5 STEPS TO PAINTING YOUR KITCHEN CABINETS AND HAVING THEM LAST
Two years ago when we first moved into our home the kitchen was a disaster. The cabinets were full of grease, the countertop and backsplash was this ugly yellow tile and grout and the appliances were outdated and on their last lives.
See the picture below of what we were dealing with…
Fast forward a couple months after our July move in date and I decided to attempt to paint our cabinets white, in hopes to brighten up the kitchen overall.
What I learned from painting our cabinets the first time around:
Take your time. I’ll say it again… take your time! I’m the type of person that just wants a project complete and I forget the details behind it. Painting kitchen cabinets are not easy but it can be done as long as you give yourself plenty of time and prep.
Get it Sparkling Clean. Do yourself a favor and get hardcore degreaser cleaner. You’ll want to get all of that crud off all the cabinets first before you do anything. Even if it looks like the cabinets aren’t dirty, trust me they are!
Sand the Cabinets. Make sure you not only use an electric sander but also get multiple types of sanding blocks to get those corner crevices. You want to rough up the surface pretty well so that the paint will adhere.
Priming and Painting. Always prime before painting even if the paint says it’s a paint and primer in one. If you are painting the cabinets white you will need more than two coats to get what you want.
Let it Cure. Be careful when using your cabinets and putting the doors back up before it has cured. Chips and dings can happen easily within the first month after painting them so be aware!
Lighter Cabinet Colors. I painted both the bottom and top cabinets white the first time around. It ended up being great for the first year but after a while the white cabinets on the bottom started yellowing a bit especially around the sink with all of the water. If you are interested in painting your cabinets a lighter color, I would recommend a lighter gray or beige color as those are less likely to show dirt and water stains.
With that being said, Tyler and I finally saved up enough to do a small kitchen remodel with granite countertops, subway backsplash, new appliances and a new sink and garbage disposal!
With all the changes already being made to our kitchen, I decided it was the perfect time to repaint the bottom cabinets dark gray to go with a two toned modern kitchen look and touch up the top since those were still looking great!
Below is the before and after of our current kitchen…
BEFORE
AFTER
Here’s what I used the second time around…
Cleaning. This time around I got the hardcore cleaner from Home Depot and scrubbed it with one of my scrub brushes to really get a clean finish. Make sure you wipe it down with a wet rag afterwards and let it dry thoroughly!
Sanding. I used both an electric mouse sander as well as some sanding blocks. The sanding blocks are used for the crevices that don’t get touched with the electric sander. Sanding is so important because, without roughing up the surface, the paint won’t be able to adhere well. Honestly, this is probably the most important part so take your time!
Priming & Painting. The primer I used was this one from Home Depot. I’ve used this on multiple other surfaces and it is meant to get the paint to adhere even better! Now for the kitchen cabinet paint I used. For the white cabinets I used Titanium Infusion by Nuvo and for the gray cabinets I used Earl Grey by Nuvo.
The white cabinets need 3 or 4 coats depending on the darkness of your original cabinet color and the gray can be done in 2 coats.Painting Brushes & Rollers. The cool thing about buying these painting cabinet kits is that it comes with its own Wooster paint brush. The kit also comes with foam rollers but I’m not a fan of the ones they provided so I went out and got these instead.
When painting cabinets use the brush first to get the paint in those small crevices. Then use the foam rollers on the flat surfaces to get a smooth finish.
This is optional, but you can also get a clear top coat to give your cabinets that glossy finish.Miscellaneous. There are a few items I bought this time around that made things a whole lot easier. One of them being these awesome cabinet door risers that sit up off the ground to prevent problems when flipping the cabinet doors over. Also, make sure you invest in plenty of plastic drop cloths that you can easily throw away. This makes clean up easier as well!
Like I mentioned before, let your cabinets thoroughly dry (overnight if possible!) and cure for up to a month. Be careful with them and take your time when using them!
Good luck and happy painting!