~ How -To: Black Glaze on Kitchen Cabinets or Wood Furniture Update

Over the years some posts on blogs get a lot more views than others. And some of those posts will continue to get quite a bit of interest year over year. How to do a  Black Glaze on your wood Kitchen Cabinets has been one of those posts here at The Decorated House, both on this blog and on the original site over 13 years ago.

Before doing the Faux Bois finish, we added the moldings and painted the cabinets all white. The cabinets are all solid wood, and in good condition and back then it didn't make sense to me to get cabinets that were not all wood to replace them. After 10 years I was tired of white and really would have liked some nice upscale solid wood cabinets, but that was a lot more expensive than what I was willing to do.

Instead, I found books (this was before all the diy stuff hit the internet) and decided to try my hand at faux bois paint technique. That was about 13 years ago. The finish has held up extremely well.

The kitchen mini-update was supposed to be quick and easy. You know how little projects can take a lot more time than you thought. And although the cabinets still look pretty good, I wanted to give them a freshening up. The doors were all removed again, and I redid all the black glaze. The insides of the cabinets got a coat of paint, and new storage organization was anywhere I could fit it into the odd and sometimes small spaces. The mini update is still going on, but I think an end may finally be in sight.

As I was writing the post,  I showed this before and after picture to Sweet Hubby and he wasn't skeptical for a moment that it was really the original kitchen until he realized the same size window is still there. The picture is not that good, but I think you can get the idea. They were built in 1959 and they looked the same although a bit worse for wear in 1986.

If you have wood cabinets
that you like and you don't want to paint them a color, but you want to make them look more furniture like than builder's grade, a black detail glaze will do just that for you.

The molding I added here was for painting the cabinets white and doing a very light all over mocha glaze. This kind is probably more work than most people would chose. A more simple molding will give you a great look as well with less lines and less work.

Supplies:

Black Acrylic Paint

Glaze and/or Water

1 or 2  Small Artist Paint Brushes
Clean Cotton Rags
Gloves
Water
Old Toothbrush
----------------------------------------------

Get a decent quality paint brush. Even if you ruin it with all the black paint, it will make this project much easier for than if you skimp on the brush. A good brush will allow you to get a fine line and to control your lines and the paint much better.

1  Clean the cabinet door very well, and rinse so there is not residue.  If you begin and the paint/glaze just beads up and will not stick, try using a foam sanding block to very lightly sand along where you want the glaze. You could also take a small brush and use Liquid Sandpaper.

2  Mix your Black Paint and the Glaze in a small container.  Use 1 part Paint to 3 Parts Glaze. You can add water as need to to thin the glaze as you go. 

3   Load the brush with paint and slowly paint a black line along the edge of the molding. Don't worry if it's not perfect.

4  Take a small damp rag, roll it around your index finger, and angle  it away from the molding and gently wipe using the molding as the guide to slide your finger/hand along. The more pressure you put down the more paint it will take off. So practice a little and find how you handle taking the paint off and adjust the rag on your finger and the amount of pressure to get the look you want.

5  For me the finishing touch is adding the specks and splatters. If you look at nice quality furniture this is how it is often finished and that is where I got the idea. 

For this you will need the paint thinner. What I usually do is to take an old toothbrush, lay the bristles in the watered down black, and pull your thumb from the top of the bristles to the bottom and it will throw specks everywhere! So be sure you are where you won't ruin anything around you.

Sometimes too much will fly off the brush, just keep a damp rag close by and get the excess quickly. Black paint can stain quickly.

See Y'All Soon~