How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets Like A Pro?

Who doesn’t want to have a house with an exquisite looking kitchen? Well, the kitchen is not just about stoves, racks or kitchenware. Do you know that your kitchen is mostly displayed with cabinets? This is what catches the eye first.

No one looks at your stove at the first glance. So imagine having a whole cabinet in your kitchen that looks weary and old. Such as shabby ripped off paints and all. Isn’t it alarming? For the sake of beautification, you should know how to paint kitchen cabinets like a pro.

In this article, we will be helping you out with a step by step guide and some other important topics to deal with.

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Like A Pro: Step By Step Instructions

Necessary tools for the paintwork 

First, you need to pick up the paint that will embellish the surface. The choice is yours, it could be latex paint, oil-based paint or water-soluble paint. The next thing is you need a primer to bond with the paint. The primer goes first and the paint later bonds with it. Don’t forget the paintbrushes, the tool that you will be using the most in this case. Then roller brushes, roller cover and roller frame will be necessary too. 

Be sure to keep rags, sandpapers and orbital sanders for effacing external debris and waste. There will be some for sure. Carry a Permanent marker and blue painters tape. These will help with the markings of the intricate points. Use Drop cloths for the spills and coverings of the floor or nearby surface. You will need Krud-kutter as the cleaner or you can say degreaser. Denatured alcohol for the thinning if needed. Battery-powered drill machines are important. Got to get sharpening tools for clearing out the dirt on the surface if needed. 

If you have all these, you should be good to go with the process of painting.

Step by Step guide 

Step 1: Look for damages in the cabinets

Believe it or not, you must scour any impairments within your cabinet surface. There can’t be any wrecks, breaks or blemishes. Don’t want to have a hole in the cabinet before layering paints. Any mishaps that are there will be destroying your hard work. 

The painting will cover the surface, but the defacements within the cabinet surface will show through. The painting will be a disaster to be true. So beware of damages. FIx it up before painting. 

Step 2: Time to move out the doors, drawers and other labels

This is where a batteryless drill can be handy to unscrew the bolts and all. Remove the doors first. Use the marker to point out the hinges for later resetting purposes. Use a safety bag, for storing the screws, bolts, hinges and every other thing. So that it becomes easier when you reassemble. 

Step 3: Use the drop clothes for unnecessary spillage

When you will spray or roll the paint, there will be splashes and spillage no matter what. You can’t deny that. Paints may fly around and end up in places you don’t want to keep cleaning. So it’s better if you use the drop clothes, nearby, close to the painting surfaces. So if you paint a door or slab, be sure that the paint that’s falling is not ruining your floor tiles. The drop cloths are a lifesaver.

Step 4: Use Krud Kutter to clean the cabinets

Cleaning out the closet, huh there is a song that reminds us. But you need to make sure the surface of your cabinets are clean and pristine before the painting process. Use the Krud Kutter and that should dig out the grease, oils and dirt from the outer layer. So that taking off the old paint can be easier.

Step 5: USe foam sander to clean the remains

Sanding your cabinets will make sure your cabinet surface is always ready to take the paints easily. A smoother surface is desired for paints. Sanding foams are good options, you can also go for sanders mildly used to clear the upper layer. 

Step 6: Priming the cabinets

No matter what you paint, priming is an integral part. Primers are a must to go for. It bonds the paint that’s the main thing. But it will also stick to the surface, ensuring there won’t be any loose paint. Primers are colour binders. It attaches your latex or oil-based paint to the wooden surface of your cabinet. So you don’t want to miss out on this for sure. Use a roller brush to apply the primer mildly and let it set. Remove excessive drops if you notice them by cleaning them out with rollers.

Step 7: Time to use an orbital sander to smoothen the primer

Once the priming is done it’s time to make sure the clear surface pops out. So an orbital sander used mildly will make sure you are clearing all the remaining dirt and debris. The primer has to be well set. Better scour every side and angle of the surface before applying the main paint. 

