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We did use the recommended undercoat however if you are not worried about tannin bleed through I would not use it as it is fiddly and dries quite rough (alcohol based - it dries in seconds) and needs lots of sanding back of the undercoat. The undercoat really was 50% of the work.
Picking almost any colour is one of the great features of the system.
Remove all hardware from the doors. We then put new handles on the doors - if yours are old this makes it look new! Really try to sand/fill the door/panels so that the product goes onto a smooth surface. The smallest hole or mark will show predominantly when painted.
We used the gloss - very pleased with sheen level and appearance. Easy to clean and possibly a bit more tough? I painted both sides at the same time, putting the doors on a board with four nails (obviously painting the back first). Also keeping the doors horizontal stops any paint runs.
One thing we noted with wooden doors is that they naturally have very small gaps where the panels insert. When painting these tiny gaps become very noticeable on the front and back of the cupboard. I recommend spending five minutes per door filling and sanding these smooth.
Also despite the claim of "rapid dry" fillers, fill everything (especially larger "holes") at least the night before - otherwise your sanding will mark the gap filled areas.
Use the recommended microfibre roller - cheap in packs of ten. We used a new roller every day ($2) and disposable trays ($1) - for about $3 we did not want to risk any dags on the finish. You can use the end of these rollers like a "paintbrush" to fill in any corners or edges on the front of the door. Do this first (you'll see what I mean when you use one) and then roller it out neatly. You do not need (and I would not recommend) a paintbrush with this technique. We ended up doing three topcoats which I would highly recommend as the last coat really gives great finish, and the last coat is quick.
Apply paint thinly on each coat. After carefully laying off and happy that you have a good, but fairly thin coat - never ever go back. Pick up any errors with the next coat. Lightly sand between coats. I lightly "wet" (more like damp) sanded with 400 paper.
The 2 Litre tin will do a lot of doors, a big kitchen, and goes a lot further than you expect!!!
End panels paint easily in situ, no need to move, again three thin coats better in my view than two thicker coats.
It dries to touch dry in an hour but slowly hardens over two weeks or so. Be very careful reassembling the doors - I scratched one with my screwdriver. However that is the beauty of this system - a light sand, repaint one coat and it is invisible again.
There is a light paint odour for a week- absolutely nothing too bad (my wife is very sensitive to paint smells and she had no worries).
We have a big kitchen and did it in three stages, finishing each and then moving to the next stage. You will get a great result but there are no shortcuts, don't do too much or you will tire and "rush." Took longer but was more manageable.
Again, if your cupboards/doors are in good nick, literally you will have a new kitchen. For about $200-250 of paint/sandpaper/brushes/trays (plus handles if you need them).
My impression is that this lasts like any other paint. We did our kitchen over about 6 weeks with "interruptions" from work getting in the way. No problem at all with the paint.
Before using, definitely stir carefully with a stirrer, despite the shop kindly mixing the paint, there was a lot of product at the bottom of the tin, that took over 5 minutes to mix. They recommend not shaking as this mixes air bubbles in. - stevem
I painted my laminate cupboards and they came up well. Here's a before and after. I wasn't brave enough to paint both sides at the same time so the job took me four half days altogether. I did this three years ago with White Knight Laminate and Tile paint. My kitchen is 25 years old, all in good condition, just ugly colours. I did two coats and it has lasted well, though we don't have kids.
Definitely do a trial and learn on the back of one of the cupboard doors, but otherwise I found this an easy job if you're capable of removing and replacing door hinges and handles. I used a roller and a brush for the awkward parts. About $250 all up.
I guess it's not 100% essential to remove the cupboard doors, but if you have a garage, verandah or somewhere you can lay your doors flat while you paint them it's easier and you can use your kitchen over the days you're painting. Less likely to have drips too.
Removing and rehanging most kitchen cupboard doors is not too difficult, I admit I had a little experience as I built a flat pack Kaboodle kitchen 5 years ago and had instructions to follow to learn how to put the doors on. Worth doing one and seeing how you go.
I'd definitely recommend this as a cheap impact project if you have time. I've now used both White Knight and Dulux Renovation Range and didn't see much difference to be honest. - Ari
I have laminate cupboards and just finished painting them using the Dulux range. It was time-consuming as I painted both sides separately. I washed them about 4 times before starting to paint. Found the White knight laminate cleaner the best for this. Be careful with the primer as I found it a bit thin, so tended to run a bit on application. Otherwise I was really happy with the product. - newbie23
There are no issues with using the Dulux Renovator range on new cupboards as long as you follow the preparation and application instructions on the tin.
My preference would be not painting the new cupboards if possible. In the future, if you replace the old cupboards you may then need to paint those also to match. When you eventually move into the property it would be preferable to have non-painted cabinetry instead of having to paint everything to match.
Here's a helpful step-by-step D.I.Y. tutorial on How to paint laminate kitchen cabinets which I trust you'll find useful.
Removing the doors can be a good approach that will make painting easier and likely speed up the process as well. You'll find plenty of tips from our members that have successfully painted their own kitchen cupboard doors. Search painting laminate on Workshop, and you'll see all the wonderful projects our members have contributed.
Preparation is key to a great finish. Make sure you clean your cabinets down well before the first coat. Once the paint is laid down, you can smooth it out once, but do not go back over an area that has already begun to dry. The paint is self-levelling, and the more you touch it, the less smooth it will become. - MitchellMc
The only disappointment from the Dulux renovation range is the tile paint. It was not durable at all, despite following all the directions and 3 coats later, the paint didn't hold up, and because the kitchen is a high traffic area the paint job didn't last. We ended up purchasing stick-on tiles for the floor. - stelz
I have looked into it as a customer has vinyl wrap doors with one damaged. It was a minimum 3 coat process to fix his problem, with a smallish area of damage I am better off using coloured melamine repair.
For a splashback it should should be fine if done properly. Doors should be fine but if you have a pet you may have to patch scratches. Benchtop I would avoid doing, it needs to be careful not to damage it. Floors I have heard are prone to peel even with light traffic. - Brad
I am currently using the renovator range to paint timber stained and varnished kitchen cupboards. The results are good but the underlying colour bleeds so badly that I needed two coats of primer/undercoat to stop the bleeding. As the renovator range is touted as requiring no priming "generally" it was a waste of money buying it. I should have bought the standard water based Dulux enamel which does require priming but is about $20 cheaper for a 2 litre tin.
You will see from the photos that there is a radical difference in colour change and a pro painter probably would have said it was always going to bleed. would stick with the renovator range going onto laminate because it is designed for that. If you opt for the standard enamel you will need to prime and the primer will need to be designed to adhere to laminate. If it doesn't the whole thing will peel and chip off. I used gloss which doesn't come up real glossy even though I used the 4mm nap roller as advised. Also if you prime there are at least 3 coats going on which is tiresome. - MGusto
The @MakeItYours team used the Dulux Renovation range in their recent kitchen makeover. Let me add a couple of videos below that might be of interest. - Jason
