How-To Paint Your Cabinets in Under 10 Steps

Hello Party People!

It's Wednesday, the humpiest day of the week, and I hope you're all feeling as invigorated as I freakin' am! Got an Amazon order, which always puts a little extra pep in my step, and so this week I'll be able to complete some fun DIY projects for future tutorials. I'm so lucky to be able to make a million mistakes so that I can save you people from the same foolishness. And YASSSSSSSS, ^that was sincere. Projects are the experiment to my scientist. Whatever that means *insert hands up emoji*.

While I begrudgingly lie in 'before' and 'after' house limbo and await the completion of about 10,000 projects, I've been reflecting on projects of yore. I've received the most questions about painting cabinets: either in a kitchen, a bathroom, a bar, etc. The topic comes up at least every month, and a few times this week, so I think it's important that with all of the practice I've had I update my old posts about the subject with a new, fresher, blog.

Let me start off by saying the process is NOT difficult. It is, however, time consuming. The steps are important for a long-lasting result, and even then you will probably have the occasional chip you'll need to deal with. We are talking about painting over wood (ideally, although most of the time the boxes are not wood), and although the paint I use is excellent, it is not full proof. Having realistic expectations is numero uno in DIY!

Here are some before and after pics from projects I've done using these steps!

Painting Cabinets in under 10 steps:

Materials: Degreaser, like TSP White rags (or clean, old t-shirts) Fine grade steel wool Ziploc bags  Blue Tape Pen Drill Mouse Sander Sandpaper: 120 grit, 220 grit, 400+ grit Saw Horses  1x2's Vacuum Painter's tape Brown paper ​ Primer ​Benjamin Moore Advance Paint Paint Sprayer or Trim Brush and 4"Roller   Plastic paint trays (Large are better)

Step One: Clear Out The Space

By removing everything out of your bathroom vanity, kitchen cabs, etc. you're providing a blank slate, organized work space for yourself. Your personal effects can't be ruined by TSP, sanding dust, paint, etc. if they aren't in the room.

Step Two: Disassemble

It is important to be really organized here. When I remove cabinet doors, no matter the space, I place the hardware in Ziploc bags, labeled with where they were removed, and then I put those bags BACK in the cabinet.

TIP: *I generally don't paint the inside of cabinets because the original material is always more durable than when painted. You don't want a bunch of scratches inside your cabinets. If you have a glass door and you want to paint the interior then that cabinet probably is more for show than utility, anyway. It will see a lot less wear and tear and should hold up fine.

I remove one 'cabinet cluster' at a time, put the hardware in labeled Ziploc bags, and label the back of the doors underneath where the hardware will be reattached so I don't accidentally paint over it. For example, the cabinets under the sink get labeled "under sink" and their corresponding Ziploc hardware bags are labeled "under sink". It takes time to reassemble the cabinets (in a kitchen) and I am thankful I take so much care when labeling. Don't skip this step. You WILL forget what doors go where by the time you are through painting. If you have a two- door vanity that you are painting then this is probably unnecessary.

Step Three: Set Up

Once everything is disassembled you can set your cabinet doors up. I recommend a well ventilated room, like a garage, so you're not breathing in so much junk. I started out using scrap wood and cardboard boxes and have since upgraded to saw horses and 1x2's. I recommend spending a few bucks on horses so you don't have to worry about your cabinet doors crashing to the ground. If you are doing a bathroom vanity you can probably skip this step, but your kitchen will require space to spread the cabinets out so you can paint them and wait for them to dry.

Step Four: Clean

This part blows, to put it mildly. Use a heavy duty degreaser, like TSP, and some 0000 Steel Wool to clean your cabinets. Even the cleanest houses have grease and grime that sticks to their cabinets, especially in bathrooms and kitchens which is where most of these projects occur. Be gentle when scrubbing them and make sure you wipe off the TSP with a wet rag. Allow the cabinets to fully dry before beginning the next step.

Step Five: Sand

I use my mouse sander because it's fairly delicate, but much faster than hand sanding. The pointed end and finger attachment allowed me to get into the crevices, and the 120 grit sandpaper I use is rough enough to remove all of the leftover gloss on the cabinets, but not too rough to damage the wood. Make sure you sand every inch of the cabinet doors and cabinet boxes (going with the grain of the wood) so that the primer will adhere to them. Even if you're not working with solid wood, you want to rough up the surfaces so they more readily accept paint. Vacuum sanding dust off the surfaces, and then wipe them down with a rag before you begin priming.

Step Six: Tape and Paper

Be sure to cover up your appliances, and counter tops for drips. I have done this a zillion times and I find it MUCH easier to edge without tape than with, but that is a matter of preference. There is always touching up needed after you tape and with edging you can fix your mistakes as you go. Make sure you're using a good quality trim brush and you should get better at it as you go! Spend the extra time in the beginning to prepare the room you're DIYing and you will save a lot of time while you paint.

If you are using a sprayer to prime and paint your kitchen then this step is doubly important. Sprayers offer a beautiful finish but they are less controllable.

Step Seven: Prime

Primer is your friend! Yes, you have cleaned and sanded... still prime your cabinets and boxes! You will thank me later. The primer will cover up any grease or residue still on the cabinets, and will provide a stickier surface for the paint to adhere to. It is runny, and not pretty, but it is way cheaper than paint. So prime, prime, and then prime again if you are painting with a light color. One coat of primer should do the trick if you are painting with a dark color.

I treat primer in the same way as paint. If you are spraying, do light coats. If you are hand painting then edge out with your trim brush and roll over to flatten and blend everything.

TIP: *when priming and painting doors, I find I get the best result when I prime and paint the backs, let dry, and then flip and prime and paint the fronts.

Step Eight: Paint

Paint in the same way you prime, either with a sprayer applying thin coats, or a brush and roller. Benjamin Moore Advance paint is specifically designed for cabinetry, and heavy use. It is all I use on projects like this, and the finish is beautiful. The paint is self leveling so it doesn't show brush strokes or roller marks like cheaper paint does. I like to sand with 400+ grit sandpaper in between coats to ensure I have no bubbles, or drip marks. Two coats of paint should be plenty if you've properly primed your cabinets.

Step Nine: Assemble and Touch Up

If your paint totally and completely dry? Is the finish nice and smooth? Well then rip any tape off and throw out that brown paper and plastic! It's time to assemble your doors, you natural DIYer, you.

Because I spend a little extra time in the beginning bagging and labeling my hinges this step is straight forward. Just re-assemble the cabinets in the same way you dismantled them. The best time to do any touch-ups is when the doors are hanging. Have your sanding pads handy and lightly sand any areas that may have gotten nicked when you were re-attaching the doors. Once they are smooth, you can use your brush to touch up the paint.

As long as you use very good quality paint you don't need to use a top coat, like Polyurethane which runs the risk of yellowing over time. No matter what paint you decide to use, you must be gentle with the cabinetry until the paint is fully adhered. Paint takes about a month to fully cure (adhere) so even though it feels dry to the touch, and is, it isn't cured until the amount of time specified on the paint can.

*TIP: new hardware on old cabinets is a great way to refresh and modernize them. Drilling holes is a lot easier if you do it before the sanding, cleaning processes! Sometimes I wait because I want to see the painted cabinets before I select hardware, but it always requires more effort this way in the end.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! I would always recommend doing the extra steps, and using better quality paint to achieve a longer lasting result, rather than a quick fix with chalk or milk paint.

I would love to know if ya'll have any questions, or any tutorials you'd like to see on the blog. I hope these steps are helpful in your next DIY adventure!

xoxo

This Painted Lady