This looks OK from a distance through a groggy camera lense, but it is a horror show that some poor homeowner actually paid good money for.

When glass is poorly bedded in silicone, when the wooden glazing beads are scagged and furry, when nail heads are loud and proud, when paint is all over the glass, when glass is grazed and scratched… so it goes on.

Here is one way to efficiently rectify the faults in mass produced glazed doors that have been glossed by site painters in a hurry – or bodged up by DIY painters with a pathological dislike for one of the trickiest items to paint well.

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Prepare a painted glazed door for re-painting

Scrape off excess paint from glass 5 minutes and up

With such a lot to do, I use a 4″ wallpaper scraper with an Olfa black utility blade. It seems easy to remove excess paint, but cleaning up is a different matter as static on glass is a royal pain. I find vacuuming off the specks is the best solution (probably creates its own static too, but if there is a better way I’m all ears) Then wipe with a Mirka microfibre cloth to make the glass nice and clean. Newspaper and a bit of spit is just as good, but so 70′s!

If you are doing both sides, in terms of manhours, I think one person either side of a door would do it far quicker than one person on their own.

Mask up the glass – 20 minutes a side.

There is a knack. Can you see the 1mm gap between tape and beading. That’s important.

One row at a time, all left sides first, swap hands, all right sides. Drop down the rows.
Working from bottom up use a 2″ scraper to push ends of tape down tight against beads.

Run off all the horizontal pieces, then stick ‘em in place.

Trim every pane with 2″ scraper and trusty Olfa sharks fin Use the scraper blade to maintain that tiny gap between glass and bead.

Working from the bottom up, pull off excess tape and run scraper over tape as you go, to make sure it is nice and tightly stuck.

The masking over – assuming you are handpainting. For spraying, get the rest of that glass covered!

The Trimaco Kleenedge is low tack (2 on scale of 1 to 5) Used it on exterior glass too for several weeks! 2″ is easiest to handle. 1″ works though, but just need to be a bit more careful as you go through the next stages

Punch exposed nail heads back below the surface – 5 minutes and up.

Heart in mouth with every hit, as you don’t want to be cracking any glass.

Sand the beads really hard with 80 grade Abranet on a Festools mini sander block – 40 minutes.

With the masking tape in place, you can go at the sanding, safe that the glass will be scratch free! This combination is hands down the most thorough and efficient way I have found to sand back the worst imaginable snot-laden paintwork on beads.

One piece of abranet readjusted every now and then will complete at least 2 doors with ease.

Allow 40 minutes for one of the worst examples I have ever seen of a door that was clearly abused in the factory and received further unspeakable treatment onsite! Best to allow for the worst, especially as painting time will be very little.

Vacuum up dust. 2 minutes

It is possible to adapt the Festools to accept a vacuum hose, but it wouldn’t help with this task as you tend to use the extended end for sanding along the grooves on the horizontal beads. So quickly vacuum up any dust (there will be plenty on the beads and at the foot of the door.)

Sand stiles and rails with 80 grade abranet on a Mirka CEROS sander attached to a vacuum. 3-5 minutes

Enough said about Mirka’s random orbital sander, every painter’s essential tool.

Total time to mask up, sand and restore a glass panel door somewhat to its original factory primed state – before the sloppy finishing trades got a hold of it:

From 10 to 45 minutes max for sanding as thoroughly as is possible.
25 minutes for masking and vacuuming

The next stage involves filling and caulking. I think that caulking is the part of the operation that makes the biggest impact on the overall look of the finished paintwork.

Stage 2

See what to do in the next part. Available to email and RSS subscribers only. It is a free service, with periodic exclusive extra goodies.

How to restore glass panel doors

For masking along the edge of carpets against the baseboard / skirting, the green Trimaco tape seems equal in stick and usefulness to the Scotchblue 2090 tape.

It is by all accounts the same tape as used on Trimaco’s excellent tape ‘n drape rolls, just in green instead of blue.

This is how I used the green Triamco masking tape to protect carpets prior to a full re-decorating project.

Lay the masking tape along the edge of the skirting boards first. Then lay out the plastic sheeting,, then tape the strips of paper to the tape along the skirting line.

Why?

The 1200 grade lining paper is a robust and easy-to-sweep or easy-to-vacuum surface along the base of skirtings.

