Our cabinet paint & process
Paint development | Our paint | Our sealers | Our wax | Process development | Our process
Project #70—Painted maple kitchen cabinets Worthington, Ohio
Formulated years ago specifically for hardworking kitchen cabinets, we designed our thick and creamy Classic Cupboards Paint™ to fill in oak grain and adhere to every cabinet surface. Classic Cupboards Paint™ is still mixed by hand and applied layer after layer to provide a tough and beautiful, long lasting finish.
Our Classic Cupboards™ painted kitchen cabinets have stood the test of time and are solidly backed by our unmatched 10-Year Warranty. We paint kitchen cabinets a long and happy life.
Creating our paint formula
Creating our paint
Testing our paint
Mixing each batch
Before adding kitchen cabinet painting as an additional service to our established interior design and decorating business, we began the search for a durable cabinet paint that would adhere to every type of cabinet surface, including plastic laminate. We figured if the paint stuck to plastic laminate, it definitely wouldn’t chip off. No chipping means no problems and happy customers. Since most of the kitchens in Columbus, Ohio have oak cabinets, we also needed the paint to smoothly fill oak grain.
Hundreds of paint formulas
Developing our painting process
Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), we couldn’t find a single cabinet refinishing or resurfacing paint product, or even a group of cabinet paint products, that could permanently adhere to every cabinet surface and completely fill oak grain.
Relying on our backgrounds in product and furniture design, finishes development, and manufacturing, we ended up formulating our own water-based, low VOC cabinet paint—certainly not something we set out to do from the start!
Our cabinet paint is different
• Fills oak grain
• Smooth finish
• Seriously sticks
• Does not chip
• 10-year warranty
Fast forward to our Classic Cupboards Paint™ today and we have a proven painted cabinet finish, backed by our 10-Year Warranty, that adheres without pre-sanding or priming to every type of kitchen cabinet surface, including plastic laminate, thermofoil, melamine, vinyl, mdf, particle board, veneer, and wood cabinets. In fact, we used plastic laminate countertops and plexiglass as our test surfaces during our paint development!
Classic Cupboards Paint™
10-Year Warranty
Developing our own sealers
Once we created our Classic Cupboards™ Paint formula, we also needed to find a product to completely seal embedded grease stains and wood tannins in old kitchen cabinets so these unsightly discolorations would never work through to the surface of our beautiful, painted cabinet finish. Once again not finding a water-based, low VOC sealer that actually worked, we had to develop our own.
So in addition to our thick Classic Cupboards Paint™, we also created our own innovative Stain-Stopper™ and Tannin-Blocker™ sealers, designed to sandwich within our layers of paint to completely seal embedded grease, wood tannins, and the original cabinet finish from bleeding through to the surface of our painted cabinets.
Project #34—Painted oak kitchen cabinets Powell, Ohio
Formulating our cabinet wax
Older kitchen cabinets are typically in good condition but the clear varnish or polyurethane top coat has become scratched and chipped, worn away in the high-use areas, turned yellow over time, or deteriorated from grease and oils, causing a sticky mess that can no longer be cleaned.
Original oak cabinet varnish top coat, chipped and worn away.
Unlike other top coats, wax actually protects against scratches, never chips, and doesn’t turn yellow. Wax is an excellent water repellant and all finishes last much longer if they are waxed.
1970’s cabinet manufacturer recommended care: WAX
Wax is actually an historical sealant for wood and furniture and is a lost art. Today’s manufactured top coats with all of their chemical cocktails still can’t compete with the protective functionality and easy maintenance of a hand-rubbed natural wax finish.
The choice was clear—wax was the perfect top coat for our refinished cabinets!
Color: Parchment
Wax: Antique
Color: Vintage Blue
Wax: Black
Color: Fog
Wax: Cool Grey
Not finding a furniture wax that met our needs, we spent years developing and perfecting our own Classic Cupboards™ Cabinet Wax, specifically formulated for kitchens, sealing and protecting our Classic Cupboards Paint™.
Our soft and creamy cabinet wax, which is hand-applied in multiple layers and buffed to a matte sheen, is offered in neutral and tinted wax colors, giving our paint colors depth and luster.
Our paint & wax colors
Applying our cabinet wax
Check out our Care & Maintenance to see just how easy it is to care for your Classic Cupboards™ painted cabinets.
