70's kitchen cabinets

Laurel Wild

Looking for options for my ugly 70's laminate cupboards with the faux wooden ledge accross the bottom. I'm just renting so looking for a brilliant diy idea/...

sdsester

Since you are a tenant I assume you do not want to sink $$$$$ into this?

Melamine paint is designed to go over laminate surfaces. It is sticky stuff and a little hard to work with but will get you through. It comes in factory colors and some paint stores even carry tint bases now. It will give a nice semi or high gloss surface. Only drawback to melamine is it tends to chip easily.

Can you post pics? How much cabinetry do you have?

If you just have a small galley kitchen, plastic primer or plastic paint might get you a few years. Krylon Fusion comes in rattle cans and a bunch of colors. Rustoleum comes in rattle cans and fewer colors. However, they have a plastic primer that comes in rattle can and liquid form. I have not used it but they claim you can paint over the primer with any paint.

Some on this site have said they get somewhat decent results scruffing the laminate surfaces and using a high bond latex/acrylic primer followed by finish coats of paint.

If you paint, you need to really do the prep work and clean the cabinets and drawer front of any grease, etc. or nothing will stick.

Blondesense

First thing I'd do is get something in writing from your landlord saying you have the OK to paint, or whatever it is you want to do. Otherwise you could be looking at losing your security deposit - at the very least.

Donnan

Get the okay form your landlord before you do anything. If you get permission check out Rusteoleum's cabinet transformation kit. I did a kitchen from 1978 in one of my rentals also changed the handles and hinges. When my tenants arrived to move in they thought they got new cupboards!