Glazing Kitchen Cabinets

We at Ken Rader Interiors LLC have refinished several sets of Kitchen Cabinets using General Finishes Glaze effects.

These Cabinets were first painted with General Finishes Milk Paint.  The Glaze effect can then be applied over the paint,  Once the glaze effect is dry, you can put 2 coats of clear coat to protect the finish.
This is a very economical way to update your tired and dated Kitchen Cabinets.
There are several video's on the General Finishes web site.  Check them out.
As Always
Happy Painting
Ken Rader Interiors LLC

GREAT PRODUCTS FOR REFINISHING FURNITURE AND CABINETS

Ken Rader Interiors has focused on Furniture rescue and refinishing. The Pictures above are a couple of our latest projects and the Link will show you the product that we use and are distributors of, "General Finishes". Fantastic products that are extremely easy to use. Give them a try on your next Furniture or Cabinet project. As Always Happy Painting Ken Rader Interiors LLC Serving Northwest Arkansas

5 Mistakes you could make when painting furniture

By: Ken Rader the Furniture Rescuer There's no shortage of tutorials about painting furniture online. And I've used a lot of them to paint dressers, console tables, chairs, mirrors, and more. But I have found problems/issues with a lot of the tutorials—paint chips, finishes aren't smooth, and paint peels. I have had to redo several furnishings, so I decided to compile all the mistakes I've made to help you give your furnishings a makeover that will last. Here's how to paint a piece of furniture—without making a major mistake: 1. Sand it. There are lots of tutorials out there that claim you don't need to sand. There are also lots of primers and paints promising no sanding necessary. From what I have learned, sanding is a must. Sand all surfaces with 150-grit sandpaper. (I use this orbital sander with variable speeds.) Be careful not to gouge the surface. You're just looking to rough it up a little so the primer has something to adhere to; you're not trying to strip the surface. Use 80-grit if you are sanding a furnishing with an existing varnish. 2. Remove residue. Wipe down the surface with a tack cloth to remove any residue. Do not use a paper towel. Don't speculate on whether something is a lint-free cloth. Just use the tack cloth. We prefer to use TSP to clean all residue off. It works great and is a product made to make your surface paint ready.. 3. Prime it. If you're priming laminate furniture, use Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-based primer. Otherwise, use Zinsser Bulls-Eye 1-2-3 primer. Prime using a mini foam roller. We use products from General Finishes. Their Milk Paint, and Gel Stain can be applied on any surface WITHOUT PRIMING! Use a good quality brush. 4. Paint it. Use a good quality brush. Chalk Paint Supply companies offer some of the best brushes for painting furniture. General Finishes Milk Paint usually requires 2 coats. DO NOT SAND BETWEEN COATS ! Use a NEW tack cloth. The new tack cloth is very important here. You need to remove every speck of lint and dust before applying the Polycrylic in the next step. It's clear so everything shows. I've blamed everything from the dog to the paint for the tiny pieces of fuzz I've found when applying the Polycrylic, but it's because I didn't remove everything with the tack cloth.

Patena Green with Black on the top. 5. Protect it. Finally, apply a thin coat of Polycrylic water-based protectant in your choice of sheen. General Finishes makes Polycrylic topcoat in Gloss, Semi-gloss and Flat. You want to make sure you apply thin coats. 3 coats are recommended. General Finishes also makes a wonderful wipe on polyurethane gel. It is fantastic and so easy to use. No brush marks and produces a glass like finish. Once you use it you won't use any other product. We will be posting many more blogs about furniture refinishing. Don't be afraid. As Always "Happy Painting" Ken Rader Ken Rader Interiors- The Furniture Rescuers

BEHR Paint: How To Paint Interiors (Full Version)

Here are some great tips on painting and priming. Color choices and the right products to use.

We at 'Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C.' recommend and use Behr products.

Give us a call at 479-443-3686 and let us do your next paint project.

Visit our web site at http://www.kenraderinteriors.com

Enjoy the Video

Ken Rader Interiors Presents- Tips on how to paint.

