We are repainting our kitchen cabinets from a medium oak color to a dark chocolate brown. The hinges are on the outside of the cabinet and are a weathered brass color. We were intending to replace the handles with a chrome/silver color handle. I think having chrome/silver hinges is going to look odd and will stand out too much. Should I try to spray paint them another color (yes we did remove them before painting the cabinets) or should we try moving the hinges to the inside of the cabinets? The latter sounds pretty time consuming. But I can't seem to find any pictures of cabinets with hinges on the outside (our kitchen dates to 1984).
The old style hinges on the outside of the cabinet can be re-used. Nothing wrong with them if they still work. Glad to hear thet you removed them before painting!
There were two types used: old style and self-closing. I usually found that when cabinets needed refinishing that the hinges didn't work all that well, so I replaced them.
One problem is that the screw holes were placed slightly differently on replacement hinges. I'm not really sure why but I suspect that it was because of the country of origin. To handle that I made a bunch of square pegs out of soft wood and I glued and hammered them (gently) into the screw holes and then drilled new holes for the new hinges.
You may also find that new self-closing hinges to replace the old style just don't fit. If you look at the spacing on the two types, you will see why. In some cases I had to carve a notch in the cabinet face (or the door backside) to allow for the larger requirements of the new self-closing hinges.
The "Euro" hinges that fit out of sight inside the cabinet are neat, but you may have trouble fitting them in place. First of all, the exposed screw holes of the old hinges will have to be filled and painted. Next, you will have to find a type that will work on your cabinets, and this could be a problem if you don't have some experience with them. If you feel confident of your cabinet making experience, buy some samples and see how they will work in your cabinets and have a go at it.
Added: I don't recommend painting hinges. Invariably the paint wears off in a place where it shows.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bob Fleming,
Posts: 12118 | Location: Eagle, CO USA | Registered: Sep 18, 2002
