I'm a complete DIY novice, and my husband and I just bought a house that needs a LOT of work. Second project on the list was painting the 45-year old kitchen cabinets. I'm the type of person who researches everything to death, and from what I read online, painting your kitchen cabinets is a beast of a task and using "good" paint is key. I read that Sherwin Williams ProClassic line was great for cabinets, so I headed there for the first time in my life. When my husband and I walked in on a Friday night, it appeared deserted. No employee in sight, though we heard some rumbling in the back. After a few minutes of waiting, we finally walked to the back and found the lone employee on duty. He was somewhat helpful, and agreed that the ProClassic line was best. I got a color sample to make sure I liked the color, and left.
Came back a few days later to purchase primer and paint. This time there was a lone female working. I mentioned that I thought I might want to go with oil paint because I've read it holds up really well even if application is messier, and she basically said "no way do you want to do that". Okay, no problem- you're the expert. I mentioned that I read that there's a Sherwin Williams alkyd paint that is great for cabinets. Nope, she said. Alkyd paint is ONLY with oil. No such thing as latex Alkyd paint. I thought I might have been confused- after all, I have 30 projects on my list and maybe I got them confused. And she's the expert. So I walked out with a few gallons of Primer and ProClassic latex paint.
Fast forward two weeks. I have severely underestimated this task. What I thought may be 15-20 hours is looking more like 50 (and I work full time) so nearly every weeknight and weekend has been spent removing hinges and knobs, sanding (and sanding, and sanding...did I mention how much sanding is involved when you paint cabinets?), cleaning, priming, priming again, sanding, cleaning, and (finally!) applying the "real" paint. In an empty house waiting major renovations. I noticed that despite the ProClassic line being self-leveling, it kept leaving brush strokes and foam strokes on the cabinet boxes (the doors which I painted horizontally ended up okay). I do a little Googling to see if I can figure out a fix and stumble upon a blog where....they recommend using ProClassic ALKYD paint! They even have a picture of the can and everything. Funny enough, this blog had a rant where they had mistakenly been given the "regular" ProClassic paint and didn't discover it until they were halfway through painting and it was horrible. Apparently the waterbased ProClassic ALKYD is much better for cabinets and supposedly dries hard as oil.
I'm livid. I specifically asked for this paint and was told there was no such thing. I trusted the "expert". And I've spent about 40 hours on this project. My main concern with painting the cabinets from the get-go was that they hold up well and I use the best paint available to ensure no chipping or tackiness, and I let that be known to the two associates I dealt with at Sherwin Williams. The thought of starting over with the "right" paint brings tears to my eyes so there's no use to even try to return the paint and get the correct stuff (it's 3/4th gone now anyway). I just want the world to know how unhappy I am with Sherwin Williams and how the employee I dealt with doesn't even know their own product.
I'll give it an extra star for this being SLIGHTLY my fault (maybe I should have second-guessed the expert or jumped online at the store?), for having some pretty colors, and for having a kids area. Kept my LO entertained while I bought my paint. However, I'm so upset with my experience there that we'll be going to Benjamin Moore when it comes time to paint the entirety of our house inside and out next month. read more