As long as the paper is about 9 or 10″ wide only, it is quite difficult to stand on it, unless you are trying that circus act leaning against the wall with one leg off the ground. Therefore, as long as the paper is not stuck to the main flooring covering, in this case to the plastic sheeting, you can walk around the work area without the weight of your footsteps pulling the tape away from the skirtings.

The Easy mask QM9000 Pro is a beast that makes a doddle of masking up with plastic or prepared paper rolls.

I use lining paper because it is cheaper than paper rolls. But I suspect if you account for trimming time, maybe lining paper is overall more expensive. Not sure – yet.

Masking tape information

One of the specialist painters listed on this site has written up quite an indepth study of masking tape. See Colin’s Masking tape test

Essex Decorators, GS Decoration use a lot of masking tape and protective coverings in their daily decorating work.

The 3M tape dispenser model T20 is indispensable kit if you do any sort of masking work, or even for packaging.

If your decorators aren’t masking up, or use high tack crappy crepe tape on everything, tell them to get with the program. Or call in a professional who cares about keeping your home tidy.

Trimaco green masking tape

The basic challenge for professional kitchen painters is to achieve a flawless hand-painted finish.

You can do this by paying a lot of attention to cleanliness, employing a careful and logical painting technique and drawing on a mindset that pulls you through hours and hours of concentrated effort. It isn’t easy and is a big step up from “normal” painting, especially if updating a tired wood or laminate kitchen

A bit like a wrestling match, if you relax, skip a step and think, “That’ll do” you have failed. The paintwork in your kitchen will look like most “satisfactory” paintwork found on millions of lounge doors and frames around the country! Not much to brag about.

Masking
You need to make sure you get the paint in the right place. There is no point having shiny doors if there is paint on a brand new floor. There is no point having a pretty door front, if, when you open them up, you see paint splattered all over the interior of the cupboards.

So I would recommend using 1200 grade lining paper as dust sheets, held in place with plenty of masking tape-

Blue 3M 2090 is good for sticking direct on worktops and flooring, and standard “white” masking tape is sufficient and cost effective to tape the lining paper together. I would not let standard tape come in direct contact with the floor or worktops as it tends to break down when walked on, and leaves a gummy mess behind. Trimaco green masking tape is worth considering as a substitute for 2090 on carpets, for sure.

Taping inside units is important too, else you can get ugly finishing lines.

Purists will say you should be able to paint straight lines free hand. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should! If there are 15 cabinets, that is 60 lines to paint – 3 or 4 times each. Are you going to pay an extra £500 just to say the frames were all done freehand, or would you rather have a dead straight masked line included “free” in the price?

Cleanliness
Think vacuum sanding, vacuum cleaning, tack rags, closed windows and doors into the kitchen…

I believe this aspect of the work process cannot be taught! Either you are a neat freak and tuned into the requirements for a dust-free work space, or you aren’t.

When painting, you really need to be firm and not allow folks, their friends, and tradesmen to walk into the kitchen to have a look round. One false draught and it can waste all the efforts you put in to get a dust-free environment.

Painting technique
A careful painting technique is a must. There is no secret really. I use a 4″ foam roller to apply the paint, a synthetic American brush to lay it off and 20 plus years trying to get it right

In the rarified boat painting world, this painting technique is called Rolling and Tipping.

Painting doors is not hard, but there are usually a lot of them so you have to concentrate on a few variables. Edges cannot ridge up, runs are an absolute no-no…and you need to paint both sides. Doors can be painted while hanging, although I tend to remove them if the kitchen is being upgraded and requires lots of preparation work.

And after hours and days of careful work, there is nothing better than to stand back and admire the view: in this case, Little Greene oil eggshell in Blackened and Pitch Blue – a traditional, deep, slightly satin lustre…

It is great to hear a customer rave about the finish, and show the quality of the work to their friends. And when another tradesman says it is a work of art, you know it is worth doing this sort of job right!

I cover Cheshire, and if you are elsewhere in UK, these paint specialists are rather good.

Worried about colours? See Lilou Interiors online service.

If you feel inspired, here is all my current info on how to paint your own kitchen

Alternatively, if you would like a helping hand with setting up a kitchen for painting or snagging, I offer half and full-day on-site tuition. If you are about an hour from Chester, there is no travel charge.

