When you’ve got a kitchen’s worth of cabinets to paint, you can’t beat spray-painting for applying paint evenly, completely and cost-effectively. But some clients with older homes find spray-painted surfaces a little too slick–too modern–for their tastes. So a pair of professional painters in Walnut Creek, CA, have found a way to please those discerning eyes without busting the budget.

Our pros spray three coats of oil-base enamel onto kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts and allow them to dry thoroughly on a homemade drying rack (see the Dec. 9 Cozy Digz blog). Then they rehang the doors and roll on a final coat of enamel, using a “hot-dog roller”–a 6-in. roller that fits into tight spaces. (A short nap roller adds only a thin layer of fresh paint.)

While the paint is still wet, they go over it with a dry brush, which leaves very faint brushmarks–and a hand-painted look that feels old-timey. It takes a clean brush and a light touch because you want to texture the fresh paint, not smooth it. The fewer strokes, the better.

Thanks to Scott Rector and Greg Scillitani for sharing this tip—just one of the thousands of field-tested tips and techniques that you’ll find in Renovation 5th Edition. The latest edition of this timeless Taunton press book includes 250+ technical drawings, 1,000 photos selected from the 40,000 that I’ve taken over the years, and lifetimes of experience that builders shared with me. I hope you find it useful.          — Mike