Closet Door Question
We are having our original closet doors refinished. I know most Eichler homes had grasscloth on the panels but we have a beautiful green milky paint/stain that was put on the luan panels that back the doors. We are working with our cabinetmaker/refinisher to match up that original paint/stain because we really love the subtleness of the color and the finish.
Before we start playing around with different product, I was wondering if anyone out there knew what product may have been used on these doors.
For reference, we are located in the San Mateo Highlands and yes, this is the original finish on these doors.
Hi,
I live in the Highlands too and we have these same doors. I was told that the color was done with diluted paint. I just added a bit of water to a standard water based paint and used this on fresh Luan panels that we cut from larger panels we got at Home Depot. The diluted paint goes on somewhere between a paint and a stain and gives a finish that is pretty close to the original. Nice and matte and soft. One of our living room walls and most of our foyer and hallway was done in the same finish. I have used this on fresh wood and on previously "colored" wood and in both cases seen pretty good results.
I also figured out a way to match the old zolotone finish on the doors using a texturized spray paint product called Stone Creations.
Let me know if you are interested in seeing how these techniques worked out.
Cheers and Good Luck,
Jeannette
We are looking to freshen up our original kitchen's zolotone. What did you use and where did you get it, please?
Jeanette, thanks for the information, this really helps! I would love to see how you matched up the zolotone. We had considered having a batch custom made through the company but it went way down on the list as other issues became more pressing. If there is a more accessible solution, such as yours, we might give it a try.
My email address is in my profile and I would love to set up a time, at your convenience, to see your finished work.
Thanks!
Hi,
I posted some photos on the photo gallery on this web site to show what the final results look like. The "Stone Creations" is a spray paint product that is designed to go on thick and create a rough textured finish. I do the mock-zolotone in two steps. First painting the door frame with plain brown paint and then with light air-brush style sweeps of the Stone Creations product. It takes a bit of practice and lots of drop cloths to keep the spray off of everything else but the overall effect is pretty convincing. The other trick is to avoid over-painting the corners where two or three boards come together. I would practice on an old picture frame or something where you will get a sense of the corners as well as the straight parts. So far, I have only done this on closet doors but am also planning to get around to the kitchen cabinets at some point in the future. I expect this will be a bit more challenging to get a nice light coverage on all exposed surfaces without getting too much unintentional cross-spray.
The final surface is more three dimensional than the original zolotone that we still have around the house but unless someone is looking at the two surfaces side by side, it is not really an obvious difference.
Good Luck,
Jeannette
Jeanette,
Thanks! I can't believe how well you matched up the doors...both the frames and the inserts! They looks identical to mine. By chance, do you recall the paint color you used for the inserts? If not, no worries. We can always take a sample from the original panel over to Cal Paint when we pick up the rest of our house stain.
I really appreciate your time in sharing this information.
