Let’s Talk!
651.500.7650
Painting
Kitchen Cabinets
IN my quest to learn the best ways to paint kitchen cabinets, I went to three of my favorite sources for solid information regarding paint and process: Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and The Family Handyman magazine. I compared each of them to each other and basically only found differences in their products (of course). Process was the same. I have edited material from the Family Handyman article to fit my own needs but have included the web address in case any of you want to reference it for your own purposes (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/surprising-tips for-painting-kitchen-cabinets/). What follows is a merging of my three sources in order to give you the most professional painting information available for the DIYer.
1. Set Up Flat Surfaces and Spaces for Drying
A flat painting surface is the key to refinishing kitchen cabinets. Find an area that gives you enough room to work—and enough space to let everything dry for extended periods of time.
Pro-Tip: You can buy plastic painter’s pyramids, which work great for supporting doors while you paint them. Or you can make your own standoffs by driving 2-in. screws through 3-in. square scraps of plywood. If you don’t mind a few barely visible dimples on the back of your doors, you can paint both sides of a door at once using standoffs.
2. Protect Countertops With Rosin Paper
An easy way to protect your countertops, backsplash and floor is to cover them with inexpensive rosin or brown builder’s paper. A common roll size is 35-in.-wide by 140-ft.-long.
3. Remove Doos, Drawer Fronts and Hardware
First, remove the cabinet doors and all the hardware. On many modern cabinets, drawer fronts can be removed from the drawer by backing out a few screws. But if your drawer fronts are part of the drawer and can’t be removed, use masking tape to cover the drawer sides and bottom if you don’t want to paint them.
Pro-Tip: Make a quick sketch showing all the doors and drawers. Number them however you want. Then label the doors and drawers with the corresponding number when you remove them. Write under the hinge locations where it won’t be visible. Then cover the numbers with masking tape to protect them while you’re painting.
4. De-Grease and Dry
Clean cabinets with a grease-cutting solution. Dishwashing liquid will work, but a dedicated grease remover like TSP substitute is even better. Mix according to the instructions and scrub the cabinets. Then rinse them with clear water and wipe them dry with a clean rag.
5. Patch Unwanted Holes
Fill unwanted holes, dents and dings with spackling or wood filler. The Family Handyman prefers filling with an oil-based spackling compound like MH Ready Patch because it sticks well and dries hard for a durable repair. But other quality wood filler/putty will also work.
6. Sand
Most cabinet finishes are too smooth or glossy to reprime and repaint, so using a medium sandpaper (120-grit sandpaper), sand down your surfaces a little—not enough to sand away the current finish entirely, but enough to give the primer a little more grit to stick to. Use a green abrasive pad to sand the molded profiles. Sandpaper doesn’t conform well enough to get into all of the intricate spots. Wipe away any dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.
Pro-Tip: *To ensure a smooth paint job and good adhesion, it’s critical that you remove all the sanding dust from the doors, drawer fronts and cabinet frames. Start by vacuuming everything using a soft bristle brush attachment. This removes loose dust, but you still need to get rid of the rest. The traditional painter’s method is to use tack cloths. To use a tack cloth, completely unfold it and loosely bunch it up. Wipe it gently over the surface to pick up dust. Shake it out frequently and re-form the bundle to use it again. When the cloth has lost its dust-grabbing ability, throw it away and get a new one.
7. Prime
Use an enamel underbody primer.
• Oil-based paint dries slowly (more working time)
• Levels well for smooth finish (fewer brush marks)
• Helps mask minor imperfections
• Sands easily
• Dry time: At least 24 hours
Wood cabinets: Benjamin Moore ADVANCE Primer (790) has great adhesion that provides the proper foundation for any ADVANCE finish. Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer is recommended because of its excellent adhesion, cover and ease of use.
Choose your primer and paint at the same store to insure that both products are compatible with each other. Read the label and choose a paint that’s formulated for painting woodwork and cabinets. And remember, glossier surfaces highlight imperfections, so unless you’re a very meticulous painter, consider an eggshell or a satin sheen.
Pro-Tip: If you’re worried about adhesion, try acrylic urethane. Acrylic urethane has many properties that make it a perfect primer for cabinets. First, it sticks tenaciously to almost any surface. You could even paint over plastic laminate cabinets with acrylic urethane. Acrylic urethane also cures to a very hard and durable finish. You can use acrylic urethane primer and cover it with your choice of paint. Or you can use acrylic urethane paint as the final coat too.
8. Sand Again
Let the primer dry at least 24 hours in a well-ventilated area and sand again using a 220-grit paper or sanding block, sand all surfaces lightly, focusing especially on areas that may have drips or pools (i.e.: inside corners and anywhere two flat areas meet). Make sure the surface is as even as possible—this ensures your paint will go on smoothly. Wipe away any dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.*
9. Paint First Coat
A good painter can work wonders with a brush, but for most of us a mini roller is a great alternative when painting kitchen cabinets.
