The cabinets at the cottage are finished! Admittedly the milk paint portion of the project wrapped up a month ago however we haven’t been able to find the right hardware to work with the routed edges of the oak cabinets. I got tired of waiting for the ‘glamour shot’ and figured it was time to share the ‘in process’ shot. There are other updates that the room is waiting for such as a new faucet, range hood, etc, etc. Let’s focus on the paint finish today and how we got here…
from here (photo from real estate listing)…
We’ve taken a step in the right direction as far as lightning up this old cottage kitchen and making it feel a bit more beachy. The oak cabinets were not original to the house. My guess is that there were old metal ones in here at one point. But the oak ones were in decent shape and worthy of an update.
You may recall my post about prepping the cabinets for milk paint. We thoroughly cleaned the cabinets with a citrus vinegar solution that you can make yourself. The key is to not use an oily or intense chemical cleanser that the milk paint will resist.
The cabinets were primed with Tough Coat, a MMSMP product. It is a non-yellowing tough coat that provides extra durability against general wear and tear, water damage and food stains as a top coat. It also works really, really well as a base coat or primer because milk paint adheres to it. In this case, tough coat also blocked the oak tannins to prevent bleed through. It has many benefits.
After that I mixed Mora with bonding agent for best adhesion. I decided to apply 3 coats on the thinner side (instead of 2 thick coats) as I did not want to get any crackling or chipping texture on the cabinets. Thicker milk paint application tends to lend to the chipping aesthetic that we all love.
Mora is such a pretty color. Here it looks gray. In certain lighting it takes on a blue hue and sometimes even a hint of green. It is perfect for a space like this with a lot of light that changes throughout the day. We finished the cabinets by applying furniture wax with a mix of white wax in some areas. We’re considering going over it with tough coat for a more durable finish but it seems the wax is holding up just fine. I wiped a splatter of sauce off of the surface the other day and it left no marks on the wax finish. No issue.
Here’s what I learned throughout this process. As I mentioned, I thoroughly cleaned the cabinet doors and primed them with tough coat prior to applying paint. Tough coat was the best choice for a “primer” because it aided in blocking the oak tannins from bleeding through. This is something to be concerned with when painting over oak. However, tough coat is clear and the orange oak did take 3 coats of milk paint to completely cover.
After working on the cabinet doors from start to finish, I stepped back to reconsider my options for the cabinet bases. Could I eliminate a step? When it came to the cabinet bases, I thought I had a better idea so I initially skipped the tough coat primer and used a flat white chalk-based paint as a primer instead. My theory was that the chalky “primer” would eliminate the need for 3 coats of milk paint since I was priming with white. I thought it would serve as a base coat primer AND block the orange bleed through in one step. I was completely wrong. The orange bled through the flat finish immediately and I had to go over it all with tough coat anyway to lock in the tannins. It was experimental for sure and created an extra step for me after all!
In summary, here are the steps to follow for milk painting previously finished oak cabinets…
To complete this project which consisted of 14 cabinets/drawers, I used less than 2 quarts of milk paint + bonding agent, wax and tough coat. The product went far. Essentially we gave these cabinets an entirely new look for under $100. You can’t beat that!
We removed the cabinet fronts and got to work prepping them for milk paint. The doors have a beautiful, simple shape that will benefit immensely with a good cleaning, new paint and hardware. 
Cooking grease, grime and residue all needed to be thoroughly removed. I prefer to do this with a natural cleanser as to not introduce any harsh chemicals to the surface of the wood which milk paint may resist. I used a scouring pad to lift any grime while also lightly roughing up the current finish. Then sprayed and wiped the surfaces.
Vinegar is a fantastic natural cleanser. But who can stand the smell of vinegar for very long? Long enough to scrub 14 cabinets, 3 drawers and a lazy susan anyway. There is a very easy fix for that…oranges! 
About a year ago my friends introduced me to the simple concept of making citrus vinegar cleanser and I’ve never looked back. I use it all over the house. The oils in citrus peels also have natural cleaning abilities. 
Simply fill a glass jar with your orange, lemon and grapefruit peels and cover completely with white vinegar. Seal the jar and allow the peels to soak for a minimum of a month. You can shake it up from time to time. The longer the peels soak, the stronger the citrus scent will be. Figure out the ratio that you like best. I let this most recent batch soak for about 3 months and it smells heavenly however the yield in cleaning solution was lower as the peels really soaked up the vinegar. 
When you’re ready, simply funnel or strain the cleanser into a spray bottle and start cleaning. The remaining vinegar soaked peels can be composted. Smile because you just saved a ton of money! 
Here’s a sneak peek of where the cabinet fronts are with one coat of MMSMP Mora and bonding agent… To be continued. 
Circa Dee 