Step 8: The main part, which is painting the cabinet

Do you have your roller with you don’t you? YOu have already primed the surface. So things should be easier for you to deal with. Better filter the paint to remove specs from paint particles or it might create textures in the finished work. 

Use the paint in the bucket. Take the alcohol that we mentioned as thinner if necessary. Not always you will need a thinner but if the colour is too thick, you gotta use it as advised by the colour manufacturer. Soak on the roller with the and telt the gliding to begin. You might need two coats to make it look all finished. Single coatings from a newbie painter won’t be that eye-catching. There will be loopholes for sure. Coat it two times if needed. But don’t overcoat the paint and make it appear thicker than it should be.

Step 9: Use a sprayer if you know how to handle things

Using handy paint sprayers is a wonderful option for a smoother finish. But there is a hurdle. You must know how to use it first. How it works, how to put on the paint, adjusting the rate of flow of the paint has to be mastered altogether. Sprayers allow you to get a sleek finish compared to rollers. Rollers tend to leave on rolling marks and you will have to be patient to re-roll the process to make it polished. 

Step 10: Time to let the paint settle

Paints are not gonna dry out instantly. It takes time and you have to bear with it. Colours dry out in one or two hours depending on the number of coating and paint brands. That’s not it. Don’t affix everything and start working on the kitchen once the paint is set, suppose 2 hours. 

We recommend you work later. Take a week off and let the paint dry out and settle like butter on bread, but with no ups and downs. Taking the time off will also make sure the odour is out of the question. Paints can have odours and it’s normal. Give a week and it will go away in time. After a few days, supposedly a week or two. You will be able to work in your furnished kitchen yet again. Sleek, lustrous and gleaming as you call it. 

Paint the parts separately

We have already asked you to unscrew the doors, drawers and all. So yes prime each sector at different times. Let one dry out or you can move to another part. Don’t think that you are going to spray paint or use the roller on the cabinets all set up. That’s gonna be a laughing issue. Separating the doors, drawers, hinges, bolts are necessary and, yes you now know what to do. 

Reattachment

You are done painting, so aren’t you gonna re-assemble the cabinet hardware? You have to finish this work, for a complete look. Use the wireless drill to attach the hinges to the doors and drawers. First, go for the door to the cabinet position. Then try out the drawers into place. Drills will help you to attach the hinges and affix things in place. Once every bit is placed into position. Didn’t we talk about markers and marking hinges. Once you place everything in line and order you are finished with the resettlement of the cabinets.

The process of trying it out

Once everything is done and dusted, try out by opening and closing every door and drawer. Make sure everything opens up and locks into place smoothly. That’s it. 

What type of paint to use and what kind of finishing does it need? 

Latex paints have less volatile organic compounds and are used all over the world for their finished outlook. The good thing about latex paint is that it dries out faster than any paint. That doesn’t mean oil-based paints are a bad choice. No, they are excellent as well. Easy to clean when necessary and are long-lasting to be accurate. So this durable long-lasting effect is one key factor many people have been using this type as well. We recommend you to decide for yourself, what you need and what type of finish you desire. 

Talking about finishing you will find many kinds of paints that give different finishes like satin, glossy or matte. Now again it’s all up to you what you want to see in your kitchen. Satin outlook is the most common worldwide, but we assure you that glossy and matte can be used as a charm.

Final thoughts

Painting the kitchen cabinet is a bit hard, we won’t give you false hopes by saying it is the easiest thing to do. Even for a Newbie, it’s doable by themselves only if they abide by a few steps. We wrote this article about how to paint kitchen cabinets like a pro to help you learn how to paint kitchen cabinets professionally without the help of a professional, but still get a professional-looking finish. Give it a read. Follow the steps, set up your decisions on what you want. Once fixed, you can start experimenting. We can assure you that if you are serious, you are going to paint the cabinets gorgeously.