The kitchen is the heart of your house, and if you ever want to sell it, it should be one room with the “wow factor.” This does not need a huge kitchen remodel; something as simple as painted kitchen cabinets might help enhance the whole space. Kitchen cabinet refinishing is a simple technique that might be one of the best investments you can make in your kitchen. We’ll go through how to paint kitchen cabinets step by step.
Step 1: Remove Doors, Drawers and Hardware
Before painting, You must remove the doors, drawers, and hardware from your cabinets. If you wish to reuse the hardware, put it in a safe place, such as a Ziploc bag. I’ve heard that numbering your doors will help you remember where to store them when they need to be replaced. While this seems a good concept, it wastes time since you will paint over the numbers. I discovered new hinges identical to the ones I had removed but in a different color; I switched from bronze to black. Reinstalling the doors was simple since everything lined up, but I did have to play a few musical doors. It makes no difference whether you use a different hinge.
Step 2: Clean and Sand the Cabinet Surfaces
It’s time to start the power cleaning portion of kitchen cabinet refinishing once you’ve removed all the doors, drawers, and hardware. Begin by cleaning with a Dawn dish soap and water combination. Use a green Scotch Brite pad to scrub, then rinse and dry with paper towels. Scrub again with a green Scotch Brite pad and dry with a 50/50 combination of denatured alcohol and water on paper towels. After washing, sand the surfaces using a 220 grit sanding pad or sponge.
Step 3: Mask the Area
This is the most time-consuming step. Mask off the flooring around the cabinets and openings, and cover everything you don’t want paint on. After you’ve taped off everything, you may start painting your cabinets.
Step 4: Apply Primer to Your Kitchen Cabinets
Apply a stain blocker primer, such as General Finishes Water Based Stain Blocker.
The primer may be applied with a brush. However, an HVLP sprayer with a 1.3mm air cap set was quicker. Spraying the structure of your kitchen cabinets is straightforward, but spreading the doors is more complicated. I made a swiveling platform from painter’s pyramids to paint the doors.
You must also pick where you will hang the doors to dry. Most cabinet refinishers use drying racks, but I bored a tiny hole at the end of the door, inserted a little hook, and hung them on a wire I strung across my garage.
Priming your kitchen cabinet drawers is a straightforward process. Prime the faces and mask the drawer boxes with regular paper. Allow two hours between applications to dry before applying two light coatings of stain blocker primer, then sand with 220 in between coats. An accelerator may be used to help the primer dry faster.
Step 5: Apply Cabinet Paint
To finish the job, use high-quality cabinet paint, such as General Finishes Milk Paint or White Poly. Spray one or two layers of Milk Paint or White Poly cabinet paint, allowing 1-2 hours between applications to set before sanding with 220. You may either be done at this stage or topcoat with a clear, such as General Finishes Clear Poly. After completing the Antique White Milk Paint, I used a Van Dyke Brown Glaze Effect for the shabby chic distressed look.
Step 6: Apply Clear Coat to Your Cabinets
Apply two or three coats of clear, such as General Finishes water-based Clear Poly in flat, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss. Allow for 1-2 hours of curing time before sanding with 220 between coats. For a faster turnaround, use General Finishes Accelerator. Install the new hardware approximately an hour after applying the last clear coat. You may now enjoy your magnificent new kitchen design.
