Finally the “Paint Your Cabinets” post you’ve been waiting for! Let’s Jump right in!
A Clear Finished Wood Door
We’re working with a door I had laying around in my shop. It was a beautiful solid maple door already.
But we have other plans for it!
Since this door had a clear coat of lacquer on top of stained wood, it really needs to be “roughed-up” before we can begin the process of painting it.
It’s almost never okay to paint a slick surface without some sort of sanding or other abrasive to roughen the surface.
I’ve found that if you’re going to be doing much woodworking, it makes sense to invest in a power sander! Trust me!
The main workhorse of my sanding fleet is this Random Orbital sander from DeWalt. This thing just won’t quit! I’ll include a link at the end in case you want to buy one!
It wasn’t my goal to get every bit of the original finish off. I just want to scuff the surface to make it more ready to accept primer.
I did get all the way through in some places and that’s a good thing. But you can imagine that this large sander didn’t do the best job with the little cracks and crevices in the door profile. I had to get those by hand, using sandpaper and/or steel wool. When I was done sanding, it looked like this:
When you sand, it’s very important to make sure that you take special care around the edges. The finished paint will rarely have problems in the center of the door. The edges, on the other hand, are very prone to getting whacked with all sorts of damaging objects such as pots and pans. By sanding the edge well, you can be more sure that the primer will get good adhesion where it counts most.
Apply The Primer
When you’ve finished sanding, clean and vacuum the door down to get rid of all dust. I use a rag dampened with a little bit of mineral spirits.
Water works, but the mineral spirits seems to do a better job of collecting the dust. Just don’t use too much. You only need a slightly damp rag and you want the paint thinner to evaporate completely, which it will do if thinly applied.
A bit of side info here: Mineral Spirits and Paint Thinner are the same thing, but not all “Paint Thinner” is 100% Mineral Spirits…I guess for the cheap stuff they use “thinner thinner”…? Always get 100% Mineral Spirits.
Go To A Real Paint Store
The most important part of painting, especially painting something other than just a regular wall, is getting the right paint for the job. That requires a real paint man. As you can see in the picture, I found one of those.
Even though I’ve been a contractor for … awhile…, I still took my door to a real paint store and showed it to a real paint man and asked him…”what should I use?” This is the way you should do this. Take your cabinet door, be it Formica, or wood, or whatever you have and show it to them. get some feedback. You’ll be able to tell if the person doesn’t know diddly squat.
If that happens, just go with what the great folks at Port Charlotte Paints told me to use.
Benjamin Moore paint has always worked well for me and according to the man, this primer here will allow you to paint just about anything, even Formica countertops! The key is to let it cure properly before applying a top-coat.
I would normally use a little bit of a sheen on for the paint, rather than the flat we have here, but the winner of this work of art in the making said that shiny paints caused her to feel ill, so I went with the flat.
In general, the more sheen a paint has, the more durable it will be. Knowing that this was for a cabinet, the paint man sold me a special “Matte Flat” that should be very durable.
Prime Time
I primed the back first so that I could leave the front untouched to dry well.
It didn’t take long at all for the primer to dry enough for me to flip the door over and work on the front.
Both sides require a little bit of patience when dealing with the corners. Paint tends to build-up a little in the corners and that’s especially true with the front.
Small amounts of paint build-up are easily solved by brushing away from the corner with an “empty” brush.
I had to work pretty quickly because it was very hot (mid 80’s) and I was in the bright sun. It would have been better to do this indoors, but you haven’t seen the inside of my shop.
You don’t want to see the inside of my shop. I’m Remodeling Guy, not Mr. Clean.
The Cure
I’m not talking about the band. If I were talking about the band, I would have to show you this video here. And then I would have to ask you to pray along with me every day that my sons’ love of music never causes them to look like that guy. Not even for one day…no matter how much they pay them.
I’m talking about the primer. You have to let it CURE. This is different than DRY. Dry happens pretty fast. Cure doesn’t. The curing process adds hardness to the finish and in the case of cabinets, the harder the better. This will really make a difference in the durability. The time requirement for this primer, used this way, is three days.
So I can’t finish this until next week. I’ll have to find something to do in the meantime…
I hope I find at least a few hours to spend out here… but I digress again.
