Painting Kitchen Cabinets – Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations

By Todd Fratzel on Cabinetry, Kitchens

Rust-Oleum Transformations

Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations™

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to New Orleans to attend a special media event with the folks from Rust-Oleum and some of the biggest online publishers and bloggers from the industry. The media event  focused on two exciting new products from Rust-Oleum’s Transformations™ line. The all new Transformations™ line includes Rust-Oleum’s Cabinet Transformations™ which provides an inexpensive factory like finish when painting kitchen cabinets.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Painting Kitchen Cabinets is an excellent way to give your kitchen a face lift without breaking the bank. The average cost of replacing cabinets can run from $5,000 to $20,000 and re-facing them can still cost several thousand dollars. However, painting your existing cabinets can be accomplished for only a few hundred!

Painting kitchen cabinets can save you lots of money, however,  traditional methods for painting kitchen cabinets can be quite time consuming and labor intensive. Traditionally you would need to strip, sand and vigorously clean your old cabinets in order to paint them. All of that is about to change with the introduction of Rust-Oleum’s Cabinet Transformations™.

Now you can refinish a small (100 sf of cabinet surface) kitchen for $79.99 or a large (200 sf of cabinet surface) one for $149.00

No Stripping, No Sanding, No Priming

Rust-Oleum’s new Cabinet Transformations™ product is so easy that any DIY’er can transform their kitchen in a single weekend. At last weeks event I spent a couple hours refinishing some cabinet doors with the new product. I was really impressed with how easy it is to do and the quality of the finished product.

In the past when I’ve refinished cabinets it’s been a long, difficult messy job. Typically you need to use strippers to strip off the old finish followed by tedious sanding. Not is the old method difficult but it’s extremely messy.

When I testing this new system it took me about 15 minutes (without drying time) to completely refinish a cabinet door. It was really easy, quick and best of all no messy sanding dust or harmful odors from strippers.

Four Easy Steps To New Cabinets

Painting Kitchen Cabinets with Rust-Oleum’s new Cabinet Transformations is extremely easy and only take 4 simple steps.

  1. Preparation and cleaning – The first step involves removing cabinet doors and drawer fronts including all hardware (be sure to number your parts for re-assembly later). Clean all surfaces with Deglosser and Scrub Pad (this removes any surface contaminates along with creating a surface that the base coat will properly adhere to).
  2. Apply Bond Coat – The key to the entire system is Rust-Oleum’s bond coat which provides superior bonding to your old cabinets. In fact, this product is so good it can be used on any cabinet surfaces including wood, laminate and even melamine. You paint the bond coat onto the cabinet surfaces just like you would if using traditional paint. Rust-Oleum recommends applying two coats for superior coverage.
  3. Glazing – All of the colors available for the Transformations product include an optional glaze. By using the optional glaze you can create a wide variety of custom looks to your cabinets. You simply apply the glaze with a foam brush and then wipe it off with cheese cloth. Depending on the level of glazing you want you can wipe away most of it or very little of it.
  4. Protective Top Coat – The final step is to apply a protective top coat. This clear top coat helps protect the new finish and give it a durable long lasting surface.

Easy DIY Weekend Project

As you can see in the photos above painting kitchen cabinets is really easy with the Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations™ product. You can transform wood, laminate or melamine cabinets to look like all new cabinets in just a weekend. The best part is you can do it for only a few hundred dollars!

The easy to use Transformations™ Kits come with everything you need except a few basic tools such as brushes, drop clothes and some cleaning supplies.

I can tell you from my experience with this product that it’s very easy to use, very easy to produce a beautiful new finish. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to transform your old kitchen then check out the Rust-Oleum Transformations Website. This new product is available at both Home Depot and Lowe’s along with select other hardware stores.

About the author

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

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20 Comments

  1. Sarah says:

    This is great! We just started framing up our cellar laundry room and plan to use the cast-off cabinets we didn’t use in the kitchen – and yesterday I started grumbling about the sanding! I will definitely have to check this out. Probably next month or so – I’ll post about it if we use the system.

  2. Marj M. says:

    Wow! I would love to redo my cabinets. This is not that hard at all. Thank you for alerting us to the Rustoleum product.

  3. Todd, thanks for posting up about Rust-Oleum Transformations. We are so happy that you had a good time in New Orleans! Keep up the great work!

  4. Kelly says:

    Here’s my kitchen redo with the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations product. It is the color of cabernet.

  5. Roberta Klem says:

    I was very surprised how easy it was to use this product. I thought yeah right make my cabinets look nice with this kit. Nothing that easy will work. I went from light oak to gunstock and I love the new look. My only problem was they do not supply enough of the decorative glaze. I was surprised that there was hardly any oder while using this kit. I would recommend this product.

  6. laura says:

    What color did you use on the cabinet?

  7. Joni Bushmire says:

    Have you used this product on laminate cupboards? I really want to this however if if does not work I am not financially able to replace them. So please be honest.

    Thanks

    • Todd Fratzel says:

      I have not, however, I believe you can. Let me reach out to Rust-Oleum and ask them. Can you tell me anymore about the existing cabinets.

  8. Terri Carpenter says:

    What color did you use on your dad’s cabinets? Thank you

  9. Donna says:

    My cabinets are already painted but chipping and look ugly. Can I use this on top of pre existing paint.

  10. Di Francis says:

    I have oak cabinets with a pecan colored stain. I’m wondering if the lighter Rustoleum will cover them. But I suppose the Bonding agent works as a primer, maybe?

  11. Kim says:

    Can this be done on metal cabnets

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