Oak Kitchen Doors

[northan]

Hi.
First Post and obviously have a little question.

We have a solid door oak kitchen we believe to be 25 to 30 years old. The kitchen is very dark due to nearby protected trees and has little natural light. The solid oak and black worktops make it a very dark place to be.
So as the kitchen is vey solid, we plan to rejuvenate the kitchen rather than replace, which means new worktop, floors and splashbacks. We considered keeping the oak as it is, but cant get past the dark oak finish working with a style we like. Therefore we decided if we want to keep - painting is where it is. The long explanation before is so I don't get inundated with advices to keep the oak and change everything else including cutting the down the trees
So finally the question, before painting, the oak has a varnish finish and is very open grain. If I strip it back via chemicals and sanding, what is the best way to smooth out the surface before priming and painting? Also recommendations on the products would be great. I think I will invest in a small sprayer for the painting, so hand applications and spray are fine for recommending. I've attached a photo of the offending doors with the dribble pup cunningly camouflaged with the oak.

 

[MARK.B.]

Just sand them down if you are sure they are solid ( if veneer you will get a unpleasant surprise DAMHIKT , go through the grits and you will get a finish suitable for sanding, don't to to fine finish as your paint needs something to key too.

 

[northan]

Just sand them down if you are sure they are solid ( if veneer you will get a unpleasant surprise DAMHIKT , go through the grits and you will get a finish suitable for sanding, don't to to fine finish as your paint needs something to key too.

Ohh they are solid alright, there are a few splits etc than need addressing. So you don't think I need to fill the grain?

 

[MARK.B.]

If its really open grain then you will need to fill otherwise a sanding sealer or primer ( maybe both ) should give a good finish

 

[northan]

Thanks Mark. I'm not qualified enough to know what's really open grain. I know the previous finish has filled in a fair bit of the grain, but the remaining grain can probably be spotted from a mile away painted if I don't tackle it properly from the start. The attached is typical of the surface area, the end grain is slightly worse

 

[robgul]

Be aware that a painted finish will always make any subsequent knocks and chips far more noticeable than on the current oak finish . . . .

 

[MARK.B.]

No paint expert here or anything else for that matter but if you want a smooth finish then perhaps use a high build primer that would fill in the grain nicely