Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations Review

As most of you know, I bought this home in 2006 and virtually recreated it from top to bottom - with exception to the kitchen. I remember the first time I walked into the home with my agent/close friend Kelly. As we walked into the kitchen, I turned to her and said, "I've seen enough, next!" As she has done many time throughout our friendship, she slowed me down enough to look at the rest of the house. I thank God for Kelly because I fell in love with this home. I poured more sweat equity into this home than the combined total for all other homes I've ever lived in. I nurtured these wooden walls, yes - wooden walls - not drywall, not plaster - wood walls. I painted, laid tile and stripped the hardwood floors. Every wall was stripped of wallpaper, meticulously cleaned, primed and painted. All ceilings have been textured and painted. It has been a journey born of love. Why I haven't touched the kitchen is beyond me. I do know, over time the maroon wallpaper with dirty white daises has grown on me - well, not really I just got used to UGLY.  There is a desensitization therapy that utilizes the concept that the more you expose someone to something they eventually are alright with it.. Maybe that's what happened with me.  I've painted more kitchen cabinets in my lifetime than most and I hate painting kitchen cabinets. I despise painting kitchen cabinets. So when my 80 year old father walked into my home a few weeks ago and he mused that the kitchen "is still the kitchen" and then asked if I ever planned on touching it. I decided the time had come - alas 6 years late as it may be. In speaking with a coworker, he mentioned he had seen a kit made by Rustoleum specifically for kitchen cabinets. I looked it up, read some reviews online and after several days thought weighing the pros and cons, I decided to tackle these cabinets. Anyone who knows me knows I am a perfectionist. So ... I painstakingly removed all doors and drawers, all knobs and pulls as well as all hinges.  I cleaned and deglossed all surfaces and I embarked on the kitchen cabinet transformation.
 

Sooo...after hearing about Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations kits I was intrigued to say the least. I have painted a lot in my lifetime. I love to paint and I love experiencing new things. So the Rustoleum kit sounded like a good idea and who knows, maybe it would make a tedious job fun.  I decided I was going to paint the dark wood cabinets white to brighten things up. 

Cabinets before painting

I measured my cabinets as instructed on Rustoleum's website. Just under 150 square feet. That would mean I should be good to go by purchasing a large kit for $150.00. Home Depot doesn't sell the large kits so I bought 2 small kits instead. This was "supposed" to cover 200 square feet. As I've learned in life, few things go as they are supposed to. According to Rustoleum's claims, I should have had enough of the bond coat to cover my area with 2 coats. After 2 coats, it was obvious I was going to need another coat as the bond coat covered poorly and there were very visible stains bleeding through on some of my door fronts. Quite frankly, it looked hideous. Fortunately, I had more product than I needed so I figured I should be able to put on a 3rd coat. 

 

After 3 coats is was evident that the bond coat Rustoleum touts as being a primer as well as a bond coat isn't an effective primer at all. Quite frankly it stinks. I had to go buy a 3rd kit because they do not sell the bond coat separately. I'm a bit ticked at that. I fork over another $80.00 for essentially a quart of bond coat. I toss out everything else in the kit. I put on a 4th coat and realize the bleed though is still happening. I write Rustoleum as well as send them photos of the doors. I am advised to send my last receipt in and they will refund me the $80.00.  They tell me they are sorry and they will forward my pictures to their production people.  They offer no suggestions to rectify the problem but I did get an apology. I did send that receipt to them and to their credit they did refund the $80.00 but no amount of money could ease the headache their product was causing. Unbelievably I put a 4th, 5th and 6th coat on just the outside of the cabinet doors before I ran out of bond coat once again. Believe it or not, the bond coat still allowed for staining to show through. At this point I was plain tired of this project and wanted it to end. I did put the top coat on the cabinets, replaced all hinges and knobs and rehung the cabinets. I'll also mention that the top coat of Polyurethane has yellowed in places since I've finished the project. Would I recommend Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations to anyone else? Hell no. My project is done but not at all to my satisfaction.  I understand I have a more critical eye than most and after 6 coats I can still see some light bleed through stains.  Using their product I probably spent twice as much money than if I had just bought paint and primer.  Not to mention the project probably took me at least 5 times longer start to finish.  Undoubtedly, I would have had far better results if I had gone the old fashion route instead. Steer clear of this product.

                                         Cabinets after using
                            Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations