Re-love your kitchen with a little help from Autentico Superior Eggshell & me
To paint your kitchen or have it painted for you. Hands up if you think:
- it is too difficult to paint it myself,
- it is too expensive to hire someone to paint it,
- it takes too long to paint,
- it will scratch too easily,
- I can’t find the right colour,
- each door will take too many coats of paint,
- there is too much preparation.
Few years ago I painted my own kitchen and yes there was too much preparation, each door took too many coats of paint (plus a coat of primer!), it took too long to paint and then too long to cure and I had to leave the doors and drawers open for about 1 week to avoid ”blocking”. I used an eggshell finish acrylic (water based) paint in a high end and well known brand. So I can honestly compare other brands of eggshell against Autentico Superior Eggshell.
My preference has always been eggshell over satin wood. I don’t like the application of any of the satin woods I have tried and have yet to use a satin wood which gives me the finish I want. I am a wee bit fussy!!! So for high wear areas my choice is always superior quality eggshell and now Autentico have launched (quietly – as they do!) their Superior Eggshell and I have to tell you if you haven’t tried it you really are in for a treat. This is the same paint I wrote about in my previous blog ”Pine Be Gone”. It is the paint of choice for high wear areas, kitchens, tables & chairs, floors, internal doors, skirtings, architraves, tiles and of course because it has UV filters plus a moisture barrier it is perfect for outdoor use on almost all surfaces including PVC & wrought iron. It is water based (no sticky, tacky, smelly paint here), it is chalk based hence you don’t need to prime and the coverage is so much better compared to acrylic paint, it has very low VOC’s (volatile organic compounds – nasty chemicals) and it is highly pigmented which means that your chosen color will stay true.
The Autentico Superior Eggshell has a 15% sheen so your finish will have a soft lustre and most importantly is wipeable if you have lots of small sticky fingers around the house. It is self priming with Autenticos’ stain blocking properties and self sealing – no wax or varnish required. It is cured once dry so no waiting 2-3 weeks before you can really use your kitchen. It is available in 148 divine colors and Autentico are constantly developing new colors to add to the ever expanding palette. Yes, it is ”magic” paint.
I said there were only 4 steps to achieve the perfect flawless painted kitchen, so here they are:
- Choose your perfect color – there are 148 true tone colors to choose from. At Re-loved I offer a free ”Color Chat” at the shop, so bring along your cushion, wall tile, curtain fabric swatch and we can find the perfect color for you. If you want to be extra sure you can purchase a tester pot and try it at home (there is enough paint in the tester to paint a small chair – so it won’t go to waste)
- Prepare your kitchen surfaces : cupboard doors, trims, kick boards etc. Here are some handy tips for preparing different surfaces:
- If there is loose varnish or chipping paint then lightly sand these areas. Wash with sugar soap solution, rinse & let dry.
- If you had a kitchen painted previously in an oil based paint then I always recommend to sand the heavy gloss back a little (not necessarily to the bare wood). Wash with sugar soap solution , rinse & let dry.
- Laminate kitchen cupboard doors can also be painted in Autentico Superior Eggshell without the need for priming. Wash with sugar soap solution, rinse & let dry.
- For knotty pine kitchen cupboard doors (varnished) I recommend to seal the knots only with Autenticos’ stain blocking primer (available in 3.4oz or 34oz) after washing with sugar soap solution.
- For a waxed pine kitchen wash with wire wool and sugar soap to remove the wax residue, rinse & let dry and again just prime the knots with Autenticos’ stain blocking primer.
- Remember Autentico Superior Eggshell is self priming & self sealing!
- Get ready to paint. I use a 1” Autentico dedicated fibre brush for trims and drawers and the 2” brush for doors and side panels. Using a good quality brush will make such a difference to your paint finish. Generally 2 coats of Autentico Superior Eggshell should cover most surfaces, it really all depends on the original color of your cupboard doors and the paint color you choose. It is touch dry in 1 hour and re-coatable in approx 4 hours. As it is a self sealing paint there is no need to wax or varnish (I do not recommend waxing kitchen cupboard doors as it is not a water repellent surface and grease/oil can penetrate the wax finish). The paint surface is cured once dry (unlike acrylic paints). And with Autentico Superior Eggshell there is no ”blocking”. A 34oz tin of Autentico Superior Eggshell retails at $45, read my customers testimonial to understand just how far 34oz goes and see the beautiful photographs of her newly finished kitchen.
- The most important step: sit down with a nice cup of tea/coffee/champagne! And admire your beautiful paint finish.