im painting some kitchen cupboards, they are wood but finished in a lacquer so very smooth. I want to paint them in johnstones Aqua satin. What's the best primer? They are going to be finished in dark grey, but most of the zinner primers are white? I was looking at the water based zinner 123 just for ease of use over the shellac based one? Will this be fine? Thanks
As lacquered I would suggest Zinnser BIN, as you say, shellac based but a small price to pay for improved paint adhesion If you do go the BIN route, you need cellulose thinners or meths for cleaning - or ‘clean spirit’, never used this myself but recommended on here recently Thorough cleaning and degreasing the doors goes without saying, hot sugar soap solution and elbow grease is good for this Followed by a light rub over with say P180 paper should do it
You have no need to go the B.I.N. route, Google 'V33' and watch the video on YouTube a very tough kitchen cupboard paint which is resistant to bleach, red wine stains etc and available in a limited colour range that includes dark grey. Paint dries to a fantastic satin finish that looks like it may have been spray painted, really cannot fault it as it is very easy to apply. Just follow the instructions. Have painted three fitted kitchens myself using it. This product goes a long way so works out reasonably economical, no primers or undercoat required and a whole lot tougher than Aqua Satin.