Vinyl wrapped cabinet painting

[rwhitbread]

We have an older (2005) Sunseeker Class C that is show her age a bit. Her interior cabinets have veneer damage and I was contemplating a refinish/remodel project for the "off-season"

I would like to hear from folks who have successfully painted/refinished their cabinet doors and framing.

We have some damage to several of the doors' finish where some of the faux wood vinyl veneer has peeled off (just the very thin wood veneer layer) and I am thinking about refinishing the cabinets and perhaps making it a bit brighter inside. I find the cottage" look a bit dark and dated. I'd prefer something a bit less brown and something that looks a bit less like a 1980s wooded paneled rec room.

I suppose I could always take a heat gun and peel off the old paper, sand then paint the cabinet doors, but I was hoping that someone here, who has done something similar, could provide a bit of guidance on materials, techniques, etc.

I did reach out to FR support and was told "Thank you for reaching our to us. We however do not suggest alteration to how it was designed. I can suggest that you go to the forest river forum as hundred if other forest River customers reach to one another and help each other with these sorts of questions. " I can understand toeing some sort of party line, but then to follow it up with "I hope this helps and have a great rest of your day"

So in other words, you're on your own when it some to looking for support on non-warranty, resale rigs. Thanks there FR.

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SeaDog]

Your rig is 18 years old and you want the Mfg to do something it would seem to me they gave you a solid answer. What you might do is pull one of the cabinet doors and take it to a local cabinet maker and see if they can do some sort of finish on it or get you replacement doors that have the look and finish you desire. JMHO

[Aussieguy]

how much texture is in the original finish will determine how much work
damaged areas you need to work out how to duplicate any texture

OR

you can FILL ALL the texture (fake wood grain) with a Spakle type filler
Follow cleaning and sanding and any other prep directions for the type of filler you want to use.

High wear places .. I use automotive body filler.

Prime and paint ... how it looks is up to your skill level for applying and finishing paints

Good preparation is the key , sanding and priming don't expect paint to hide any blemish especially high gloss finish

Have seen a lot of good jobs where people used wallpapers , stick on tiles for back splashes

[rwhitbread]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

Your rig is 18 years old and you want the Mfg to do something it would seem to me they gave you a solid answer. What you might do is pull one of the cabinet doors and take it to a local cabinet maker and see if they can do some sort of finish on it or get you replacement doors that have the look and finish you desire. JMHO

I think the part that bugged me was the non-answer followed by "hope this helps".

Don't get me wrong, some of the folks I have talked to at FR have been great and supplied, or tried at least, to provide some helpful advice and/or documentation about the unit. My local dealer, and local tech have been great when it comes to helping with repair and renovation tasks on the same 18 year old unit.

The age of the rig should not be an issue . BTW what I asked FR was if they knew of a way to paint the cabinets, given that the veneer is old and peeling a bit in some places. I didn't ask them to actually do anything other than perhaps give a bit of advice and identify, if they could, the type of paper veneer they used. They didn't even identify what type of material was used in the cabinet construction (I am assuming obviously a stick on veneer over some sort of MDF).


I don't mind doing the work myself, as I realized I was going to have to DIY a lot of the work needed to be done to "bring her back to looking great" when I bought her.

I'm not sure it is worth the cost of replacement doors, and besides, the cabinet frames are finished with the same faux wood veneer, so replacing the doors with anything that is non-matching (which I am assuming would be required as I doubt a pattern and color match to such an old material is possible) would require replacing the framing as well. Hence the idea of painting the "woodwork" in her.

Thanks for the suggestion of going to local cabinet folks to see about refinishing or rewrapping; I'll look into that as well.

[rwhitbread]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

how much texture is in the original finish will determine how much work
damaged areas you need to work out how to duplicate any texture

OR

you can FILL ALL the texture (fake wood grain) with a Spakle type filler
Follow cleaning and sanding and any other prep directions for the type of filler you want to use.

High wear places .. I use automotive body filler.

Prime and paint ... how it looks is up to your skill level for applying and finishing paints

Good preparation is the key , sanding and priming don't expect paint to hide any blemish especially high gloss finish

Have seen a lot of good jobs where people used wallpapers , stick on tiles for back splashes

Thanks for the advice.

The cabinet veneer has no texture to is at all; all very smooth and glossy. As it is a very thin (paper thin) veneer, I am initially worried about sanding it, but I do know that what every prep I have to do is going to require that I get the surface degreased, and roughed up enough to take and hold primer and paint.