Professional tips on how to hand-paint kitchens

At some stage, we have all been inspired by (or envious of) glossy scenes of designer kitchens. (Here is a drooling set of pictures of hand-painted kitchen ideas) Picture a kitchen full of smiley homeowners mixing mulled wine and throwing a log in the Aga. You think, “I’d like some of that”, but then as you work through the reality of getting to that idyllic point, you are best beware the dream!

Kitchen refurbishments beyond a lick of paint can be real rocky roads for everyone involved, unless there is a great project manager at the helm.

Why are kitchens so demanding?

When you look up close, a kitchen probably contains as much joinery, electrical and plumbing work as the rest of an average house put together.

more »

Mistakes to avoid

The biggest snafus I have observed are on refurbishments organised by clients who call in favours from friends, and/or use “their plumber, their electrician, their…”

more »

Assumptions can be fatal
If an inexperienced homeowner is coordinating individual subcontractors, and those individuals assess their work based on the incorrect assumption that all aspects of the refurbishment have been accounted for…

more »

New kitchen

If your current kitchen no longer works for you in terms of layout, or it is falling apart, there are plenty of kitchen companies ready and willing to take your money.

more »

New doors – on a budget

Measure up your doors, go online and you will find a multitude of companies who can deliver your exact sizes, direct to your property, in the finish or paint colour of your choice. They can also supply cornices, plinths to match.

more »

New doors – custom made, custom painted

Another option is to employ a high end joinery company to custom make doors for you. It is the same process as above but more tailored to your requirements. A company like Michael Harvey Design undertake this sort of work.

more »

Hand-painted kitchens in situ

I am getting great feedback from customers who are basically astounded at the transformation of their kitchen doors when I hand-paint them”.

more »

Conclusion

Whichever way you spin it, the kitchen is the hub of the home and any work is going to be disruptive. It is a matter of finding your comfort zone and your budget level.

Ordinarily, for a new kitchen, I would recommend an all-in-one design, supply and install package. The client has one point of contact, one person to pay and the responsibility lies completely with the kitchen company. Within that all-in-one package option, you can go top end £25000 plus, and have a kitchen with a neat badge on the pan drawers and a brilliant talking point at dinner parties. You can find a local joinery company with their own workshops, possibly using the same carcasses and same reliable sub-contract labour as the big guys. I am not sure I would go with a DIY supermarket all-in-one deal, having heard one client’s teary recollections of a nightmare project.

If considering a hand-painted kitchen as part of an upgrade, these are my considered kitchen refurbishment options to consider

If you know good people, another option is to employ an experienced kitchen fitter as freelance project manager. As they say on building sites nationwide, you want the foreman to be a carpenter not a bricklayer! People like Steve Evans in Wilmslow have a handle on every aspect of the installation process and know the people to call in. In Gloucestershire, Dave Collier is another reliable fitter to dump your new kitchen project on! These guys see the big picture and the details before they ever become a problem. In the SE, @localbuilderuk used to design and install their own “Smallbones” quality hand-painted kitchens, ie of a standard that cannot be beat.

So good guys are around, and anyone who can recommend similar independents, please leave their contact details in comments section.

Refurbish kitchens : alternative approaches

What are you drawn towards?

Reference material for your next kitchen refurbishment project

The style possibilities are endless for new tiles, worktops, handles, flooring, new units, sinks… let alone paint colours for the kitchen itself – but to start the process, one needs to focus the mind of both the client and the design team.

Kitchen splashback ideas.
Kitchens hand-painted by Andy Crichton
Kitchens hand-painted by Mark Nash

If you have a useful summary page of kitchen tiles or taps or other elements that go into a kitchen refurb design process, please get in touch.

Pictures of hand-painted kitchen ideas

However, rather than putting up with less than perfect for another 10 years, there are creative alternatives to a full blown kitchen re-fit.

So, although you may have dismissed the option of a brand new Mark Wilkinson kitchen for tens of thousands, (or a B&Q kitchen, which isn’t exactly cheap as chips either), there is no reason why you can’t completely transform your current kitchen with a few smart modifications and upgrades – and end up with a more sophisticated new look at a fraction of the price and hassle of ripping out and starting afresh.