The Cabinet Boxes
I’ve shown you a door, which you should do just as I showed it, off of the cabinet, with hardware removed. But there are also the cabinet boxes that have to be done in-place.
The process for these is essentially the same, just a little more difficult. You’ll probably need to put some plastic up to seal off the area so you can do the sanding. Don’t cut out that sanding step! You really want the durability that can only be had by sanding.
After that, the process is the same. If you think you might be changing the size or location of your hardware, you want to fill in those holes. For this application, I would use Bondo.
Yes, the car Bondo…you can even buy it at the auto-parts store if you want to. But they have it at the big building material stores as well. Since you’ll be painting over it, the color match that wood putty strives for isn’t important and Bondo is easier to get smooth and not as prone to crack, shrink, or fall out later.
Then you can just drill new holes for your new hardware.
Drawer Fronts
You should take your drawers off before you paint! Better yet would be just the “drawer fronts”. Many cabinets have a couple of screws inside the drawer box which, if removed, release the entire drawer front. If you can do this, it’s the way to go because it will make the drawers much easier to work with.
If not, you can still remove the drawer from the cabinet and take the whole box outside and work on it along with the doors. You might even decide you want to paint your drawer boxes too. I would just be careful not to paint the hardware.
Misc. Other Mumbo Jumbo…
- I used a medium-fine grit sandpaper… 150 or 220 grit. If you use a grit that is too coarse, you’ll do more harm than good.
- I had the primer tinted to the same color as the paint. This will allow the paint to cover better and hopefully in one coat.
- In the areas that I couldn’t get to at all with sandpaper, I scuffed it up with a little bit of steel wool to give the primer a better surface.
- If you want one of those awesome sanders I use, you can get one at this link: DEWALT D26451K 3 Amp 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander with Cloth Dust Bag
It will cost you $70.00 and I promise you’ll be saying that was money well spent. This is the sander to buy…I’ve tried most of them and this one is great! It uses a velcro-like system to hold the sandpaper on which makes changing sanding disks a breeze.
Want to see the front? You’re going to like it! There is more to this project than just painting. Check back tomorrow so you can see how I did this:
Pretty cool, huh! The bird came out great. For you newcomers, this whole thing was instigated by a cool picture Kim found that inspired me to do an impromptu giveaway. The first post about that is here. If you like the bird, you might also like the coffee cup and the flamingo.
By late Friday I’ll have a post up showing how I made the bird pattern…it is so cool! Early next week, I’ll finish this cabinet door and publish Painting Kitchen Cabinets Part Two – More Sanding and Finish Painting.
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So, I’m sure there are some questions on Part One…let me hear them and then check back…I’ll answer right in the comments! Thanks!
NOTES:
Before doing this work on your kitchen! Make sure you read Part 2 about Plan B.
————-
One comment was such an important question that I didn’t address in the post…the question was “did I use oil-based or latex-based paint, and is it okay to use latex (water-based) paint?”
The answer is that I used an acrylic latex primer and paint. Both are top-of-the-line Benjamin Moore products and if used properly will provide an excellent finish. It is all water clean-up material. Here are links to the product pages at Ben Moore.
Fresh Start All Purpose Primer
Regal Matte Finish – The Paint
Thanks to Amy for asking this… I think others will want to know that as well. There are a few other questions and answers in the comments as well. And you’re welcome to add to the discussion!
How much do you think it would cost to hire someone to paint kitchen cabinets? I have oak cabinets and want to have them painted a french vanilla-the estimate I just received was $5000-seemed really high.
Marci’s last blog post..Keep Me Humble
Hi Marci – That does sound high to me too, unless you have a HUGE kitchen! I’d suggest getting a few more estimates. The local paint store, like the one in the post, is a good place to find painters looking for work. They usually have a bulletin board where painters put business cards or flyers. There, you can find a few names in one place and might even get an idea as to how experienced they are from the paint store man. Let me know what kind of numbers you get! But get more before agreeing to the $5K!
Is there any way at all to skip the sanding step? Is there a liquid sander or something like that which would make the process a LOT easier? Or am I just being lazy and I should just suck it up and do it? 🙂
Oh, and with reference to that video..s-c-a-r-y. Your son will never look like that because I am sure that he already knows in Whom he finds his identity.
