Sharon and her husband have had these beech shelves from IKEA for almost 20 years, and had no desire to replace these perfectly functional (if outdated) units while they still have life in them. Luckily Sharon had a vision of how she might update these cabinets — a vision she was able to implement for only $10, thanks to a well-stocked DIY supply cabinet.
After a light sanding, Sharon primed the piece with an oil-base primer and then covered it with a latex paint. She let the paint cure for a full week before stenciling the modern pattern onto the doors. There was another week of curing before she coated with polycrylic, then one last week before the shelves were ready to use.
For detailed step-by-step instructions, and a lot of great pictures of the process, check out Sharon's full post about the transformation on her blog, Lilikoi Joy.
(Images: Sharon/Lilikoi Joy)
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You are correct. I wonder why she didn't just sand the laminate and use KILZ primer or there is another latex primer specifically made for formica. I would never put latex over oil, it will peel.
Looks fantastic!
It looks great, and I hope for her sake that the finish manages to hold up. Previous posters are right, mixing oil and water-based finishes is a no-no.
I was thinking the same thing when I read "oil based primer" and "latex paint". It looks great right now, though. Definitely a refreshing upgrade.
The paint/primer question is the opposite. You don't put oil over latex. When transitioning from oil to latex paint, you use an oil based primer. Just FYI.
I'm pretty certain jeannemarie is correct- latex over oil is ok but oil over latex is bad news.
Very Nice Sharon! and the added "legs" make a huge difference.
I like the accessories change up as well! Looks fantastic!
Oil based primer is fine under latex. I did it to our camper cabinets to transition from compressed particle board covered by vinyl.
A quick Google search would reveal that you can prime with an oil base for latex paint. We've done it many, many times in our own house with no problems at all.
Beautiful refinishing on what most people would consider throw away furnishings. As IKEA products begin to "age" here in the USA, I would suppose that we could be seeing more and more of this kind of treatment.
I love the transformation, but am I crazy in wondering how some light colored wood shelves can be "outdated"? There doesn't seem to be much about them (in my eyes) that firmly plants them in one era of design or another so I don't really get what's outdated about them. Anyone with a keener eye for this kind of thing care to enlighten me?
Actually, I am pretty sure an oil based primer with a latex paint works very well. Where did I read that... I think Young House Love.
It looks fantastic!
Way to go !
SBGBlogs, my thoughts exactly! Maybe it's the knobs on the doors?
I didn't realize legs were added until I read another commenters post.
Wonderful job...It was a WOW after for me.
SBGBlogs, my thought is that after 20 years, one can get so tired of looking at a piece, but since it's still functional, a redo makes it 'new' again.
@SBGBlogs - It looks outdated to me in a "crappy, particle board, assemble-it-yourself, 1990s furniture" kind of way. Though I suppose a lot of furniture shops are still churning this kind of stuff out. Very generic. Though the After isn't quite my style, I think the poster did a great job with it. Much better.
I always thought IKEA was Swedish for "particle board, assemble-it-yourself furniture."
Is that a tapedeck on the shelf?
wow, great job! If it were me I would've listed it on craigslist and bought something new... but this is inspiring to repurpose over purchasing.
Latex over oil is fine. In fact, it tends to hold up better. But don't put oil over latex.
A wonderful hack. I do need to weigh in on the paint controversy, however. Latex and oil base paints do have different expansion rates, and that would be a problem on exterior surfaces and large interior solid wood interiors. The wood used in the Ikea piece is what we woodworkers call "composite". Otherwise known as particle board and it's finer cousin, medium density fiberboard (MDF). These materials don't swell as much as natural wood does, so they don't have the associated paint cracking issues.
A great thing about oil based primers is that you can give them a light sanding to get rid of brush marks. Just be sure the paint is fully cured (read the label). And always use the best brush you can afford! The paint just goes on easier and smoother.
@ Sylvia K
I, too, am amazed at what getting the base up off the floor does to make the piece look more contemporary. Great to see people recycle and reuse!
Nice, very nice
An unexpected make over. Great imagination
I suppose this has been answered by now. But any finished coat can go over any primer, you just cannot put a latex finish coat directly onto a (likely glossy) oil finish coat. Oil primer (although sometimes smelly, I would suggest using Zinsser Odorless to avoid that a bit) will work great on nearly any surface because of its strong bonding quality (and a few other reasons...)
Also, the makeover looks great!
Source: I work at a paint store :)