At the request of our busy clients, we now offer our Forever Finish™ Service, making it even easier to extend the life of your painted cabinets.
Care & Maintenance Kit
Forever Finish™ Service
Creating our process
Realizing that our extremely thick, paste-like Classic Cupboards Paint™ could not be applied through a sprayer, we also had to develop our own application tools and unique cabinet painting process.
We basically threw out every instruction book on “how to paint kitchen cabinets” and made our very own highly specialized cabinet refinishing process.
The steps of our process, the design of our application tools, and the layering of our products continued to change and evolve for more than a decade, finally settling on the 15-layer, 20-step kitchen cabinet resurfacing process that we use today.
The 15 layers of our thick paint, innovative sealers, and protective cabinet wax combined with our unique 20-step process fills oak grain and creates a consistently smooth surface. Our cabinet paint and unique process can even make plywood feel as smooth as glass!
Classic Cupboards Paint™ 15-layer grain-filling cabinet refinishing
Our 15-layer, 20-step process
Check out the basic steps of our 15-layer, 20-step Classic Cupboards Paint™ Process.
We want you to feel 100% confident with your cabinet color and finish choice. Before we start the cabinet painting portion of your kitchen project, we’ll paint one of your actual kitchen cabinet doors in your selected color and finish for your approval.
For a full explanation of our process through photos and samples, be sure to contact us to schedule your free In-home Design Consultation.
No pre-sanding or priming needed, just a good old-fashioned cleaning! We use our awesome all natural seaweed-based degreaser—literally zero odor. We include a spray bottle of our favorite degreaser, which is FDA approved for safe use around food, in your Classic Cupboards™ Care & Maintenance Kit at the completion of your kitchen cabinet painting project. Once clean, the doors and drawers are ready to be painted in our paint studio.
We do extensive prep in your home prior to painting your base cabinets. In addition to meticulously masking around all of the kitchen cabinets, the entire floor area is covered in heavyweight paper, and your countertops are protectively wrapped in thick plastic. We even create custom-fit, thick plastic slip covers for each of your appliances, which we can remove for you at the end of each day.
No primer needed—our thick, paste-like Classic Cupboards Paint™ sticks from that very first coat! Next, we apply 2 coats of our Stain-Stopper™ to seal out any embedded grease, then a coat of our Tannin-Blocker™ to block any wood tannins from bleeding through. We continue to apply 8–10 coats of our creamy paint in thin layers creating a thick, sandable coating.
Our unique Classic Cupboards Paint™ dries very quickly but is formulated to stay soft and sandable for a period of time before it fully cures and hardens. Using our paint/sand technique along with 6 different grits of our specialized sandpaper, electric sanders, and hand sanding tools, the thick coating is sanded smooth, completely obliterating all wood grain.
Once our paint is sanded as smooth as glass, we seal it with 3–4 coats of our Classic Cupboards™ Cabinet Wax, which we specifically formulated for kitchens. Each layer of wax, which can be clear or tinted, is applied by hand and buffed to a beautiful, protective, matte sheen.
The big day is finally here! We are just as excited as you are on install day. Once we are all done painting and waxing your kitchen base cabinets in your home, it’s time to finish the project by re-installing all of your beautiful doors and drawers in their fresh new color and finish.
Project #45—Painted maple cabinets Dublin, Ohio
Our care and expertise extend well beyond the final installation. Your Classic Cupboards™ painted cabinets are backed by our 10-Year Warranty and your personalized Cabinet Care & Maintenance Kit provides everything you need to maintain your finish.
Your painted cabinet finish can last indefinitely with proper cleaning and wax maintenance and our Forever Finish™ Service makes it so easy to further extend the life of your finish.
Ready to get started?
Project #53—Painted maple cabinets Westerville, Ohio
Whether your kitchen cabinets are new or old, laminate or wood, oak or maple, our paint sticks, our process works, and our finishes last—you have our guarantee.
Find out why our customers choose us, be sure to contact us today!
Cabinet painting service area
You can find us painting kitchen cabinets all over Columbus, Ohio: Bexley, German Village, Grandview, Upper Arlington, Clintonville, Hilliard, Plain City, Dublin, Powell, Lewis Center, Worthington, Westerville, New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Pataskala, Buckeye Lake, Granville, Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, Canal Winchester, Groveport, Ashville, Lancaster, Circleville, Chillicothe, Washington Courthouse, London, Grove City, and Galloway.