior to starting to paint with Renovation Range Cabinet Doors." REF Dulux FAQ

6. The undercoat finishes fairly rough and needs to sanded smooth, prior to the topcoats. Because I had a big kitchen and didn't want spray everywhere when doing the side panels, I applied the undercoat with a roller rather than spray. Maybe the spray gives a smoother finish??

Hope that helps.

Noyade

"my cabinets are laminate, not timber so I’m now reconsidering my whole approach."

Wow!

They really do look like solid timber.

At that point I was thinking Porter's Chalk as a finish...

This was an old wooden TV cabinet that I turned it into a sorta display cabinet and painted with Porter's chalk and a polyurethane finishing coat - "no preparation required".

Not sure though how durable it would be on wooden kitchen doors?

Chalk Finish.

Jason

Great to have you join in the discussion and receive such helpful replies @CathyO. We are looking forward to seeing how you can transform your kitchen. Please don't hesitate to post if you need further assistance, and please share before and after photos if you proceed as it really helps and inspires others.

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're so pleased to have you join us.

Jason

Looks Great. Modern look. Love the colour.

@Ari Doesn't it give you such a buzz, that self satisfaction feeling of doing something your self when you look back and it's all done? Looks great. This is what I've been doing with my bathroom and kitchen. Slow but steady..

I changed the way I was going, a little as with my kitchen as it's old, but still in reasonable repair. I'd planned to paint the cabinets and replace the bench tops. Most of the kitchen cupboards are either too high of to hard to reach. So half of the cupboards are now draws for ease of use, which I've painted most of. Still have the cabinet doors to paint. They've been replaced with MDF so could paint with gloss paint, no fiddling about. Still have lots to do. Haven't got the bench tops finished but the bathroom ones came up a treat. This what I did with my bathroom vanity area first, replace large bench top and bowls and took out massive mirror, replaced with smaller round ones and repainted the tiles. I still have the cabinet area to paint but can't decide on the colour so went on with my kitchen.

Before make~over

BeforeAlmost readyPreparing the live edge slab.

Looking good :) Looking good 🙂

Ripping things outRipping out the old vanity top

Opps upside down

Kept the cabinets as they are dated but in good nick ~ will paint at a later date.upside down but you can get the gist

Bench tops and new taps and bowls installed. Have since put up new mirrors and painted the tiles. Still have cabinet doors to paint ~ still trying to pick a colour. 🙂

Now the kitchen, still very much a work in progress.

Before ~ looks great, but sadly painted with house paint and most of the paint has worn off in patchesChanged space under oven to drawsDecided to change cupboards to drawsDraws made from MDF easy to paint after sealing.Decided to replace the door fronts with new MDF also.MDF draws and (door fronts) into where I mostly had shelvesCut out the small cabinet that held the jug and toaster to give me more flowing bench space ~ When I get the new bench tops completed! Work in progress.Undercoat - sealerUmm more purple than the blue I'm looking for so back to Bunnings paint section. They are amazingNow this is more the colour I'm afterVery happy with the colourShould look good when I get the live edge timber bench tops in. And paint the rest of the cupboard doors. Just a bit over painting and prepping right now.

Great to see an update @Old-gal24!

They look stunning and I trust you are very proud of your efforts. A fantastic choice on the sinks.

I'm really excited to see all your hard work paying off.

Many thanks for sharing.

Mitchell

Thank you Mitchell, slow going over the winter with my hands riddled with arthritis, making painting sand and the like very hard on my hands.

I've been naughty with the bathroom, as I still haven't finished. Covid put my tiles stuck somewhere, and too late for me to keep going on that area, so headed into the kitchen. So I have two half done jobs right now which I don't like having as I have twice the mess. Plus I gave my little pop top caravan, an internal makeover early spring, she came up a treat. New upholstery, bed heads, curtains, repaired a few older cupboards timber under beds and a few other jobs.

But it's back onto the two larger live edge slabs. Well I'm sort of stuck there also as I just can't move the biggest one by myself and It's sitting in my undercover area. Any hints on how to find two or 3 strong fellas to help me move them into my work-shop??? 🙂 for last lot of prep and sanding prior to varnish.

Will try and remember to take pictures as I get carried away and forget. Opps here I go waffling again. 🙁

Hope your well and getting through this horrid covid without too much drama.

Take care

This old gal. 🙂

@Old-gal24,

Sometimes I find myself looking for two or three strong fellas to help me with my projects as well. You could drive past a local building site and make it known there is a cold six-pack waiting for anyone willing to drop round after work and assist with moving the slab. If that's not effective, then you could consider posting your job on a site such as Airtasker.

Mitchell

JulesMcB

Hi everyone

I loved all the before and afters - some amazing transformations. See all of these posts gives me confidence as well to start a cosmetic kitchen makeover. I'm thinking bout replacing my bench top as well but not sure where to start, I think I might have to get a contractor in to do it.

When I start my kitchen Reno - I'll definitely post some before and afters.

Jules

Jason

Thanks for the feedback @JulesMcB.

I hope you have seen this recent article - 10 kitchens transformed with paint.

Feel free to hit the Start a discussion button and share some photos of your benchtop - we'd be happy to help.

Jason

JulesMcB

Hi @Jason

I have seen them and will definitely be going back and using them and making notes. I will be sure to post before and afters. 🙂

Such a great community here - so please I stumbled upon it.

Jules

Reach out if you need any assistance or have questions @JulesMcB. We're here to help.

Mitchell

Hi folks

A long time coming. Covid has really messed with my plans. Have been on the waiting list for the sparky and plumber since this time last year. Sadly not to many are interested in smaller jobs such as mine. Then the past 2+ months I have been in lockdown again and impossible to get anything done. One kitchen benchtop is completed waiting for a sparky to remove the old hot plates and power points, the other slab is waiting on a repair, and some muscles to help move it. 3mt long x 1mt wide and only me, I just can't move it to get the other side done. I did manage to get a few strong fellas back in March and sadly one of the fellas grabbed his end through the sink hole and split the slab. So have had to repair it and do more work.. Such is life but now the weather is warming up, and we get out of lockdown very soon I should be able to get those last jobs done and get the two slabs installed. Yipee Yahoo... only taken me a year longer than planned.

Winter holds me up badly with chronic arthritis but it is what it is. I have really enjoyed looking at everyone's amazing work. Please keep sharing everyone.

Cheers

This Old gal