One of my LEAST favorite things about refinishing something is SANDING the blasted thing until your elbow is going to fall off.
When we moved into our house our bathrooms were atrocious (note: they're still atrocious) but I decided I wanted to AT LEAST paint the cabinet vanities until something else could be done to them (i.e. demolished and removed). When you're doing a SLOW remodel that you pay for as you go, you have to pick and choose what you can and can't live with. I decided I could live with the vanities for a while but ONLY if they got a little makeover.
Oh the humanity! And yes, that is actually carpet in the bathroom, yikes! The wood on the vanity is actually a laminate composite (aka not high quality wood). I knew sanding this down to the bone wouldn't really benefit me at all but I was also worried about paint "sticking", especially in the bathroom where the humidity is higher.
Enter BONDING PRIMER. This stuff is like liquid gold. It has some grit in the texture (not so much that you'd really notice) but the texture creates something for the paint to bond to - hence the name!
When I painted my vanity, I removed the doors and left the hinges on but was just careful (kind of) when painting around them. Then I got a sanding block and quickly scuffed the surface of the cabinets. I don't know that this is totally necessary but I guess it made me feel a little better about my efforts. I'm talking, like 30 seconds on each side of the door.
Once they were all "sanded" I applied the primer. I was careful to make sure the primer went on smoothly. Because there is some grit in the primer, I knew it could make the brush strokes more noticeable. When the primer was dry I painted the cabinets with a lovely color of gray I had chosen.
Granted, it's not what I would choose to put in my bathroom. I certainly wouldn't call this a remodel. However, it's an update I can live with until I am able to make my bathroom everything I've ever dreamed of.
One of these days I'll have to write a blog post about the horrible-ness that is my bathroom. It's seriously AWFUL.
When we moved into our house our bathrooms were atrocious (note: they're still atrocious) but I decided I wanted to AT LEAST paint the cabinet vanities until something else could be done to them (i.e. demolished and removed). When you're doing a SLOW remodel that you pay for as you go, you have to pick and choose what you can and can't live with. I decided I could live with the vanities for a while but ONLY if they got a little makeover.
Oh the humanity! And yes, that is actually carpet in the bathroom, yikes! The wood on the vanity is actually a laminate composite (aka not high quality wood). I knew sanding this down to the bone wouldn't really benefit me at all but I was also worried about paint "sticking", especially in the bathroom where the humidity is higher.
Enter BONDING PRIMER. This stuff is like liquid gold. It has some grit in the texture (not so much that you'd really notice) but the texture creates something for the paint to bond to - hence the name!
When I painted my vanity, I removed the doors and left the hinges on but was just careful (kind of) when painting around them. Then I got a sanding block and quickly scuffed the surface of the cabinets. I don't know that this is totally necessary but I guess it made me feel a little better about my efforts. I'm talking, like 30 seconds on each side of the door.
Once they were all "sanded" I applied the primer. I was careful to make sure the primer went on smoothly. Because there is some grit in the primer, I knew it could make the brush strokes more noticeable. When the primer was dry I painted the cabinets with a lovely color of gray I had chosen.
Granted, it's not what I would choose to put in my bathroom. I certainly wouldn't call this a remodel. However, it's an update I can live with until I am able to make my bathroom everything I've ever dreamed of.
One of these days I'll have to write a blog post about the horrible-ness that is my bathroom. It's seriously AWFUL.