How do I paint faux wood cabinets?

I'm moving into a condo made in the late 70's and everything about it is great EXCEPT for the old non-wood 'wood' cabinets that look just like that condensed sawdust style. I have NO idea what they're really made of but can i paint them?





How do i go about painting faux wood cabinets?How do I paint faux wood cabinets?
Cover the surface entirely with at least one coat of latex 'Kilz'. You can find this at any home improvement store in the paint dept. Kilz, which is really just a fast-drying primer, will allow you to paint the cabinets any color you want - just use a latex paint over the latex Kilz.


Since Kilz is white, if you paint over with a dark color, you will need at least two paint coats.How do I paint faux wood cabinets?
They sound like pressboard with a veneer. Yeah, thats typical.





Yeah, you can paint 'em.





Personally, I would recommend Gripper over kilz because of Grippers stronger tenacity - Ive used both and will vouch for the Gripper as the superior product.





You can have the primer tinted (and should) toward the finish color.





As far as faux goes, its too much detail to write out here. You can flip though a simple book on faux technique to get the idea of different application methods. Its part art - so.... if you dont really care how it turns out go for it, otherwise consider just a solid paint color for your finish.