Updating your kitchen cabinets with paint is a great way to give your kitchen a fresh look without all the expense and hassle of a full remodel. If you’ve already picked out the perfect paint color for your cabinets, keep reading to learn how to achieve a beautiful, mirror-like finish with just a paint brush and the right prep work.
Preparing to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets
Just like with any painting project the preparation phase plays a huge role in the quality and durability of your finish. Taking extra time during this stage of the process will guarantee significantly better results.
- Remove doors and drawers from cabinet boxes
- Clean your cabinets thoroughly with soap and water. It might be necessary to use a degreaser to remove built up grease or residue. Remember, a clean surface is crucial for a smooth, durable finish!
- Use 100-grit sandpaper on doors, drawers, and cabinet faces to rough up the surface in preparation for primer.
- Apply primer in the direction of the wood grain. If you want to cover wood grain look for a high build sandable primer. You might need two coats of primer to fill in the grain depending on your cabinets.
- Once dried, sand the primed cabinets prior to painting.
- Vacuum all surfaces and wipe down with a tack cloth to remove any remaining dust.
Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets
Once you’ve completed the prep work the most time consuming part of painting your kitchen cabinets is finished. All that is left to do now is put the actual color on the cabinets and reinstall your doors and drawers!
When you’re purchasing paint look for a water-based one specifically designed for painting cabinets. These paints are typically 100% acrylic and specially formulated to give you a smooth, durable finish. While you’re purchasing your paint go ahead and buy a good quality brush with an angle that will get in all of the inset portions of your cabinetry. Just like when you were applying the primer, you’ll want to paint in the direction of the wood grain. Allow your cabinet doors and drawers to dry flat to avoid an drips before applying a second coat.
Follow your paint’s directions for drying time before reinstalling doors and drawers. You may be tempted to put your kitchen back together right away, but giving the paint the time it needs to fully cure will protect all of your hard work from smudges or scrapes.
Painting your kitchen cabinets is one of the easiest ways to transform your kitchen without committing to a full remodel. If you have any questions about the process, or want help from a team of experienced professionals, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
