Your Painting Questions
Answered by Beth Hodge

Q. I want to paint my kitchen - it's been a long time. I'm putting a darker color over the light, so I'm hoping I don't need to do anything to it first. Being a kitchen I'd like to be able to wash it more often than other rooms. What should I look for in a paint?

A. For kitchens i suggest a latex semi gloss. Many people use latex semi gloss or high gloss in more than just the kitchen now as it is durable and washes well.

If your kitchen has not been painted in quite a while I suggest washing the walls first with a mild detergent, if a fair amount of dirt, smoke or grease is present there is still an easy way out.

In most paint departments you can find a powder called "TSP". Mix with water (follow package instruction) wipe walls using a sponge and rubber gloves. This solution takes years of dirt out of your way easily and gives you a better surface for a lasting coat of paint.

Q.I want to paint our kitchen cabinets but have been warned that once we remove the cabinet doors to paint them they will never hang properly again. Is this true? Should I try to paint them while they are hanging?

A: Personally I have done cabinets both ways. If you paint while hanging you need to be very careful not to paint any part of the hinges to keep the doors swinging freely as they do now.

If you remove the doors my best advice is to only remove the hinge screws that connect the door to the cabinet, carefully paint around the hinge hardware on the doors while they are off and be sure to mark the doors so you put the same door back onto the same cabinet.

Eeven if the doors are the same size, this may eliminate headaches when they are dried and reattached.

Q. Can we paint over paneling? The old paneling is dingy and beat up so we'd like to paint over it. But someone told us we shouldn't paint over the wood - we had to stick with wood stains. Is this true?

If it's in good shape (a flat smooth surface) why not? It is easy and a cost effective way to change your room without a lot of work, and lord knows what kind of surface may be hiding under the paneling.

I have painted paneling often. If painting over a darker surface you may want to invest in a primer coat so your color choice is not altered.

Primer can also be tinted just a bit lighter than your color to give you even and correct color when painted. Primer is just a easy to use as paint and i think you will love your results, so go ahead, and enjoy!!