Before I forget about this, this is a continuation of the DIY project to repair the broken kitchen cabinet which initially started with the idea of just changing the rusted hinges but it went on into a proper makeover of the whole kitchen cabinet as the tabletop was still in good condition.
Read these first
- Personal 101: Mystery Water Leak & The Living Room Got Flooded Heavily
- Project Management 101: Working Hard From Home – Benefits & Detriments
- Personal 101: MyTukar – It’s Correct Time for New 3rd Car for the Family
- Budgeting 101: Easy Project – Replacing Dead Air Conditioner Electrical Switch
- Prepping 101: 5 Essential Things You Must Have When You Move To New House
Stopping Leakages
Before I start off with any makeover on the kitchen cabinet itself, I need to stop the water leakages from the sink which I identified as the main culprit behind the wet, musky interior of the cabinet.
The original silicone sealant was not working that well & it looks dirty as well. At first, I thought of scrapping off the old sealant & then putting in a fresh coat of silicone sealant. But when I went and checked the silicone sealant that I had in my toolbox, I realised that it has hardened & was rather useless.
I was kind of lazy to venture to the nearby hardware shop so I started to look for an alternate option for the sealant and then I realised I still had the waterproof tile grout or also known as white cement which has bought for the bathroom project which I have not started as I could not find a “free” slot to seal off the bathroom to clean & let the tiles to dry.
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The waterproof tile grout was selling for RM3.23 for one kilogram online & came in 2 colours namely white & grey so I decided to get two of these knowing that I can always use the spare. It is also fungus & mould resistant which is what I want to ensure a long-term clean look & stay functional. It is also easy & safe to use – just need to add water & mix it into a paste and just apply it along the line between the tabletop & the sink.
In addition, there were a few small holes which I guessed were for the second kitchen tap but since we only used one kitchen tap, it was sealed but not effectively. I cleaned off the sealant and pasted it on a small strip of aluminium foil butyl tape which was waterproof & sticks completely. I initially bought it for pipe leaks which did not take so much of the tape so I had plenty of spares.
Interior & Exterior Paints
Now that I know that it is very unlikely we will have water leakages in the near future, it was time to clean up the interior & the kitchen cabinet doors.
Kitchen cabinet doors after a good scrub show some areas looking mouldy and because of the rust from the hinges, it has scrapped off which looks ugly. We definitely need to repaint all of these again with a fresh coat of varnish. The tiles inside was dirty & despite cleaning it with strong detergents which included baking soda to whiten the tiles, it was clear that I need to paint them.
For the wood, the paint shop recommended using Propan’s water-based wood paint (I bought the 1 litre instead of the 5 litres can first) which is mostly used for wood flooring paint and marketed as having these properties:-
- Abrasion Resistant
- Environmentally Friendly
- Fast Dry
- Natural Feel
- UV & Weather Resistant
- No Brush Mark
- Water-Repellent and Permeable
- Deep Penetrating
- Fungus and Mould Resistant
To be frank, 1 litre was more than enough to cover all the kitchen cabinet doors & also for the drawers and it is indeed fast drying, deep penetrating (the whitish mould is gone) & easy to clean up after painting as it is a water-based paint.
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For the tiles, the paint shop actually recommended epoxy primer-based paint which requires 2 sets of paints – one is the base and another is the hardener and I in fact had bought the base & hardener before having second thoughts. I decided to use the epoxy primer-based paint for the bathroom instead as this requires a lot of work & the finishing will be more visible.
The kitchen cabinet tiles, since it is hidden from view & I am basically painting it to hide the old rusty-looking tiles, I decided to use a cheaper KCC brand matt paint for the kitchen cabinet tiles & the walls inside the cabinet. It is anti-bacterial, low odour, supposedly easy to clean and water-based which makes clean-up easier.
Final Say
This so-called simple DIY job actually took me more than 3 weeks to complete as I could only work on it in my free time on the weekends & after work at night. There were several cuts on my fingers despite taking precautions considering I had a power drill, sharp screws & cutters lying around. However once the repair & repaint job was done, there is a good sense of satisfaction with a work well done. I have learned a lot about what tools to use & the correct way of doing things during this DIY job as well.
I plan to install LED lights inside the cabinet which will make the interior brighter when we need to take anything out and I have bought the necessary parts for that. However, I only plan to do this after I have done the fixes to my bathroom which is supposed to be my first major DIY work as I wanted to patch up the tiles to stop the leakages through the small gaps between the tiles. Further, the tiles & the sealants all look old, dirty and ugly and we are talking about the master bedroom bathroom.
To be continued.