Kitchen Cabinet Painting - A 'How To' Guide

Replacing your kitchen cabinets can be very expensive. Many people are aware of the cheaper alternative of re-facing your cabinets but most folks don't know that you can actually paint them and get a very high-quality finished look.

A kitchen cabinet painting project requires some time and careful preparation, but the result can be an amazing transformation of your kitchen's look at a much lower cost than replacement. Don’t misread this that cabinet painting is cheap… it’s not. 

Cabinet painting is very slow work, requiring special purpose paints that are generally difficult to work with, and for good results requires a special skill set vs. everyday wall painting. Considering the amount of surface area that’s being painted, (whether you’re doing it yourself and place value on your time, or if you’re hiring a professional refinisher) cabinet painting is still an expensive endeavor….but it’s a fraction of what you would spend on replacement.

This week's blog post will walk you through the steps you need to take to make it happen.

Set Up Your Work Area

First you're going to want to remove your cabinet doors and drawers and take them to a work area toprep and paint them. Attach a strip of masking tape to the back of each one so you can make yourself a note indicating where each one should be returned to after you've finished painting.

Since it is important that you end up with a smooth finish on your cabinets you're going to want to setup a work area that's out of the way of heavy traffic and is also relatively dust-free. In your work area, lay down a heavy-duty plastic drop cloth on the floor beneath your doors and drawers. It will make the process easier if you slide a couple of strips of wood underneath each piece to elevate them off of the floor slightly and keep your fresh paint from accidentally sticking to the plastic. It's even better if you have some saw horses available to elevate them to an easier working height so you're not having to bend down so much.

Protect all furnishings, appliances, and floors in the work area from dust and paint spills using plastic drop cloths.

Prep The Cabinets

Remove all of the hardware (including knobs, handles, and hinges) then mark each one with masking tape to identify their locations and set them aside.
Kitchen cabinets take a lot of abuse - from dirty hands to cooking grease to food spatters. Before you do anything else you'll need to clean all dirt and contaminants off of the surfaces of the doors, drawers, and boxes with a good cleaner-degreaser that's suitable for pre-paint applications.  It's always a good idea to protect the adjacent surfaces (like the walls and the countertop) from accidental damage with masking paper and painter's tape.

Once the cabinets have thoroughly dried you'll want to fill any dings or holes with wood filler and a putty knife, then de-gloss the surface to create a profile on the finish so your newly applied paint will stick to the cabinets. This can be accomplished by using a chemical paint deglosser that you can find in any paint aisle of your local hardware store. However, the best method for promoting adhesion of the new coating is to use a fine to medium grit sandpaper (200 grit or so) or sanding sponge to scuff the gloss off of the existing finish.

Before you proceed to the next step, make sure you remove any dust from the surfaces to be painted that was created during sanding. A tack cloth works well for this.

Prime & Paint

If you have a high-sheen finish on your cabinets, apply a coat of bonding primer to all of the surfaces that will be receiving paint, using either a brush or a 4" mini roller. If a very smooth finish is desired, consider using a high building primer that will allow you to lightly sand the primer smooth, once it's dry, before you apply the finish coats. Allow the primer to dry to the touch before you flip your doors over to prime the opposite side.

*If your cabinets are dull or possibly don't have any protective clear coating, check out our article on painting over stained wood for more useful tips.

You have a couple of different choices when it comes to the finish coating: oil or latex enamel. The great thing about oil-based paints is that they are super durable and they have self-leveling properties which is more conducive to a smoother finish; allowing your brush and/or roller marks to "level-out" during the drying process. The downside to oil paints is that they have a stronger odor and are more difficult to cleanup - requiring the use of paint thinner rather than simple soap and water.

Fortunately, with the new technology that's available in coatings today, there are some great latex-enamel paints that have similar self-leveling properties to that of their oil-based cousins. One latex product that we love is called BreakThrough! (made by PPG Paints), which is an easier to use, more accessible product than many of the specialty cabinet products we use. It's more expensive than a regular latex paint, but well worth the money when painting cabinets.

As with any interior home painting project, make sure you're picking the right painting tools to give you the best possible finish. For the smoothest finish without any brush marks, I prefer a soft woven or microfiber roller cover when using latex, or a mohair roller cover when using oil. If you’re painting at home, use one of these applicators for best results. If hiring a refinishing professional, some or all parts of your cabinets will probably be spray finished.

Apply two coats of the finish of your choice in the direction of the wood grain, allowing the recommended amount of drying time between coats. If you're not satisfied with how smooth the first coat turned out, give it a light sanding with 220-400 grit sandpaper between coats after it's had plenty of time to dry.

Pay special attention to any runs, drips, or sag marks in the finish. Even for a seasoned veteran of the painting world it can be easy to get runs in the corners of your cabinet molding detail. If you do end up with any blemishes in the finish that you can't correct when still wet, simply wait until dry, sand out the bad spots, and touch-up the areas.

The Finishing Touch

For a little additional cost, consider updating your cabinet hardware with new knobs, pulls, and hinges. You can usually find a large selection of them at your local home center.
If you really want to complement your new look for a major transformation you can also try painting your kitchen countertop as well.

Between the new paint and the hardware, you'll be amazed at home much this can transform the look of your kitchen.

If you're in the Greater Pittsburgh or Western Pennsylvania areas and have a kitchen cabinet painting project that you need assistance with, please contact us for a free consultation and quote.