Painting your kitchen cabinets can make a huge difference in the look of a room. However, if not done properly, the results can disastrous. Armed with the right knowledge, you can paint your cabinets and know the end result will be beautiful and durable.
Let’s talk about difference paints as well as classic colors and trends for this year. Here’s everything you need to know to choose the best Paint for kitchen cabinets.
Types of paints:
There are different types of paint, but the main thing we recommend choosing is a paint that is high-quality and difficult to dry.
As you will see below, the steps to painting kitchen cabinets require a lot of work and preparation. So don’t use cheap, poor quality paint because after all that hard work, it will peel off over time.
You also want to use hard-dry paint because kitchen cabinets are different from interior walls because they wear out more. Think about how often you touch your closet (to get stuff from a drawer or put stuff in it) when you might not be touching your walls as often.
The best paints for kitchen cabinets:
Can I use chalk paint?
Yes, you can use chalk paint on kitchen cabinets, but we recommend reading Paint cabinets with chalk paint (Pros and cons) First.
Favorite kitchen cabinet paint colors in 2022:
How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Correctly:
Step 1. Remove doors and drawers from cabinets. Remove any hinges, handles, or any other hardware that could interfere with the painting process.
Tips: Number the doors with a pointed bar below where the hinges go and cover with a small piece of ice painter. This will make it easier for you to change the doors.
Step 2. Clean your cabinets. One of the most important steps of the process is to ensure that all grease, dirt, and debris is removed from all of your cabinets. If any cabinets are particularly greasy, we recommend spraying the surface with Krud Kutter Degreaser.
After removing excess grease, wet a clean rag with Sandpaper / Liquid Deglosser and wipe thoroughly. (We recommend wearing rubber gloves when using liquid sandpaper.)
Step 3. Sand. All surfaces must be thoroughly sanded using fine sandpaper (180 or 220 grit). If you have, you can also use electric sanding machine to help speed up the process. There’s no need to sand the surfaces all the way down to the bare wood – you just want to make sure the surfaces are fully scaled.
Step 4. Remove dust on all cabinet surfaces. To remove most of the dust, you can dust it with an old paintbrush. If you have an air compressor, you can blow away the dust with a blower.
Next, while wearing rubber gloves, take a clean rag and apply some artificial alcohol with it. Use a rag to wipe away the remaining dust on the surface.
Step 5. Cover floors, countertops, backsplashes and walls as needed. To do this you can use ice painterplastic, paper, fabric drop clothor a combination of all.
Step 6. Craft the cabinets. Now that the cabinets are pre-painted, it’s time to apply a coat of primer. If you have a spray paint and feel comfortable to use, the most durable primer is shellac. The downside of this primer is that it needs to be sprayed with a respirator, as it is very smelly.
The product can be cleaned with denatured alcohol or a mixture of ammonia and water. For all the DIYers out there who are using a brush instead of a spray bottle, the second best product to use on your cabinets is high quality. water-based bonding primer.
Do your research on this and make sure you buy a primer that will bond well to high traffic surfaces.
Paint sprayers give the smoothest finish, but you can also brush or roll over the paint. A rolled and brushed finish can look great. There is no difference in durability between spray painting or hand painting.
Recommended sprayer:
–TrueCoat . airless paint sprayer
–Wireless Paint Sprayer Pro
Tip: When spraying, we recommend using Graco 308 FFLP or one 410 FFLP size head.
Step 7. Light sand. After the primer is completely dry, lightly sand the surface with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper. Remove the additional dust and then you’re ready to paint.
Step 8. Paint. After you have prepared and primed, the cabinet is ready for the first and second coats of paint. Don’t cut your cabinet painting costs. It is very important to buy High quality and hard curing paint (urethane alkyd enamel) withstands everyday use.
Recommended drying time:
Make sure there is plenty of drying time between coats of paint. Most paints recommend a 2-4 hour drying time between coats. Drying time can be increased by using a fan and being in an environment with low humidity.
Step 9. Remove all masks and bandages.
Step 10. Reinstall doors and drawers. The most modern hinge can be adjusted if necessary to ensure the door is properly hung.
What not to do:
There are several things that can keep your paint job from lasting:
- Not cleaning and sanding your cabinets properly or thoroughly. We cannot stress this step. Preparation is the key to long-term durability.
- Do not use primer before painting.
- Use rubber paint instead of urethane-enhanced enamel. Traditional rubber/water-based paint will never dry hard enough to withstand constant impact, and will become sticky and eventually start to peel off.
Don’t let this overwhelm you! In the end the project will be very rewarding! Follow the steps outlined above and you can be sure that your freshly painted cabinets will look great and last for years.
You can use the same steps to paint furniture — like wooden dining chairs.
Is Spray or Spray Kitchen Cabinet Better?
Spray painting is a better method of painting kitchen cabinets than rolling paint because it will not leave a streak, (while rolling will). Spraying is also faster, but requires quite a bit of prep work and equipment. Remember that you can rent a paint sprayer if you don’t want to buy one.
Once you’ve painted your kitchen cabinets, you may have looked around and want to update your backsplash or countertop. Here are some related articles:
Backsplash idea:
Counter ideas:
Let us know if you have any questions or if you used this guide! so so.
