fine painting of cabinetry can be done with brush or sprayer. in this article I am using a brush on installed cabinet faceframes and visible panels.

any coating requires a uniform surface for proper drying and a surface free of defects for uniform appearance. the more porous the surface, the quicker it will dry. priming and sanding address these issues, respectively.

each coat of paint reduces the surface tension. the less tension, the thinner the coating can be. this applies to both brush and sprayer, but is more easily observed by feel with a brush. thin with appropriate solvent- in my case, water. if too thick, the paint will drag. if too thin, it will run and drip.

porosity also effects drying times (and open times, where then paint is still workable). in general, earlier coats will dry faster.

for brush stiffness, soft is best for low viscosity cabinet paints. apply thick, spread (using a low angle and medium pressure) and then flatten with brush tip when brush is no longer loaded. Brush should almost be perpendicular to surface, just grazing.

before the last coat goes one, a bit of surface prep will make the finish look great. sanding and cleaning will remove ridges, strong brush strokes, and any debris from the previous coats. sanding will also, again, even out the surface tension, allow the paint to flow and level more uniformly. this is the goal of the final layer.

This project called for a 3cm wooden countertop on two separate cabinets. Since the CT leading edge is continuous and mitered at the ends, I decided to miter fold the leading edge boards to 3cm and leave the inside boards at stock thickness (13/16”).

here's the over-all concept after the sawing. the piece on the left becomes the “edge” and the piece on the far right becomes the face, or top, of the countertop. the center portion was cut away and becomes firewood. real good firewood.

keep in mind that, as a general practice, I generally use a track saw for most of my cutting and milling tasks. I also take a minimalist approach to clamps and instead use tape or concealed screws whenever possible to pull joints tight. this folding technique was developed from my personal practices. I’ve used it for years on hardwoods and plywood and have had great results with it.

the first cut sets the miter on the piece that will become the “edge” of the board. the completed board on the left was used to support the rail during the cut.

Now the “face,” or top, of the board and the track are flipped around and mitered. this removes the waste piece, a.k.a. the firewood.

when setting the depth on the tracksaw for small width cuts like this, I often keep the cut just shy of actually cutting all the way through the board. this keeps the connection between the two pieces intact, which helps eliminate piece movement and blade pinching. after the cut, I can easily snap the pieces apart and clean up the remaining material with a block plane.

the reason it's called miter folding is that you fold the pieces together, with glue in the joint, after taping them securely. I like to use regular masking tape (1.88”) as it has a decent amount of flex and holds extremely well. if you ever leave it on too long and it's hard to remove, a heat gun will help.

using masking tape, the edge and face are taped together at the joint. this aligns the boards during the folding process.

block plane to tune the joint prior to glue removes any material left by the tracksaw cut.

the joint is glued, folded and taped in place here, the tape is not only aiding in the alignment during folding, but is also pulling the joint closed.

vertically hung sheetrock and fiberglass taped joints start the installation

gypsum based setting compound comprise the first and second coats to provide a flat surface for the plaster