Many good tips and solid training on how to paint. Ken Rader Interiors offers in home color consultation in Northwest Arkansas

Scraping off Popcorn style ceiling texture

How to remove Popcorn style ceiling Texture. By Ken Rader Owner: Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. In the 1970's and 1980's a lot of homes were built and the ceilings were textured with popcorn style texture. Sometimes heavy and sometimes light. They even sprinkled a little glitter on some ceilings. Well here we are in the 21st century and that texture will not do. Out of date and no chance of coming back into style. IT HAS TO COME OFF! Here is a list of the tools you will need. 1. 6" putty knife (for scraping) 2. Small bucket or dust pan (to catch the scraped texture) 3. 30 gal. trash bags 4. Plastic film for covering up floor and anything else left in the room. 5. Step Ladder 6. Gloves 7. Masking tape and paper and a masking machine if you can afford it. (Cost about $50.00) 8. Safety glasses 9. Ball cap or hat to cover you head 10.Dust Mask. Everything about this job works against you because gravity is pulling everything down. To keep the mess to a minimum you will need to use the bucket or dust pan to catch the texture as you scrape it. 11. Pump up garden sprayer Begin by removing as much furniture and items from the room you are going to scrape the ceiling in. Whatever you cannot remove will have to be covered with plastic or a drop cloth. Fill up the sprayer with hot water and adjust the spray to a fan pattern, not a single stream. Wet down a section about 5' by 5' square. Wet it down two or three times since the texture will usually soak up the water. The wetter it is the easier it will scrape. Now take your bucket or dust pan and hold it under your scraper and scrape the texture off allowing it to fall into the bucket or dust pan. You will not catch all of it but whatever you catch is that much less on the floor. After a few scraping passes you will have to empty your bucket into the trash bag. Wet texture is heavy. Go at an even steady pace, no need to hurry. If the texture begins to dry out then wet it down again. Keep it wet because it will scrape easier. Once you do the first section then move on to another section. Sometimes ceilings have been painted and this makes it a little more difficult to scrape because the water will not soak into the texture because of the paint. It this is the case you will have to scrape in layers. First layer texture nibs, next layer some of the texture sheetrock mud, and finally the last of the texture from the sheetrock. Once this is done you will need to do some repairs from gouges and perhaps replace some sections of sheetrock tape. Then you will need to decide if you are going to texture the ceiling again or not before you paint it. You will almost always have to texture the ceiling again. The texture covered up a lot of mistakes in the original sheetrock job and all of them will be visible again. Most people will either texture the ceiling with orange peel or knockdown texture that matches what they have on the walls of their home. Here are some picture of a large room we just finished. Texture was removed, repairs made, Ceilings textured with a knock down and the wall textured with an orange peel. Paint was then sprayed on the ceiling and then rolled on the walls. Be patient and remember this is not a quick clean job. Most people will tire out quickly because you are working with your hands and arms above your head. So take a break every few minutes and keep the texture wet so that it will scrape easier. Have fun, call in a few favors for some extra manpower. Don't take any shortcuts and be thorough. If you leave gouges or do not make the repairs needed, a coat of paint will not make the go away. They will still be there only in a different color. If you put on a new texture it will usually not hide any problem areas that you should have fixed. We hope this information helps Happy Painting and Decorating Ken Rader Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. Professional Painters and Decorators Serving Northwest Arkansas since 1987 Licensed and Insured visit our web site at www.kenraderinteriors.com or follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/ken.rader.interiors

