How to Give Kitchen Cabinets a Makeover With Paint

Looking to give your kitchen a makeover without breaking the bank? Use these step-by-step instructions and paint your kitchen cabinets.

Materials and Tools:

paintbrushes
painter's tape
paint for cabinets (Ultra White 18E-2)

Steps:

1. The preparation of the cabinet is the most important step. If the cabinets have a natural or stained finish, they are sealed with a sealant or a varnish. For the paint to adhere, you need to break through that finish and add a primer coat. This doesn't mean the sealer has to be removed completely, just roughed up.

Wash the cabinets with a mild soap and warm water solution (household dish soap will work great, but make sure you rinse well).

2. After you have washed the cabinets, remove all the doors and hardware. The doors can be painted in a separate area, and it will make it much easier to paint them once they are separated from the cabinet.

3. Sand all surfaces with 150-grit sandpaper. The purpose here is to etch the surface, not to sand down to bare wood. You can use a block sander to make the job easier. Once sanded, wipe the cabinets and doors down with a tack cloth or a damp rag to remove all the dust. Here's a tip: Use a shop vacuum prior to this step to help remove the major portion of the dust.

4. After all the dust has been removed, prime the doors and cabinets with an oil-based multi-purpose primer/sealer. Primers give the final base coat a sealed surface that will assure proper adhesion. Primers can also be tinted fairly close to the final basecoat which is a big stepsaver, especially if painting with darker colors. Sand the primed surfaces lightly with a 220 grit sandpaper. The primer will raise the grain of the wood causing a fuzzy feeling, and the light sanding will remove the raised grain.

5. Once all the preparation has been completed, it's time to apply the top coat of paint. You can choose between a latex enamel or an oil-based paint. Both provide excellent coverage and good-looking appearance. Latex is a little easier to work with and can be washed with soap and water, and it usually has less odor. Oil-based paint may be a little trickier to work with and tends to have an odor. On the other hand, oil-based paint does smooth out better and shows fewer brush marks. Whatever you choose, be sure to purchase quality paint, as it really makes a difference.

6. Start painting the inside of the cabinets, followed by the sides and then the front facings. The doors can be done at any time; just make sure they are thoroughly dried before reattaching to the cabinets. First cut in the edges of the area to be painted using a 3" paint brush. Then, use a roller to apply the paint on larger surfaces such as cabinet fronts and doors. Be sure to use a 1/4" roller cover — the shorter nap will make it easier to work with the paint. Once the paint is rolled on, lay off the surface with the paint brush. ("Laying off" means pulling the brush through the paint in long, even pulls, and it's best to lay off in the direction of the grain of the wood. The inside walls of the cabinet are a great place to practice rolling and laying off.)