#Painting Geneva Metal Kitchen Cabinets

An ongoing discussion from 2002 through 2015.

(2002)

Q. My metal kitchen cabinets are from the 1950s or earlier. I would like to paint them since I cannot afford to replace them. They are in good shape but they are ugly. Someone told me there is a no prep metal paint that requires no preparation of the surface - just paint it on. If this does not exist is there an adhesive type primer I can use before I paint and not have to strip or sand the cabinets?

Susan L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]

- Gloucester City, New Jersey

Q. I also have metal kitchen cabinets that I would like to paint. They are Geneva cabinets and in very good condition, but awful color. Any ideas on how to best do this and the type of paint to use will be appreciated.

David D [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]

- Bowling Green, Kentucky

Q. I have Geneva cabinets that are from the 1950's. They are white and in great shape except for the ugly paint. We are trying to redo the kitchen and keep it as retro as possible. What can I use?

Nancy J [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]

- Nebraska City, Nebraska

Q. We have Youngstown 1950's to 1960's vintage cabinets. They have been repainted with an enamel paint and the paint has adhered well but need refreshed again (white). What brands of primer/paint would you suggest. Do I need to use both, or is there a self-adhering paint that will work. Also, is it true that I should be looking for an auto body paint, or would an enamel paint be sufficient ?

Cheri Head

Consumer - Geneva, Nebraska

A. We have Geneva Metal Cabinets in our kitchen and we had a company come and spray paint the inside and outside. They did a great job. I believe they used a special sprayer and paint for working on metal. They look great and were finished in a few hours. Well worth the money since we can't afford to gut the kitchen. I would look under appliance and metal painters in the phone book. Our guy was local to our area.

Carmelina Mattera

- St. Louis, Missouri

A. When you don't really care how much it costs, you can do as I did with the 15 piece Geneva Kitchen I salvaged: Disassembled all chrome and plastic, Soda blast to bare metal ($3000) and powder coat ($3200),then reassemble.

A. I also have a kitchen that featured metal cabinets made by Geneva. They were dirty and ugly. After cleaning them up, I used a roll-on, epoxy appliance paint manufactured by Rustoleum. When you roll the paint on, the surface will be covered with tiny bubbles. This freaked me out at first. As the bubbles began to pop (immediately after application) they formed a nice, orange peel texture. It took two coats of white appliance paint to cover. I love the result.

My cabinets have white, plastic inserts that fit behind the chrome handles. I painted these with white spray paint intended for plastic to clean them up a bit. They also turned out great.