Ken Rader Interiors- Faux Paint Kitchen Cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinets up to Faux process. Kitchen Cabinets up to Faux process. IMG_1916 IMG_1917 IMG_1920 IMG_1923 IMG_1925 IMG_1931 IMG_1932 IMG_1933 IMG_1934 IMG_1935 IMG_1936 IMG_1937 IMG_1939How to update Kitchen Cabinets with a Faux Finish By Ken Rader- Painting Expert with Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. A lot of work but the results are worth it! WHAT IS INVOLVED? This project will call for the updating of Kitchen Cabinets. Here are the steps that will be involved to transform them. 1. Masking off all of the counter tops, walls, floors, insides of some of the cabinets, ceilings and doorways. The homeowners wanted to save the paint job on the walls and ceilings, so extensive masking was called for. They had recently put in new wood floors in the Kitchen and extra care was taken to mask off the floor and use tape that would not harm the new finish, There are 4 doorways into the kitchen and these had to be masked off to prevent spray dust to filter into the rest of the house. 2. Clean the cabinets. This is a necessary step before you start to sand on them. We removed all of the doors, hinges, and drawers. These will be cleaned, sanded and finished at our shop. There was just no room either in the home or on the property to work on these items. 24 doors, 12 drawers. 3. Sand the cabinets. This is a 3 step process, First, sand with 120 grit paper, Second, sand with 220 grit, and third, wash the cabinets down with de-glosser also known as sanding liquid. 4. Prime the cabinets. The primer that we are using is "Glidden Gripper". This primer will stick to almost any surface. And since we are using Latex/Acrylic paint, this is an ideal primer. Dries quick, provides a stain blocker and gives a wonderful smooth hard finish. 5. Paint the cabinets. Color- Swiss Coffee We are using 'Behr Ultra Premium Plus" which is a primer and paint combination. This is a fairly heavy bodied paint and holds to the surface very well. It sets up pretty quick so it does not sag or run like some paints will. I like to put a lot of product on the surface and this is the paint to do it with. I am using my Graco ProShot II to do the spraying with. Wonderful tool and not as much overspray as there is with a conventional airless sprayer. There is a learning curve with this machine but once you master it you will always choose it for inside spraying. Also, most painters refuse to use Latex/Acrylic paint on cabinets. I think this is throwback to the time when Acrylic paint was not very good. Most use Lacquer because it is so forgiving, dries fast and the impression is that it is more durable and lasting. Lacquer begins to deteriorate from the moment it is applied. It is a 'Hot' topcoat so it will burn the product (Primer,Paint) It will grey or yellow unevenly as time goes by. Whites are no longer white. And as it ages the finish gets very hard and will chip and crack very easily. The Premium Latex/Acrylic paints on the market today usually carry a lifetime warranty against changing color or becoming so brittle that it will chip off. Remember though, all paint will chip if you hit it hard enough or use abrasive materials on it. 6. Glaze the cabinets. We are using our own glaze mixture with the color ' Melted Chocolate' mixed in the glaze. Get it in the grooves an corners heavy but then just light glazing and buffing on the flat surfaces. 7. Clear Coat the Cabinets. We will be using 'General Finishes- Polycrylic. This is a water base top coat that is extremely durable and will not yellow or change the color of the paint or glaze. Dries super fast, so you can put on 3 to 4 coats within a couple of hours. Super smooth, super hard and this product flows out like a factory finish. There are some pictures that show the process up to the point of glazing the cabinets Posted at (www.kenraderinteriors.wordpress.com). Same article but with pictures. The doors and drawers are at the shop and I will post some pictures of them as we progress with them. I will also post some pictures of the glazing and top coating of the cabinets. We will start glazing the cabinets Monday September 23,2013. Then we will start on the doors and drawers in our shop. I will post our progress. There are several ways that cabinets can be updated. They can be painted, faux finished or we can freshen them up with a stain toner. The application of stain toner produces a very good look and is very cost effective. The application of the stain toner will give the cabinets a new look. The color will be darker and very rich. For instance, if your cabinets are stained oak and are looking dated and tired. You can apply a toner in a rich mahogany, cherry,pecan, well any of a hundred stain colors. Then a protective clear coat is applied and the cabinets are ready to last another 20 years. This is a new process that we have just started. We are very pleased with the results and we are sure that you would love the new life it can give your cabinets. Thank you for viewing our blog. Please check out our web site at www.KenRaderInteriors.com, follow us on FACEBOOK, or have a look at our list of blogs all about painting, decorating, wallpapering, etc. we are sure you will find an article you will like. Lots and Lots of free advice and help for the do it yourself project. As always 'Happy Painting and Decorating'. Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. Serving all of Northwest Arkansas Give us a call at 479-443-3686 or email us at ken@kenraderinteriors.com