Blessings!
Mrs. Q’s last blog post..The Makevoer Continues!
Hi Q! Gotta do the sanding….just enough to rough-up the surface. It’s not that hard! Thanks for the encouragement on the scary musician… I know you’re exactly right! Tim
Hi there! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving comments! Much appreciated! I have a question for you. Would you advise against doing a coffered ceiling on a 8′ ceiling? I really want one in my kitchen and am thinking if I did one, I could just make it less “beefy” What do you think, you are the expert, I am just the decorator!! 🙂 Melaine
you can email me at
lakeliving4@msn.com
thanks for your time!
Hi
We painted our kitchen cabinets in our last house & it worked out well. Washed with TSP first, light sanding, and used BIN as a primer before painting a very light shade of green. The hardest part was waiting the drying time on one side before turning over and I wish I knew about Bondo!
sue@solsticehome’s last blog post..Woot! Toot!
Hi – I appreciate your how-to! I read through a couple of times but didn’t see you specify whether you used oil or latex paint – can you please clarify? I’ve heard oil holds up better but it stinks to high heaven, please say latex is just as good, pretty please?!
GREAT Question Amy! I can’t believe I left that out…I’ll have to add it at the bottom!
I’m using an acrylic latex (water-based) paint and primer. I’ll add links in the post to the exact pages on the Benjamin Moore website. I’ll get more into durability when I do Part 2, but the most important thing for that so far, is the curing of the primer. The same thing will apply to the paint. Many people start using the cabinets as soon as the paint dries and you can’t do that! The paint needs to harden over time (a few days) before starting to use the cabinets.
For most DIY’ers, oil based paint is a real pain in the backside and it’s really not required for this.
Thanks for pointing this out!
Hi! I HATE my cabinets. (Well, hate is a relative word. I’m really glad to live in such a nice country where I can worry about things like my cabinets instead of what I’m going to feed my kids…can you tell I’m trying to be patient and content as we save and try to figure out what to do?) They are builder grade cheapo oak colored. The doors, drawer fronts and cabinet box fronts are actually wood, the inside shelving is definitely not and the sides are maybe pressed wood covered in laminate. I would not shy away from painting, but I’m scared of that pressed wood/laminate combo. How’s it going to look? Is it possible to paint that and have it look professional? Thanks!
Sara’s last blog post..Enchanted Rock
I am so wanting to tackle the kitchen cabinets, but am soooo intimidated! I have 6 little half sized doors up high, and 16 regular sized doors. Right now they’re an orangish oak color, and I’d love to make them a distressed white/cream with some light brown streaks. Thanks for the step by step how~to!
Jennifer’s last blog post..Ummmm???
You are an amazing person, that is what you are. The step by step, the details, the question answering. It is amazing. It makes me tired to think of all the work you put into this post. But then I guess that’s why you’re the Remodeling Guy and I just Chat at the Sky. Great post!
emily@ChattingAtTheSky’s last blog post..the same until its different
How would you distress the cabinets. My cabinets are already white but need some touch up after many years of use and would like to distress them. what would you suggest?
Teresa’s last blog post..
DeWalt Sander is nice, but have you tried the FesTool? Hubby is a cabinetmaker and the store where he gets most of his shop supplies loaned him one for a couple of weeks. It has an outstanding dust collection system (think MUCH less snoring) and does a great job…they aren’t cheap, but I am also encouraging him to purchase more of their tools that he likes as we can afford them…I have used it myself and I am sold on it…and I am NOT a pro!
I just painted my cabinets and want to apply a glaze, but I don’t want it to rest in the grain of the wood all over, just in the moulding part. How can I get that look? Also, I chose a cream color, but it really looks white. I was going for the antiqued cream look. Is there a glaze that will solve both of my problems?
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Hi
I have been thinking for painting my kitchen cabinet. Finally i found this blog and i think it is helpful for me. I will follow up this article when i painting my kitchen cabinet. Can you tell me how much do you think it would cost to hire someone to paint kitchen cabinets? And which sander is perfect for my home project? Thanks in advance for giving me the clarification also for your helpful article.