Painting Your Kitchen Cabinet Remodel

When undertaking a kitchen cabinet remodel, you might want to paint your kitchen cabinets. They will need protection since they’re subject to plenty of wear and tear through daily use. Apart from being handled when they’re opened and closed, they are also in the proximity of heat and humidity from cooking. Any paint used to remodel cabinets needs to be hard wearing and durable.

Step 1 - Clean the Cabinets

Unless your kitchen cabinet remodel includes brand new cabinets, you’ll need to clean your old cabinets before you paint them. This will be much easier if you remove the cabinet doors and clean them separately. Unscrew the doors at the hinges. Use a strong all-purpose cleaner on the door and the outside of the cabinets. This can require several applications to get rid of all the accumulated grease and grime. Allow the cabinets and doors to dry completely before moving on.

Step 2 - Sand

Before you use primer, it’s important to sand all the surfaces. This doesn’t need to be a heavy sanding project; you only want the primer to adhere to the surface properly. Use a fairly fine sandpaper of around 150 grit but make sure you leave each surface lightly roughened.

Step 3 - Add Primer

The kind of primer you use in a kitchen cabinet remodel will depend on the kind of paint you’re going to use. With oil-based paint, you’ll need to use an oil-based primer. For latex paint, choose a shellac-based primer. In both cases, the kitchen needs to be well-ventilated while you work and while the primer dries. You will only need one coat of primer.

Step 4 - Paint

If you have a proper paint sprayer, you can use it to apply the paint. If not, a brush will do a fine job although it shouldn’t be more than 3 inches wide. You must apply paint in very thin coats for your kitchen cabinet remodel as nothing is gained by using a thick coat. Several thin coats, with proper sanding in between them, will give a much stronger finish to your kitchen cabinets.

Step 5 - Add Final Coat

Once the first coat of paint on your kitchen cabinet remodel has dried, sand it very lightly with 400 grit sandpaper. The purpose behind this is to create a smooth surface for the next coat to adhere to. Make sure your sanding is very light.

Clean off the surfaces so that no sawdust remains and then add a second light coat of paint. In most instances, two coats will be all you need but if you choose to add a third coat, give another light sanding before you apply it. Again, let the paint on the cabinets dry completely before sanding and also after the final coat of paint.

Step 6 - Finish

To complete your kitchen cabinet remodel, hang the doors again and check that they open and close smoothly. Your new paint should look good and be ready for the demands of your kitchen. You’ll be able to keep them clean with regular use of soap and water.