Kitchen Cabinet Painting Tips

I constantly get asked for a post on painting cabinets. Ironically, I had posted one on my other blog over a year ago. I think it's fitting to bring it over here this week...because guess what I'm up to right now at the new place? Yeah...I said never again. I truly didn't think we'd be moving again anytime soon.

Now that we're on kitchen #3 of painting our own cabinets (and countless friends' cabinets, too), I've concocted a few tips of my own to share. Honestly, I'm pretty pleased to say that almost three years later and this kitchen in this post still looks as fresh as the day(s) it was painted...there's only one little chip in the whole kitchen (and that was from a glass shattering). 

 

I've painted cabinets in lots of homes...and helped several friends along the way with theirs, as well. While I have to admit, this is, quite possible my least favorite painting job {it's not for the faint of heart}, it's definitely something lots of us tackle. Hoping these kitchen cabinet painting tips I've compiled over the years will help you when you take on your own cabinet painting! Read below for more>>>

 

This was the previous state of my kitchen. Builder grade all the way! ACK! Those cabinets drove me bonkers. This photo was taken over three years ago...before we even redid our island. We also added large crown moulding to the tops of the cabinets before painting them. To see how we redid our island, click here for the tutorial on my other blog. To see how we added crown moulding to the cabinets before painting them, click here.

   

I start a bit unconventionally and clean the doors and then fill all gaps with silicone or wood filler. Allow this to dry. Then I removed all of my cabinet doors. {I used a degreaser for cleaning.} I prefer to fill while the doors are still hinged...so they don't move too much in the process.

 

After the doors were down, I began the arduous task of sanding my cabinets. There's really no easy way around this. Since I wasn't restaining, I really only needed to sand off the top layer...enough to give the cabinets some tooth to hold the paint. I also do this sanding by hand. I'm normally a palm-sander kind of girl, but cabinets are a different story. I use a sanding block and 150 grit paper. Again, this isn't to take the cabinets down to the raw wood {unless you're staining...but that's an entirely different tutorial}, it's just to rough them up. After you're done sanding, remove all sawdust with a tack cloth. If you prefer to paint with tape {to keep from overpainting surfaces onto the wall}, go ahead and tape up at this stage.

 

I usually start on the doors first, per section. By that I mean, I work in kitchen sections...I complete the bank of cabinets on the sink side first, then the bank by the refrigerator...and on and on. To do the cabinets, I use styrofoam blocks to set them up off of my surface...I like to make sure the blocks are smaller than the cabinet doors, but large enough to hold the doors up.

   

I do two coats of primer on the front sides of all the doors {I prefer this Zinsser Bullseye Primer that adheres to just about anything}. I let these dry completely {overnight if not longer}. Then, I flip them and do two coats of primer on the back side. Then lots of drying time again. Then we flip again. Now, two coats of paint on the front and repeat with the back after the paint has dried for at least two days {again, this is a grueling project...basically because of dry time!}. I like to use a semi-gloss for kitchen cabinets, but that's just preference. Semi-gloss is pretty popular for cabinets and trim. It's easy to clean. I also prefer latex paint over oil-based...but that's totally preference. This time around, I did not do a sealer. I used a super high quality of paint made specifically for cabinets. In our previous kitchen, I sealed with water-based polyurethane. Please note: always, always, always test your Polyurethane before applying it to all of your cabinets. Some poly sealers will turn white paint a yellow tint...and if you poly all of your fresh white cabinets and they turn yellow, well...it won't be pretty. Trust me on this one...after spending weeks on this painting, you'll be miserable if you ruin it in one quick coat of crummy poly.

 

After all of the doors were finished, I attacked the cabinet bases. Same process: two coats of primer, two coats of paint. Again, I didn't seal this time around because of the paint I used. But, see my note above if you're wanting to add polyurethane to yours. Another quick tip is to always paint with the grain of the wood.

 

Staying with the grain is a bit more involved on the doors, where trim can run opposite directions. Just stick with the grain of the wood. I also prefer to use an angled {cut-in} brush on cabinets. It's great for details, especially on cabinet trim. After everything has completely dried {and you've sealed, if you choose to do so}, replace your door hardware and rehang your doors. And then take a three day nap since you're no doubt exhausted from this insanity. I have to say, this might be the very last time I paint cabinets with a brush. While I love the look of fine brush strokes into cabinets...it's just so much work. Next time, I plan to buy a sprayer and knock it out a lot faster.

 

But, the results are always worth all of the work!

Are you into painted cabinets? What tips do you have for this crazy job?

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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