Carrie has this amazing yellow 1961 kitchen for sale in St. Louis. Great oven, stovetop, dishwasher and fridge, too. I don’t talk about it enough – but oh, how I love the control panels on these old appliances – especially the dishwashers. Check out this Potscrubber II – it has kind of tortoise shell background. Fantastic!

Oh, and this kitchen has speckled gold dust countertops, our favorite.

Notice the way the ceiling is done in this kitchen – the lights recessed in the extending soffits/bulkheads on all four sides. I am not sure if I like the look or not – I think it makes the kitchen feel smaller, although the functionality of the light is probably terrific. Leave a Comment if you’d like me to connect you with Carrie – it would be great to find a happy new retro renovation home for this cuties!

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Catherine and others have pinged me about this fabulous aqua GE steel kitchen for sale in Fenton, Michigan. It’s also on the Postwar Steel cabinet Forum. What a ginormous set – any takers? Thanks, Catherine — and to everyone who sends me ideas for posts. I really really appreciate it!

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Well, these are smoking hot. A few months ago I spoke to a guy in Texas who had a whole barnfull of new-old-stock steel cabinet pieces for sale. The pieces have finally made their way to ebay. There look to be both Republic and GE pieces — great “cabinettes” – in a variety of pastels. A hodge podge, I was told originally. I’ve asked for more information — for example, the inventory list — so I can get the info to Retro Renovation readers first.

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Nancy is a new reader from Carlisle, Mass, who wants to restore her gorgeous pink GE steel cabinets. Drool drool. I really wanted pink, but my husband (and the decorating gods) won out and we have aqua.

Here is Nancy’s question:

Hi Pam, I love your site. I’m just beginning to explore so I apologize if this is covered somewhere but I didn’t see it. I have a 1958 ranch with the original GE pink kitchen cabinets including the original double oven. The cabinets desperately need painting. The paint is completely worn away in some places. There are way too many for me to consider removing them and taking them somewhere to be painted.

It seems most people recommend either powder coating or an automative paint job for metal cabinets that need painting. I have found a company that uses an electrostatic charged enamel paint with a high gloss. They do a lot of steelcase file cabinets, desks, school lockers, etc. It seems as if that would work well for kitchen cabinets but I’m a little concerned that nobody in these forums mentions it. Any idea if this is a good way to go?

Here are a couple of pictures to take a look at. Just for fun, I included one of the original wallpaper we uncovered. Thought you might like to see it.

Thanks,

Nancy

Thanks, Nancy. Love the kitchen! Love the wallpaper! Love the brown (plastic? tile?) backsplash! Love the pinky stove top hood! I don’t know the answer to your question, though, so I’ve asked trusty Palm Springs Stephan, who knows most everything and especially how to paint metal as he is also a vintage car guy.

Before I get into his advice I do want to remind everyone to be cognizant of potential lead paint issues whenever they do renovations: Be sure to see the EPA’s complete website: http://www.epa.gov/lead/

He is the GREATEST and responded right away:

Sure, I’m happy to give this a whirl. But I am not an expert … just an “informed renovator.”

The process that Nancy describes sounds very similar to powder coating in that it involves a low-voltage electrical charge that helps paint to stick better to the metal. But from the way Nancy describes the “new” process, there do seem to be some very important differences.

As I have always understood the process of powder coating, the metal is first chemically (dipping) or mechanically (sanding) stripped absolutely bare. If Nancy’s cabinets are going to be painted in place, this process will either be minimized or skipped altogether. I would think that would have a direct effect on the final quality, probably a negative one. Proper preparation is always a huge part of any renovation process. I just don’t see how metal cabinetry in a household kitchen can be properly prepped if they are not first disassembled and removed. And the mess will be enormous!

In powder coating, the stripped metal to be painted is given a low-voltage electrical charge and a powdered pigment is dusted onto the surface. It is a dry process. The object is then heated so that the dry powdered pigment “melts” to form a smooth, glossy, and hard surface. Think of the old art-form of enameling a piece of jewelry. The process is very similar.

From what Nancy describes, the “new” process uses the same electrical charge to the metal, but the pigment is carried by liquid paint. And again because the job is being done in place without removing the cabinets, the paint will not be heat cured. This will almost certainly result in a final surface that is less smooth and less durable.

If the cabinets are removed and taken to a powder coater, it is much easier to paint both the outside and the inside of the cabinets, giving them a “new inside and out” appearance. I suspect Nancy’s “new” process will be limited to the outside of the cabinets … or if the insides are also painted, the inability to properly prep them while they are still installed may result in a poorer quality finish on the inside.

I wonder … can Nancy not arrange for a powder coating company to pick up the cabinets from her house? Or perhaps she can rent a U-Haul to take them to the powder coater?

I’ve never seen this “new” paint process used before, but I have to suspect that the likely limitations described above may well produce an end result that will not please her as much as would powder coating or even auto painting. Yes, it is a massive pain in the patootie to remove a bunch of cabinets, haul them around, and then re-install them. But as any experienced renovator can tell you, cutting corners also means cutting quality. I guess Nancy has to decide whether she is willing to risk the possibility of a less-than-perfect outcome in order to save some sweat and sore muscles. I vote for taking the cabinets out and doing it right.

Always happy to help,

Palm Springs Stephan

Thanks, Palm Springs Stephen. Hey, I have now given you your own Tag. Over the next couple of days I will go back and relabel all posts to which Palm Springs Stephan has contributed – or better said, written altogether – so fans can read up!

Meanwhile, Nancy – and Stephan – and readers – I do have one additional thought – but I am not sure of this either: Has anyone ever tried removing just the doors and having them repainted? It scares me to think the doors might not go on smoothly afterward – but perhaps another reader has tried this?

And BarbieT adds to the conversation:

Hi Pam, in reply to electrostatic painting, I read in This old house forum about some people that had their cabinets electrostaticly painted.They had them done right in their house, and it ran them about $1700.00 or $1800.00. They said the outcome was great. You just need to find some one in your area that does that kind of painting.

Thank you BT!

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I really really want this mixer. It’s brand new, and I have such a thing going for mint-in-box. But I have to admit, what with the blog and all, I never cook anymore. Don’t worry, I still go in the kitchen a lot. Have you tried that cherry-almond cereal from Trader Joe’s? It is, like, the very best cereal ever even though one box only makes 3 bowls (when all you eat is cereal, that is).

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Palm Springs Stephan makes today’s fabulous ebay contribution. Thank you, PSS! What an AMAZING refrigerator. Check out the interior, even! The range is for sale, too, separately. Stephan writes:

My eBay pick for the day, a refrigerator that would look fantastic in your kitchen! And it’s one of those funky cabinet-like models very similar to some that were featured in your recent series on ads for pink kitchens. I wish they still made refrigerators in this design.

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A big, fabulous set of 1956 yellow GE steel kitchen cabinets just spotted and posted to the Postwar Steel Forum. Looks like there’s a color-coordinated dishwasher, cooktop, rangehood…and mention of a fridge. Drool drool drool. Be sure to take a look.

And remember, if you register and just check in daily at “Today’s New Posts” you can see…what’s new. For newer readers – the Forum is along the top nav bar, at the right!

$1000 is a great price, especially if they are in as good of condition as advertised. Be sure to let us know if you are the lucky one to snatch these up!

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