I didn't know what would happen if I just painted, so I decided to put a coat of latex primer on everything. I didn't want to have to re-paint everything if the black paint started to fade or bleed. here is a picture of the control panel with a coat of the white primer.

HORAY! The cabinet looks GREAT with the black paint, doesn't it? It turned out better than I had imagined. I just brushed it on. I did take care to be sure that all of the brush strokes were all going the same way. Piece of cake!

You'll notice that I didn't paint any of the edges. That's where the 3/4" T-Molding will eventually go.

YES, if you're wondering, my wife Sharon DID let me paint in the living room too. Like I said, she is one-in-a-million!

A picture from the rear.

After I got all of the plastic tarps cleaned up I rolled the cabinet against the wall, attached the control panel, and wholah! Not to shabby for 2 weeks of work.