My kitchen cabinet paint bubbled up 3 days after I finished - here's what happened

I painted my oak cabinets in Portland without using a bonding primer first, and the paint started peeling off near the sink within a week. Took me another weekend to sand everything down and start over with Zinsser BIN shellac primer - has anyone else dealt with this on older cabinets?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb14012d ago

Man, that sucks. I heard from a buddy of mine who refinished his kitchen that oak is like a sponge for moisture. He said without sealing it first, the paint just lifts right off especially near heat or water. He used the same shellac primer you mentioned and it worked perfect the second time. Sounds like you got the bad lesson out of the way early. At least now the cabinets will actually hold paint for years. That first coat peeling off is a total nightmare but you handled it right.

hollyramirez12d ago

Your buddy is 100% right about oak being a moisture sponge. I had the same thing happen on the base cabinets near my dishwasher, the paint bubbled up in a few spots after a steam cycle. Shellac primer is the only thing that stopped it cold for me too, and once it cures, that paint is locked on through anything. Did you have to sand down to bare wood on any of the tricky spots or just scuff it and go?