New kitchen doors

1 – You can replace the doors with like-for-like sizes in a new style -

single panel, raised panel, Shaker… in laminate, natural timber or painted. This is an example of one of many on-line suppliers of replacement doors

A birch effect foil-wrapped laminate door with hinges and a handle can cost about £50 delivered. Painted doors from an “economical” online supplier delivered to your home are about £70 each.

However, the cost of the replacement door is a starting point. What to do about the sections with red arrows?

Things to consider »

2- You can replace the doors with hand-painted custom-made doors . In Cheshire, I believe a door with a hand-painted finish from a good joinery shop would cost about £100 each.

Things to consider »

3 – A spray shop, joinery shop with painting facilities would probably be able to take your existing doors away and spray them. As with all the above options, depending how far you wanted to dissemble the kitchen, they could also spray most components.

Things to consider »

4 – Hand-painted kitchen in-situ.
I know you would probably expect a master painter to say this, but my clients seem to be of a similar mind too! – one person hand-painting your kitchen is the simplest way to completely transform a kitchen in terms of organisation – and the price is more economical than any of the above options.

You deal with one painter.

Nothing needs to be taken away.

Using paint, it is easy to colour match the whole kitchen.

Highlighting and featuring all sorts of items from open cupboards to plinths is straightforward.

A hand-painted Little Greene Paint Co oil eggshell finish is stunning and durable (Their eggshell is suitable for interior AND exterior use!) These are other best paints for kitchen doors

Things to consider »

Real life examples

Most of my work these days involves painting existing kitchens as part of a simple, or sometimes not so simple refurbishment.

Example A This client had looked into the option of a Mark Wilkinson kitchen. Although they loved the existing layout with a very creative sink / washing area, they hated the overall look – distressed paint with an aged antique finish. Dare I say, the paintwork looked more akin to nicotine staining and cheapened the appearance of an otherwise well-made kitchen.

Before and after

This is what the clients thought of the kitchen after a new paint job and new handles. (A high-end kitchen company could not have supplied a section of worktop for the cost of our refurbishment!)

Example B There is a misconception that only high end kitchens are worth refurbishing, but that is not so. Base units on 10-15 year old budget kitchens are actually pretty robust, and unless your home is inhabited by vandals, doors last well, and saggy hinges can be easily replaced.

This client had looked into replacing their white foil wrap laminate kitchen. It had worked perfectly well for years in terms of layout, but aesthetically had become tired and dated. They were toying with a DIY superstore kitchen, but on closer inspection, there was very little wrong with the nuts and bolts of the kitchen. Wth a realistic refurb budget of £3000, the £7000 superstore option was vetoed and I called in paint colour consultant Ingrid from Lilou Interiors, and joiner/tiler/small works expert, Steve Evans to refurbish it before I painted it. This is what they thought of the service they had received.

A kitchen refurbishment »

And the beauty of this approach is that over time, the refurbishment can continue as funds allow. Worktops can be upgraded, a new sink and taps can be installed, the tiles could be painted or replaced with a simple stone upstand and painted walls… Disruption is also minimised by upgrades, and if the units are sound, the imagination and budget is the only barrier to improvements.

Before you go for a refurbishment

The considerations are:

Do you like the layout of your kitchen in its current state? If not, you would need to think about modifications. Too many modifications could be cost in-effective.

Are the doors in structurally good condition? Are the doors warped? Is the laminate lifting? If so, you can replace affected doors, or consider all new style of doors.

Are the carcasses water damaged? Sometimes water can leak down the back of sinks and rot out units. If this is the case, you are looking at the cost of employing a plumber and a fitter to remove and replace the sink and install a new base unit. On the plus side, it is a good opportunity to upgrade your sink and taps at the same time.

How much to budget for a 10 door kitchen?

Budget online stores charge between £500 and £700 and upwards for 10 laminate or spray painted doors, 4 drawer fronts plus hinges and basic handles. On top of this you need to allow for fitting, and you have to tackle the issue of matching the units and plinths etc to the new doors.

Custom made hand-painted doors from a specialist joiner You would be looking at about £1000 for materials, plus labour for fitting plus the extra costs of matching the units and plinths etc to the new doors..

