Painting Kitchen Cabinets ~ For Beginners
Painting kitchen cabinets is an awesome way to update your kitchen, even if you are a beginner. Don’t shy away from doing it! Painting your kitchen cabinets will transform the space and it’s much cheaper than replacing them!
I spent many hours helping my son turn his home from blah to beautiful! Working on the kitchen was one of the more time consuming diy’s but well work the time!
Why paint the kitchen cabinets?
- Let’s face it, everyone has different tastes when it comes to home styles. Kitchen cabinets are one of those elements where some may love stain, others want color.
- You’re excited after buying your home but the kitchen cabinets are not anywhere near what you like but spending money for new is not in the budget! What do you do?
- Years ago painting kitchen cabinets may have been left up to the professionals but it is so easy now to find great durable kitchen cabinet paint.
- If you have been in your home for years and want to upgrade. Paint is the answer.
- Maybe you bought an older home and the kitchen needs some TLC.
5 Best Tips
Tip 1: What paint?
I researched different paints before buying. It’s a little overwhelming. There are so many paint brands out there! Research before spending the money. Not all paints are created equal when it comes to cabinet paint!! Hands down best paint (*my opinion) is Sherwin Williams Emerald-Eurethane Trim Enamel.
Tip 2: Get the right supplies
- Cleaning solutions such as Krud Kutter, sponges, paper towels.
- Get a name brand painters tape. I learned the hard way by using some painters tape that a friend gave me. Brand name tape seals great and peels off the roll and the surface you are painting easily.
- Protect your floor with canvas drop cloths. There are different sizes and weights so prices vary.
- Get a nice sturdy paint pan. If you’re doing several painting projects I recommend buying a few paint pans but also buy disposable liners. Those are so handy.
- Paint cups with handles are a must when you need to climb a ladder to reach those high places.
- Last few items, Liquid sander, sanding block, tack cloth and small vacuum. You want to make sure there is no dirt or dust before painting!
Tip 3: Buy the right tools
- Along with buying the right kind of paint, you want to have great quality brushes. You may cringe a bit when you see the price of some of the brushes but I promise you, a great brush makes all the difference!! You may prefer to use a small roller, again, buy good quality!
- Ladder. Whether you buy one, already have one or borrow one. Make sure it is strong and sturdy, has an easy lock & release, extends easily. It’s also helpful if there is a tray at the top to set the paint can on.
- Depending on the condition of your cabinets you may need to fill some holes. Get a good wood filler and putty knife.
- Screwdriver
- Drill and drill bits. Some hardware is hard to remove with just a screwdriver. Also, if your cabinets do not have knobs or pulls and you plan on adding some, drill bits are must.
Tip 3: Prepping is key!
- First, empty the cabinets, remove doors, drawers and hardware.
- Clean front and back of cabinet doors and the fronts of the drawers.
- Clean the outer area of the upper and bottom cabinets.
- Sand lightly and wipe with a tack cloth. Or, my favorite way to sand is using Klean Strip Liquid Sander.
- If there are any areas that need wood filler, fill those and sand lightly once it is dry.
- Depending on the type of paint you chose you may need to apply a primer before your paint. If you are priming sand lightly once it is dry before painting.
- Before painting each piece I like to go over it with the tack cloth to make sure it’s dust free.
Tip 4: The fun part!
- Before you open that brand new can of paint and dip that nice paint brush in the can, here are a few more tips.
- Find a place with the least amount of foot traffic to set up your area to paint the cabinet doors. When I was painting I had set the cabinet doors in the living room on the floor. After painting one side we decided to set up an area in the garage. That worked so much better since we used the cabinet we took out of the bathroom and made an area to paint with saw horses topped with plywood. It worked great!
- Cover the surfaces in the kitchen that you want protected from paint splatters and the ooops spills. It happens…
- Take your time!
- Allow the paint to cure before putting the cabinet doors and drawers back on. The information on the paint can will let you know how long that will take. How humid or dry your home is will play a factor in the curing time as well.
Before
We were so busy with working on the house that I didn’t get the best before & after photos.
This is part of the kitchen area. We were in the process of painting the walls and also prepping for painting the cabinets.
After
I already have said this but I will say it again. I really loved painting with the Sherwin Williams paint!
The process was long but not difficult. The finished painted cabinets look 100% better. The color is great and the cabinets have a smooth durable finish. I have listed some of the products I have used that I would recommend to anyone wanting to paint their kitchen cabinets!
Conclusion
- With the right tools and painting kitchen cabinets is easy. Time consuming, yes! Easy, definitely.
- Have you painted your cabinets? What was your favorite paint? Did you go bold with a color or stick with neutral? Share in the comments!
Products I used~my favorites
- Sherwin Williams Emerald-Urethane Trim Enamel. www.sherwin-williams.com
- Frog tape-multi-surface painters tape
- Purdy cub angle brush XL 2.5″ & Purdy clearcut 1.5″-nylon-polyester bristles
- Krud Kutter Gloss Off-prepaint surface preparation
- Klean Strip Liquid Sander
~Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love~ Nate Berkus
Well said Nate Berkus! I agree!