I guess step one is to pull off one door or drawer facing and experiment with it.

[NMWildcat]

I have two friends that made a hobby of refinishing older RVs and flipping them.
They usually paint the interiors (walls, ceilings, and cabinets) in lighter colors.
As long as the wall paper or veneer is still attached well and in good condition, and you don't get the surface too wet while coating, no problem.
If the surface is heavily peeling, then it's best to peel off all you can and use good primer.
Some coverings will crinkle or pucker as the paint dries, especially if you get the surface too wet.
In a few they actually removed the cheap cabinets and replaced with better quality premade or built them from scratch.
Good luck and have fun!

[rwhitbread]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I have two friends that made a hobby of refinishing older RVs and flipping them.
They usually paint the interiors (walls, ceilings, and cabinets) in lighter colors.
As long as the wall paper or veneer is still attached well and in good condition, and you don't get the surface too wet while coating, no problem.
If the surface is heavily peeling, then it's best to peel off all you can and use good primer.
Some coverings will crinkle or pucker as the paint dries, especially if you get the surface too wet.
In a few they actually removed the cheap cabinets and replaced with better quality premade or built them from scratch.
Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for the input. It's appreciated.

[Phreak480]

Originally Posted by rwhitbread

I think the part that bugged me was the non-answer followed by "hope this helps".

Don't get me wrong, some of the folks I have talked to at FR have been great and supplied, or tried at least, to provide some helpful advice and/or documentation about the unit. My local dealer, and local tech have been great when it comes to helping with repair and renovation tasks on the same 18 year old unit.

The age of the rig should not be an issue . BTW what I asked FR was if they knew of a way to paint the cabinets, given that the veneer is old and peeling a bit in some places. I didn't ask them to actually do anything other than perhaps give a bit of advice and identify, if they could, the type of paper veneer they used. They didn't even identify what type of material was used in the cabinet construction (I am assuming obviously a stick on veneer over some sort of MDF).

Would you have preferred they just said "No" and then hung up?

The fact that they even suggested the forums which are an unofficial thing not run by them is a big plus in my mind.

[rwhitbread]

Originally Posted by Phreak480

Would you have preferred they just said "No" and then hung up?

The fact that they even suggested the forums which are an unofficial thing not run by them is a big plus in my mind.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the interaction with FB; perhaps It was just a bad day for them and I. Have you any suggestions on the actual subject of the post?

[larry2c]

This would be a bit pricey but I re-faced my stick house kitchen cabinets. Basically it is real wood veneer that went over the original cabinets. Just make sure you scrub down the original surface with TSP or something that will get all the surface contaminates off before applying the veneer.

[Openroadorer99]

Although i have a 2017, TT. My cabinet, doors and droors are wood of some type. The rest of the cabinets, trim and such are the covered pressboard.
...
I had trouble from moisture, humid areas, a drip from the pump under the vanity sink. The wood is not sealed at the top and bottoms of being put together, so mine started to swell in different places.
...
I tried stripping, sanding the spots and sealing then prime and painting multiple times, even gel stain. I couldnt stand the paint look. I also had the sun faded look in spots on the vanear covering as well.
...
Being about ready to give this thing away. I finally one section at a time, took doors and or droors out/off, and used a heat gun to remove the covering. It was not fun at all, but worth it in the end.
...
After covering removed, let cool, sanded and was able to sand bulging spots to level, then clear coated multiple, multiple coats with water clean up clear, as it has a very low smell to it. Some areas i needed to use a little brown hobby paint to make a light grain to it, and added more clear over that. Doors and droor fronts i sanded just enough to give that reclamed look and multiple coats of clear. As they werent covered in anything.
...
Wile clearing cabinets, and such, i used the worn foam brushes to slop on, on the inside where seams and floor wood is, to let soak in to water proof, and so far, has held up great.
...
I can live with the luan and pressboard cleared look over the paint look.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

Your rig is 18 years old and you want the Mfg to do something it would seem to me they gave you a solid answer. What you might do is pull one of the cabinet doors and take it to a local cabinet maker and see if they can do some sort of finish on it or get you replacement doors that have the look and finish you desire. JMHO

Really harsh for no good reason at all . he didn't ask Fr to do anything he asked for advice on covering the cabinets and there answer was robotic they gave him the suggestion of coming here which he did and your answer was worthless .. Of Course FR has nothing to do with the forum but they promote it heavily .