Hand painting a kitchen in situ Count up the doors and multiply by £100. So if you have up to 12 doors, I would usually charge about £1175 to paint the WHOLE kitchen – ie 12 doors, the drawers, end panels, cornice, pelmet and plinth – including paint. If there are custom installations such as wine racks, plate racks, cooker hoods, or exposed corner units with shelving,for pricing purposes, I would tend to treat each those as an extra door.

Occasionally, a kitchen has a large number of pan drawers relative to the number of doors, so again, this might slightly skew those guide prices, but not by much. And before any work was started or commitment made on your part, I would obviously give you a fixed price quote.

If you have over 15 doors, the kitchen can be painted a little cheaper, pro rata. I can price from photos and a few emailed questions.

The labour cost for fitting new handles It can be as cheap as zero, ie a like for like swap. If you want to replace knobs (single screw) with handles (two screw fixing) it costs around £200 for 12 to 15 doors and 4 or 5 drawer fronts. (Handles need to be ordered and delivered and fitted BEFORE the painter turns up!)

Refurbished floors, tiling, worktops, appliances This is hard to pinpoint, and really needs the client to state their budget so fitters can specify changes accordingly.

In conclusion

Refurbishments aren’t an uber cheap option, so if you have a very limited budget, you might want to focus on new handles and general redecorating only. But in comparison to a new kitchen, the above refurbishment ideas on average are 10-20% the cost of a new kitchen. (They can be from as little as 5% up to 40% at worst!)

For many people, it is fast becoming unacceptable to add perfectly good timber components to the local landfill in the name of fashion. On many levels, kitchen refurbishment is a stylish and rewarding way to buy time and extend the useful life of the hub of your home.

Kitchen design resources

To whet your imagination: Kitchen splashback ideas.
Kitchens I have hand-painted
Pictures of hand-painted kitchens ideas

Refurbish a kitchen, the options.

All the paints and products mentioned, I use them, stand by them (unless I say otherwise) and they are available, direct to your door via TDS Sarah 01332 228 130 –

Armed with a good paint brush, abranet abrasives, vacuum cleaner with brush attachment, decent paint, a few bits and bobs, and the tips and tricks below, you are good to go!

Oil based finish on pine furniture

I think the combination of water-based primer, oil based undercoat, oil-based eggshell is the solution numero uno that ticks all the boxes for the most durable and, in my opinion, the most beautiful traditional paint finish possible on timber:

Step-by-step way to an oil paint finish on pine »

Water-based finish on pine furniture

On unpainted timber, a combination of oil based primer, and water-based eggshell will get you very close to a beautiful “oil-based” finish on pine. It is based on what I have picked up from the most knowledgeable residential painter I have ever encountered, US painter, Jack Pauhl.

When starting from bare pine, please bear in mind that water-based primer and water-based topcoats will do little to disguise the grain of the wood. The finish will be tough, it is low odour and nice to apply, but 2 coats of a quick-drying oil-based primer like Zinsser Coverstain, although rather smelly, is the best start to a more solid water-based finish.

Step-by-step way to an acrylic eggshell paint finish on pine »

100% water-based products for painting pine furniture

100% acrylic water-based primer, brushing filler and water-based eggshell plus patience will achieve very close to a beautiful “oil-based” finish on pine using water-based products only! I developed this system on a 2011 project where absolutely no oil paint was allowed on site, but the finish on the woodwork had to be 5 star.

Step-by-step way to an acrylic eggshell paint finish on pine »

Painting over previously painted furniture

Repainting over old oil paint, I would have no hesitation in recommending an all water-based approach ie 2 coats of Mythic Universal primer plus 2 coats of acrylic finish (Mythic semi gloss, or Little Greene acrylic eggshell, Sikkens BL Satura, to name but 3 that come with glowing references.)

The hard work for preparing a solid surface has already been done by the old oil paint, so as long as it is solid, you can achieve a really solid and durable finish, slightly more plastic sheeny than oil eggshell, but very acceptable in 95% of cases.

Painting waxy pine furniture with minimal preparation

Try Annie Sloan chalk paint for a real country look to your pine furniture. This is a very clever product that thrives on wax and grease. Minimal preparation required except on knots, which you need to seal with a couple of coats of aerosol Zinssser BIN.

Then apply 2 coats of chalk paint and seal with clear wax or varnish. This is how boy decorators use Annie Sloan Chalk paint.

You can tint the wax, or wipe on / rub off to reveal the backing colours, distress, age, or keep it conventional. See Cait at Carte Blanche for the full inside story and Annie Sloan supplies.

