How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets That Will Last

If you have been toying with the idea to paint your kitchen cabinets, but have no idea where to start…you have landed in the right place. Hopefully, by the time you are done reading this, you’ll be ready to tackle those cabinets! Now, I will forewarn you…this was not a quick and easy task. I mean if you are some kind of superhuman and can get it done in a day or two, I commend you & you definitely deserve an award! It took me a full week to have the painting part completed. Now, maybe it wouldn’t have taken as long if I didn’t have a little girl running around yelling “mama” fifty times a minute & wanting “nacks” (snacks), but it did and that’s okay! That’s the best thing about DIY projects, you do them at your own pace & own time! Anyways, let’s learn how to paint those cabinets and a couple of tips for what not to do!

Things you’ll need:

• Electric sander 
• Sandpaper (for the nooks and crannies the sander can’t reach)
• A degreasing cleaner (I used Krud Kutter)
• Sawhorses, buckets, anything you can place the doors & drawers on while you paint
• Primer
• Paint color of your choice
• Airless paint sprayer (this is the ONE thing I wished I would have invested in! It would have saved my sanity & cut time in half) If you know someone who has one, borrow that sucker! I promise you won’t regret it, but if you cant buy one or know anyone who has one then that’s okay! You can still paint your cabinets & they’ll look fabulous!
• Cabinet foam rollers & tray (buy extra rollers)
• Paintbrush
• Semi-gloss Polycrylic for sealing your cabinets after they are painted

Prepping your cabinets

First things first, you have to prep your cabinets before painting them. If you skip this your paint will not stick as it should & you will have put in all this work for nothing & now you’ll have to put in MORE time to fix them. So, let’s not make this mistake!

Removing the cabinets-Your kitchen is going to be a MESS for a little bit, but stick with it because the end result will be so worth it! Take your cabinet doors off and remove all hardware. YOU WILL WANT TO NUMBER EVERYTHING! Number the backs of your cabinets & place hardware in numbered ziplock baggies. If you are buying all new hardware then skip this (still number your cabinets though)! Your hinges warp/wear down over time & heaven forbid you put the wrong hinge on the wrong cabinet in the wrong place! You will want to PULL YOUR HAIR OUT trying to figure out where everything goes, I promise. Do NOT make the same mistake I did. Number EVERYTHING. 

Cleaning-You can probably use any degreasing cleaner but I used Krud Kutter…I LOVE THIS STUFF! Spray your cabinet down and wipe clean with a damp rag. Really make sure you use some elbow grease and get them nice and clean! Make sure you get around the edges & all the nooks and crannies! If yall cook like me then I’m sure you have some splatters somewhere on those cabinets! You want to make sure you get everything off, you don’t want to paint over grease/grime because the paint will NOT stick! 

Sanding– I know, I know….everyone LOATHES sanding but don’t skip this step! You want to get all of the shiny topcoat off. The more dull the better! Now, I’m not saying sand until you have the cabinet down to just bare wood..just enough to get that top layer off! We want to open the pores in the wood so the primer can grip onto it! If your cabinets aren’t real wood, I would suggest buying a deglosser (something like this) and use that in place of sanding! After sanding I used a small handheld broom to dust away all the sawdust & then used a damp rag (I used an old cotton t-shirt) to wipe them clean & let them dry!

Painting your cabinets

Priming-DO NOT SKIP THIS EITHER. Don’t be fooled by all the “no sanding require” chalk paints or the paint+primer in one thing. Just stick to the tried and true old school Kilz primer and apply one coat of primer to everything using a foam roller. I had to use a paintbrush to get down in the cracks, but then went on top with a foam roller to rid of any brush strokes! You can not see any brush strokes on my cabinets. It honestly looks as if they were sprayed but they just took five times as long to do! LOL Let the primer dry!

*If you plan on painting your cabinets a darker color, I would suggest tinting your primer instead of keeping it white!

Painting-I HIGHLY recommend using semi-gloss paint for your cabinets. It will be so much easier to clean and it is more durable. Let’s face it, cabinets get A LOT of love throughout the day. Mine have dog noses rubbed against them, dirty little Cheeto fingers, scooter/baby strollers ran into them on the daily & I have not had a single paint chip! Halleluiah!!! I might have had to put my family up for grabs after all the work I put into painting those suckers, but that goes to show every step matters for durably painted cabinets! Apply one coat of paint using your foam roller & let dry completely. Once dry, lightly sand with 240 grit sandpaper (the higher the number the finer the grit) for a smooth finish & lightly wipe away the dust from sanding! Then, apply another coat of paint everywhere and repeat the same sanding process. If a third coat is needed then you are ready to apply that!

*If you don’t get finished with painting all in one day…place your rollers in a ziplock bag in the fridge & they’ll stay “fresh” until you need them again!

*These are the colors I chose for our cabinets*

Protecting-If you want your cabinets to last, which I’m sure that you do after all that work you put into them, you will want to apply a protective finish! I would use a polycrylic over a polyurethane (these tend to yellow over time & will become noticeable if your cabinets are white). Apply two coats & let dry overnight. 

Finishing up

Final touches- The light is at the end of the tunnel!!!! Didn’t think you’d see it again did you? But boooyyyy was all that hard work worth it! If you purchased new hardware now is the time to place them on the cabinets & if not then they are ready to be hung! Hopefully you labeled everything and it’s just a matching game now. Hang your cabinets up & admire those beauties! Job well done! Pat yourself on the back, pour a glass of wine or eat a tub of ice cream, and binge watch some trash tv because you deserve it!!!

Tips

• Don’t skip on cleaning and sanding your cabinets! I promise you will regret not doing it when you are back to square one fixing them!
• Remember to number everything in the order your cabinets are hung. If you don’t…you will drive yourself crazy trying to figure out where it all went originally because your cabinet doors won’t close like they use to!
• If you are wanting new hardware but can’t get around to purchasing right now…do not, I repeat, do NOT try to paint your existing hardware. I attempted that & it was a total fail! I wasted so much time! I read so many blog posts on how to do this correctly too. Maybe it would work on knobs & pulls, but I bet they wouldn’t last long before they started chipping! Hinges, on the other hand, don’t even try it! I let them dry overnight and applied them the next morning. The first time opening the door it scratched the paint right off!!! So my advice is to use your existing hardware until you are able to buy new! I ordered my hinges, knobs, & pulls from Amazon! Hinges do come in different styles & sizes…so make sure you’re buying what’s right for your cabinets! The distance between the screw holes on drawer pulls varies as well, so make sure to measure yours & buy accordingly!
• If you can afford to purchase an airless paint sprayer, do it! This was my only regret…it will save you SO much time. If you know someone who would let you borrow one, then by all means borrow it! It just helps to cut down on time, but you can still have perfectly painted cabinets without one! I didn’t have one, and I’m SO happy with how ours turned out!

Maybe for my next post, I will teach you an affordable way to add a backsplash! *Hint* I used a stencil ?