Goodbye 1980s.

My latest project has been freshening up my hall bathroom vanity and medicine cabinet with a good coat of paint.  My house was built in 1986, and both were showing their useful life and style ages.

I opted to do something a little more current than the dark Java Gel Stain I’d used in the kitchen and master bathroom.  All the big kids seem to be using white right now, so I picked out a nice antique white.  I used:

• Sander, sanding block and sandpaper.
• TSP cleaner.
• Dutch Boy Cabinet and Trim Paint, primer and paint, tinted 011W Antique White.  This vanity didn’t even take an entire pint container.
• Small dense roller and tray, and small paint brush.

I removed the doors and hardware, cleaned the surfaces to be painted with TSP, lightly sanded them with a hand sander, sanding block and sandpaper to remove what was left of the old poly topcoat, then I dusted them, taped all the edges off with painters tape, and started painting.  It took three coats of brushing on the detail, then rolling the entire surface.  Rolling is the only way to go and gives a flawless finish.

Once you start painting, just know the first couple of coats will look TERRIBLE and make you question life itself.  It gets better.  Be sure to allow plenty of time for this project because you should wait about 24 hours between paint coats.  I started painting on Saturday and wasn’t done until Tuesday.  I encourage you to search YouTube for detailed instructions, as there are lots of very helpful videos out there.

DON’T PANIC! It’s just the first coat.

Tape all your edges, and any details you don’t want to paint.

I used packing paper from Amazon packages to cover the floor.

Have plenty nitrile gloves handy, a wipe rag, and a couple of large zip top bags.  Since cabinet and trim paint is acrylic, you won’t be rinsing out your tools between coats.  Just drop them in a sealed bag and they’ll be fine overnight.  I threw them away when I was done.

We replaced the old antiqued gold hardware with weathered nickel.  Eventually I can see the walls painted a soft gray and new flooring, but I’m totally out of the mood for more painting projects right now.

I still like the look of the medicine cabinet in java, but this is nice and clean.  See my post on our master bathroom to see how this same cabinet looks in the dark java gel stain.  Bathroom Vanity and Medicine Cabinet Makeover Project

After