Painting laminate

Sometimes furniture is made up of different materials. The interior of a pine cupboard may have an easy wipe finish? Here is how to paint a laminate finish.

Extra tips

How much cleaning, how much sanding? »

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The conventional decorating specification for woodwork always starts, with kps – knot, prime stop.

Knot and prime »

Stopper, Filler »

Painting over primer »

I now use Little Greene Paint Company exterior / interior oil based eggshell on furniture and kitchen units.

In general terms, water based eggshell paint still doesn’t do it for me when a 5 star finish is required on furniture that has never been painted before – UNLESS you can spray it or go the full 7 coats with gesso included in the specification. Then you get a perfect finish, which then opens up a whole can of worms, because, you have to decide, do you want this laminate-looking finish on a characterful piece of reclaimed pine? I know I don’t, but the laminate look is growing in popularity, so maybe I am out of touch!

Beware painting furniture in white oil paint The 2010 VOC regulations have thrown most of the paint industry into a tizz and they are having real trouble formulating white eggshell and gloss. Lots of evidence that it is prematurely yellowing, Dulux especially, as the highest profile manufacturer. Drying times have also extended.

Thus far, Little Greene oil eggshell still performs as expected, and in normal conditions, I have had no problems sanding down first coats of eggshell the following day.

ok

If you would rather have a professional paint a piece of furniture for you, contact one of these specialist furniture painters in your area. Trustworthy and switched on, they have their own approach to their work, but fundamentally, we all sing off the same hymn sheet. Correct material choice and thorough workmanship is the way to go.

And remember, this technique is great for reviving pine and oak furniture, a truly eco recycling strategy, but think long and hard before applying a hand-painted finish to an inlaid, veneered table and / or antique item. Better to sell them and buy a more modestly constructed piece for painting.

More troubleshooting

I will be preparing a list of materials and tools required for each of the above options, suggesting decorating products at trade price. TDS is top choice for me because they carry all the specialist non-standard products required, or try Decorating Warehouse

How do you paint pine furniture?

Cait Whitson, who is one of the trusted specialist kitchen painters I have listed on this site, has sent me details of the next few months’ agenda, and there is certainly something for everyone:

one-day furniture painting classes, using Annie Sloan chalk paints; 5-day intensive graining & marbling courses; and short/open day/evening classes where you can pop in and try your hand at various paint finishes. With plenty of tea and good food available, to maintain your artistic flair, all the bases seem to be well covered.

About Carte Blanche

Just by taking a look at the Carte Blanche portfolio and their testimonials, you can see that the professional painters, artists and DIY enthusiasts taught in their classes are getting some of the best tuition possible.

Cait is passionate about her craft, and she willingly shares her knowledge of furniture painting and decorative finishing – taught me a thing or two about Annie Sloan chalk paint, I can tell you! and she is definitely in the top league with some of the materials and techniques that she uses in her regular work.

The fact that she is invited regularly to the USA to give classes, should also tell you that she has a great deal of enthusiasm, expertise and classroom presence. And plenty of energy too for teaching willing American students how to recreate some of the finishes currently supplied by the Carte Blanche team of professionals.

Meanwhile, back in Perth over the next few months, short classes are £15-£30, day classes £80 and the week long courses £550.

£550 isn’t a bad investment in a new career or a lucrative new sidearm to a painting business! A course with Cait; keep up to speed on preparation and base coats by reading posts on this site; if you get stuck mid-marble, ask questions via Twitter and forums – the specialist side of the painting world is your faux oyster!

Classes in decorative paint finishes in Perth, Scotland

If you need a job doing, I guess…

Download WordPress for Android

Turn on phone, find Android Market icon, search for WordPress and download it. That was easy.

Configuring WP for Android

The download seems to have prompted a general phone updating procedure, no clue why, but it knows best, it’s a smart phone, I’m a dumb user.

(I left the phone to do its thing for a couple of minutes.)

Phone stopped thinking. Click on the WordPress icon on the Apps screen. Do you accept the WP license conditions? I do.

Once in, choose one of 3 configuration options. I choose Add self-hosted WordPress blog

It would have taken a few seconds to be up and running, but MY FAULT MY FAULT, half an hour later, I still can’t get in! A more determined person could still be trying to log in for the first time. Luckily I just plain lose the will to live, and put the phone down in a safe place and make a cup of tea.

When I check out a hunch, there it is, on my laptop, the reason why I can’t configure WordPress for Android. I see the following email message alert!

3 failed login attempts (1 lockout(s)) from IP: xx.yy.xzz.yz

Last user attempted: YOU

IP was blocked for 120 minutes

At least the security lock-out plugin worked, but a shame the lock-out message didn’t appear on the WordPress for Android screen half an hour ago.

(Basically I am a klutz. I don’t get on with phone size touch screens, and sure enough, all the mishit (that is, mis-hit) keystrokes resulted in the lock-out.)

Using Wordress on Android

Not much to say really. Once logged in, you see the Android WP Dashboard.

This is the image that seems to appear on every search result about WP for Android, so I don’t see any harm copying it!

An original photo of the WP Dashboard on an HTC Android phone.

The middle bottom icon takes you to a conventional WordPress dashboard, from where you can administer your multi-million page website from the beach! With one issue – adding images to a gallery – the only reason I even looked at this App!

Uploading images to a gallery using WordPress for Android

I wouldn’t bother with this faff again! Just wait till you get home, folks, and upload straight from your PC!

I worked out that you can select a photo on your phone, then Share it via the option – WordPress. This creates a WP post and the image is then uploaded to the media library. But from there, what to do with that image to get it added to a Gallery? No clue. Is there a setting hiding somewhere, please?

You can summon this normal upload box from a post edit screen, but it doesn’t seem to matter how hard you click, it won’t let you select any files from the media library.

More bizarrely, it doesn’t seem to have any way of directly browsing the photos stored on the phone. Smart phone, dumb app or dumber user?

Summary

I would say that you can use the Android’s WordPress dashboard exactly as though you were on a PC. The power at your fingertips is very cool, actually, but the downside is the screen size – it is really tight and requires overly precise clicking for my liking. Zooming and scrolling is so time consuming.

The only way you seem to be able to use images is by creating a post around a “shared” image on your phone, or embedding an image in a post via linking to a URL. But galleries / mobile / images, I can’t see how to get an image into a gallery.

So, I won’t be banging on specialist kitchen painters‘ doors saying I have found a way for them to update their profile galleries at work!

If anyone has WordPress for iPhone and can add images to a gallery, be my guest and tell us all about it.

WordPress for Android

I am about to redecorate my kitchen with a view to painting the kitchen cabinets which are laminated mdf (some with plastic frosted windows) and stumbled across your site whilst looking for advice.

I am keen to use Farrow and Ball paint but am worried that there will be problems adhering to the laminate and plastic. I have been looking at primers for this purpose such as Wicks Quick Drying Melamine & Tile Primer and wondered if this would work and/or would be necessary. I would be looking to use F&B eggshell paint.

I’m also thinking of painting the tiles which are non gloss ceramic and have similar wonderings about primers/preparation.

If you could give me any advice I would be very grateful!

Thanks in advance,

Emma

You need to definitely wet sand the melamine, and clean it with a wet wipe before priming with a high adhesion primer. Here’s a few tips on sanding

All I know about Wickes from bitter experience is their tools are mediocre at best, their paints are made by someone else, they cannot advise you, and there are many other brilliant tried and tested trade paints and materials already out there.

I would suggest Blackfriars Problem Solving Primer as a primer followed by 3 coats of water based eggshell.

I am not a fan at all of F&B either, as it is retail quality. I would ask for Little Greene acrylic eggshell and ask the store to mix and match it exactly to a painted sample of the F&B colour you are after. That way you get a trade quality paint with the traditional look and colour you are after. LG goes on really nicely too.

Leyland can colour match too, but their finishes are modern sheenier shiny.

Try a Wooster Alpha brush. Dampen it first before you dunk it in your paint. I find Little Greene acrylic eggshell is really nice to apply straight from the tin, but some painters like to add Floetrol Paint conditioner to the paint to improve its flow. Apply paint liberally, lay off a couple of times, and voila.

The Blackfriars Primer will be great for tiles too as a primer coat.

Take a look at this page where I show most of the kit I use for oil painting kitchens. The end paragraph highlights the slight differences if you use water based eggshell.

