Painting Thermofoil Kitchen Cabinets the Big Reveal!!!
If you’ve been following along for the last few days, you know I’ve been transforming these former thermofoil covered kitchen cabinets with French Linen paint. If you haven’t seen the other two posts about it you can find them here and here.
In the last post we ended with the glazing. The next thing to do was wax all of the doors inside and out and the skeletons. Then reinstall doors and hardware. Then all I had left to do was stand back and be grateful that all the hard work had paid off. Enjoy the after pictures my friends!
Do you have cabinets or furniture you’d like to have painted? If you are within 1 hour of Fairview TN, email me at farmfreshvintagefinds@gmail.com for pricing and details.
Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page.
Thanks for reading and commenting below.
Okay, I’m loving that refrigerator in addition to the cabinets! You did a great job! Hopefully it didn’t take too long. And I love Annie Sloan. I’m using it to paint my outside mailbox right now 🙂
Serena @ Thrift Diving
What a great transformation! I know your friend is pleased with your work and I’ll bet she can’t wait to show her kitchen off to all of her Christmas guests.
The cabinets turned out beautiful. One question. When you diluted the antique glaze, did you dilute with water or clear glaze?
Kristi that’s a great question. I diluted it with water. I wanted the consistency to be more watery and less thick. I hope that makes sense. 🙂
Thanks!
Beth
Love the color and that wax shine…soooo pretty! Great job Beth!
Blessings,
Cindy
I just spent two weeks doing my thermofoil cabinets , I had to strip them of the foil with a heat gun, it would out pretty well, I couldn’t do the inside, so I just sanded and painted.Just wanted to let you know that the foil does come off.
Oh yes and taking it off is much easier than painting them with it on. I have done several kitchens and baths and taken it off. Awesome to hear that you did yours. 🙂 Thanks for reading!!!
Blessings,
Beth
I am so pumped….. I, too, have the thermofoil cabinets. I attacked some drawers I. Our bathroom to see if it would hold up, and it will scratch off . So I do have a kitchen cabinet that was near the stove, and the stove was really really putting off heat, and well, melted.. So know I feel so much more excited about taking off this stuff…. Thank you !!!! Were you able to take off the backs of the doors, or did you just lightly sand???? B
Hi Sallie,
In my experience the backs of the doors are just painted and not covered in thermofoil. You should be able to just lightly sand them and then repaint them. Thanks for your comment and question.
Blessings,
Beth
Beth,
What a beautiful job. I have thermofoil cabinets and dislike them sooo much. I am hoping to do as you have done. Thank you! I am gathering my strength and your knowledge.
You’re so welcome. Good luck painting yours.
Beautiful! We are doing ours soon. Do you have to glaze and wax, or is that a personal preference? After painting do they have to be sealed?
Annette,
I used the glaze because it’s what my client wanted. I would suggest sealing them with wax for protection from splatters and normal kitchen wear.
Blessings,
Beth
Hey Beth! I am 1 hr and 5 min from Fairview.. what did you charge for this kitchen? My kitchen has less cabinets than this so I just wanted a base price to go from.
Hi Jamie-I’m going to email you with a few questions so I can give you an estimate.
Thanks,
Beth
You did a great job! Did you use the annie sloan wax or some other kind of wax?
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks! I used Annie Sloan soft wax.
Blessings,
Beth
Beautiful work! Do you seal the MDF with a specific primer like Zinnser cover stain (oil based)? Also, have you ever done this with general finishes milk paint? I want the look of chalk paint like you’ve shown but don’t want to wax or keep up with the maintenance. Any advice? I have thermofoil white cabinets that are peeling 🙂
Hi Suzy,
I now use General Finishes almost exclusively. In fact my latest blog post https://farmfreshvintagefinds.com/paintingkitchencabinets/ was done in General Finishes. I use their High Performance Top Coat in Satin.
Thanks for your comment,
Beth
How does the wax on the cabinets hold up in a hot kitchen? And, how do you clean (scrub) the cabinets when needed?
Hey Carolyn,
After the wax has cured it is as hard as polyurethane. You should always clean painted pieces gently and wipe down spills right away so they don’t have a chance to harden or dry.
Thanks,
Beth
Do you have to prime the mdf before painting?
Hi Barrie,
It really just depends. I usually don’t have to.
Thanks,
Beth
When we took off the Thermofoil, there was a gluey substance left on the door. How do I get this off? Sand? Do you normally sand that MDF before painting?
Hi Phyllis,
Did you use a heat gun to remove the thermofoil? This usually helps loosen the glue so it sticks to the thermofoil and not the MDF. If you have to sand use a minimal grit paper like 220 or so and only sand lightly.
Hope this helps!
Beth
I have thermofoil cabinets and I took it off as you advised with a hair dryer. Now they are green! Is that the glue? Also I am hearing all kinds of warnings about MDF being a carcinogen especially when sanded. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks,
Terry
Hi Terry,
I’m not sure what the green is. Typically when I remove I use a heat gun and the glue comes off with the thermofoil. I wouldn’t sand it I would prime instead. I have no idea on the carcinogens but I always advise wearing a mask and working outside if possible whenever you are working with unknown materials. Thank you for reading and good luck with your project!