Painting a Kitchen Island with the HomeRight Finish Max Sprayer

A few months ago my Mom found a kitchen island she LOVED. But it was several thousand dollars over budget. I know, right? My Dad promised he could build her an island she would love just as much. This wasn’t really a surprise though. Over the course of our lives, he’s built everything from the sandbox during our childhood years, to the prom backdrops during our teen years and this year, he built my sister’s LiLi’s pantry. He’s always DIYing or building something when he’s home.

Armed with a picture torn from a magazine as inspiration, he started building my Mom’s dream island. Each time I went to visit my parents, I would check on his progress. Even though I saw the island in various stages, it was hard to appreciate just how much work went into creating the final product until I got an email from my dad last week. “Here it is. What do you think?” he wrote.

I secretly thought it looked like the Taj Mahal of kitchen islands. I mean, look at all of the detail work on those columns. This island is huge.

As you guys know, my Mom has a very specific idea of what she wants the house to look like. She didn’t hesitate to tell us all she wanted the island painted white.

They called me up and asked if I would be interested in painting the island. Of course, I would have helped with anything they needed. The problem was that my Dad wanted to use enamel based paint and my Mom wanted to use chalk paint. I’m a total rock star at chalk paint or rolling latex paint on the walls but I’ve never even used enamel paint before.

Thankfully, I met the sweetest HomeRight representative at Haven back in July and shared with her our dilemma. She immediately recommended the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP Sprayer and a few weeks later we were ready to try it out on the kitchen island. I must say, I was a little skeptical at using a paint sprayer. A few years ago, I got a really expensive one as one of my big Christmas gifts. I used the sprayer once and hated it. The over spray, oh my goodness, you guys it was awful. I was totally disappointed in the results.

I knew I needed to give this one a try though. It would have taken me hours to hand paint with a brush or even to use a roller on the kitchen island. Plus, my parents wanted a really custom finish that didn’t include brushstrokes.

From the beginning, the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP Sprayer was lightweight, which was really important because you don’t want your arms to get tired when you’re working on a big project. The instructions were easy to follow and understand. The sprayer and accessories also came in relatively small boxes, which made it nice for transporting.

My Dad had created a spray tent in his work area prior to my arrival. His workshop and garage areas are large with good ventilation. Make sure you are working in a well ventilated area at all times, wearing safety goggles, a mask and protective clothing prior to using any kind of paint/chemicals/paint sprayer/tools. We’re sharing our experience with you and are by no means professionals.

To lessen the chance of the paint on the island yellowing over time, we chose to prime the kitchen island first using a primer a Benjamin Moore expert recommended. After stirring the primer

we checked the viscosity using the accessories included with the Finish Max kit. This step is important because you don’t want the paint to be so thick it clogs up the sprayer.

Then we strained the primer into the Finish Max quart container approximately ½ cup at a time.

Make sure to practice spraying on a scrap piece of wood, as there is a few seconds delay from the time you pull the trigger control until the spray comes out. The spray is more like a fine mist than say a spray from an aerosol can and it takes a few tries to get used to it.

These are all different sides and angles from the island after one coat of primer. We used multiple paint sprayer setting and you can barely tell which lines were horizontal and which were sprayed with the vertical spray. How cool is that?

While the primer was drying, we needed to clean out the Finish Max Sprayer so we would be able to use it for the paint application. Clean up was so much easier than I could have imagined.

A few hours later we were ready for the first coat of paint, Benjamin Moore Decorator White. We sifted the paint into the Finish Max quart container

and got to work spraying on the first coat of paint.

An hour later, my Mom was so excited she was crying tears of joy.

As you can see we still have to install the top of the island. We’re debating whether to go with granite, butcher block or walnut. This is where the bar stools will go so the littles can request more pancakes.

Like I said before, the simple clean up was one of the things that surprised me about using the Finish Max sprayer the most. Seriously, it’s so easy.

After spending the afternoon with my Dad and the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP Sprayer, I honestly feel completely different about paint sprayers. It saved us time and money. There was barely any over spray. In fact, we used the Finish Max for almost three hours that day and we only had one paint drip the entire time.

Even though the paint was still drying, we propped the doors up on the island for my Mom to get a sneak peek. The look on her face was priceless. Needless, to say, it was a successful afternoon hanging out with my Dad and helping to make my Mom’s dreams come true. I can’t wait to show you guys how awesome the island looks in the kitchen at Loblolly Manor.

A very special thank you to HomeRight for sponsoring this post. All opinions and experiences are my own and I have nothing but praise for the Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP Sprayer.

Many blessings,

CoCo