If you contact Sarah at TDS she will be able to provide you with everything you need at a competitive price – and for a kitchen, you need the best kit, as the work involved is great, and the end results have to be top dollar, else premature wear and tear will wreck your work and budget. Her number is 01332 228 130 and they will deliver to your door. Mention me and you may get a bit off too

Browse through these links for further help

hope that helps

As a thought, it would be interesting for my readers to see before and after photos of a DIY hand-painted kitchen, to show folks they can do it themselves! So if you are happy with your project, why not send in some pics.

That is brilliant, thank you so much for your help, since posting my questions I have been browsing through your site and have found and read all your guides which in fact answered quite a lot. Interesting what you say about F&B I will look at Little Greene. I have one question – on your site you mention using Dulux Trade Super Grip Primer for priming laminate, would you suggest Blackfriars Problem Solving Primer over this?

Happy to use any of this in your blog, would also be happy to provide before and after shots (if the results are good enough obviously!).

Thanks again for your help, it is refreshing to find such helpful, detailed advice and the view to transform existing things with care rather than always ripping stuff out and buying new quite unnecessarily, I am looking forward to my project!

No problem, I am a kitchen painting geek, and I like to surprise people with what is possible with a lick of paint – what can I say!

Dulux Supergrip is great, but it is a primer for oil paint finishes only.

Blackfriars PSP is a universal primer for oil and water based finishes. It is actually the most advanced home decorating paint available probably in the world, (excuse that Carlsberg moment!) as it is the repackaged Classidur Universal Primer from Switzerland, and that product is regarded as the absolute business for any problem surface from fire damage to water stains. It was eco before this latest eco trend was even invented. Luckily, being in a Blackfriars can, you get it at half the price of the Claessens branded product.

I have also been using Mythic Primer which is water-based 100% acrylic. It works under any paint finish and has solved any problem I have encountered in the last year. I have no reason to doubt it sticks well to laminate, but I haven’t got enough long term info on it to say it can match the above 2 on laminate.

I know Wickes have their place, but not in kitchen painting.

Look forward to the photos, and if you have any issues, take a pic and post it. My brother was devastated when he oil eggshelled his kitchen on my instructions, and the first coat had a few runs. He thought he had wasted his time, till I showed him how to remove runs. It’s the little things.

Ok thanks, I have one last question I am debating either removing my tiles or painting them the same colour as the wall. They are ceramic with a slightly rough stone look rather than gloss. Do you have any tips for painting tiles such as these – would you say it would be possible to use an emulsion and would you prime them.

The Blackfriars Primer will be great for tiles too as a primer coat.

Clean them with Krudkutter Original to remove any grease and grime then 2 coats of primer. As for a finish, I would make them stand out from the flat walls, using a shinier finish. The colour is up to you as even in the same colour as the walls, the different sheen would make it stand out somewhat. Eggshell is the minimum sheen you should go for, as the tiles will get a beating and need a durable paint.

Another option to avoid removing tile is to actually disguise the texture of tiles with a Toupret filler and skim them smooth, but that isnt really a DIY job. A local painter or plasterer could do it for you though.

cheers

Andy

btw I dont know how you are with colours, but if you are ever struggling for a scheme, check out http://lilou-interiors.com online colour advice. Mention me and you will get £10 off.

A bit of food for thought. Key points are-

Prepare laminate properly and once primed correctly, it is like any other surface in terms of painting. (Please note, the only surfaces I am not happy to paint in a kitchen environment, and I came across one just the other day, are the solid acrylic doors with really dense satin or high gloss finishes. These require a more commercial / industrial process more suited to what is possible in high end spray shops. See Lee at 5Bridge for commercial sprayed kitchen doors.)

The DIY and semi trade superstores do stock plenty of pots of diddy high-performance potions in amongst their retail offerings, but they don’t have the expertise to advise homeowners on painting a kitchen in a professional and cost-effective manner.

Using professional tools and paints, DIY painting is much easier and the end results can be pretty good.

DIY decorating advice

I am happy to answer emails, but if you are about to embark on a big painting project in Cheshire, you might consider one-to-one tuition whereby I come to your home for a half or full day and set you on the right track with how to do things, the order to do things and the best kit to use. I have taught quite a bit in the past, so I promise to go at your pace.

How do I paint a laminate kitchen?