Mohair, microfiber or foam sleeves are good choices for mini rollers. Foam sleeves will leave the smoothest finish, but they don’t hold much paint, so you’ll be reloading frequently.
Sherwin Williams Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel, satin sheen is a perfect choice for top coat paint because it has excellent flow and leveling characteristics, which means a smooth and durable finish on cabinets, doors and trim.
Paint the back of the door first, leaving the edges unpainted so you’ll have a spot to put your fingers when you turn the door over and rest it on the screw tips. Now paint the door edges and front, then let the door dry.When you’re painting the edge of a cabinet door, it’s easy to apply too much paint and create a buildup along the edge. To avoid a dried ridge of paint along the door edge, smooth out any paint that’s lapped over onto the adjoining surface with a paintbrush or small sponge brush.
Pro-Tip: If paint isn’t leveling out after it’s applied, try mixing in a paint conditioner like Floetrol. Read the instructions for the correct proportion of conditioner to paint. Conditioned paint is often easier to apply and dries to a smoother finish.
Our pro painting consultant insists that even fresh paint should be strained before use to remove any small lumps that could mar the paint job. If you don’t want to go to this extreme, at least filter any leftover paint.
Dampen your brush. It’s easier to clean your brush if you dampen it with water (for water-based paints) before you start painting.
10. Sand Again
Dust can settle in the paint or primer as it dries. For the smoothest final coat, sand between coats of primer or paint with 220-grit sandpaper or an extra-fine sanding sponge. Then vacuum and tack as usual before recoating.
11. Paint Second Coat
Apply a second coat of paint.
12. Let It Dry
The longer the paint dries, the more durable its finish will be, and the less likely it will stick during reinstallation. At minimum, let the cabinets dry in a well-ventilated area for at least 24 hours—however, two or three days is even better. Once everything is fully dry, you can begin replacing the hardware in your repainted cabinets and returning them to your newly refreshed kitchen.
Supplies
• Plastic painter’s pyramids
• Rosin or brown builder’s paper (35-in.-wide by 140-ft.-long)
• TSP
• MH Ready Patch
• 120-grit & 220-grit sandpaper
• Green abrasive pad
• Soft bristle attachment for vacuum
• Tack cloths
• Acrylic Urethane primer and paint? OR
• Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer & Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel,
Alabaster in satin sheen
• Mini Roller & Sleeves: Mohair, microfiber or foam
• Floetrol
• Paint Strainer
Let’s Talk!
Roberta Peters
Birch Hill Interiors
651.500.7650
Twin Cities
Painting
Kitchen Cabinets
IN my quest to learn the best ways to paint kitchen cabinets, I went to three of my favorite sources for solid information regarding paint and process: Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and The Family Handyman magazine. I compared each of them to each other and basically only found differences in their products (of course). Process was the same. I have edited material from the Family Handyman article to fit my own needs but have included the web address in case any of you want to reference it for your own purposes (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/surprising-tips for-painting-kitchen-cabinets/). What follows is a merging of my three sources in order to give you the most professional painting information available for the DIYer.
1. Set Up Flat Surfaces and Spaces for Drying
A flat painting surface is the key to refinishing kitchen cabinets. Find an area that gives you enough room to work—and enough space to let everything dry for extended periods of time.
Pro-Tip: You can buy plastic painter’s pyramids, which work great for supporting doors while you paint them. Or you can make your own standoffs by driving 2-in. screws through 3-in. square scraps of plywood. If you don’t mind a few barely visible dimples on the back of your doors, you can paint both sides of a door at once using standoffs.
2. Protect Countertops With Rosin Paper
An easy way to protect your countertops, backsplash and floor is to cover them with inexpensive rosin or brown builder’s paper. A common roll size is 35-in.-wide by 140-ft.-long.
3. Remove Doos, Drawer Fronts and Hardware
First, remove the cabinet doors and all the hardware. On many modern cabinets, drawer fronts can be removed from the drawer by backing out a few screws. But if your drawer fronts are part of the drawer and can’t be removed, use masking tape to cover the drawer sides and bottom if you don’t want to paint them.
Pro-Tip: Make a quick sketch showing all the doors and drawers. Number them however you want. Then label the doors and drawers with the corresponding number when you remove them. Write under the hinge locations where it won’t be visible. Then cover the numbers with masking tape to protect them while you’re painting.
4. De-Grease and Dry
Clean cabinets with a grease-cutting solution. Dishwashing liquid will work, but a dedicated grease remover like TSP substitute is even better. Mix according to the instructions and scrub the cabinets. Then rinse them with clear water and wipe them dry with a clean rag.
5. Patch Unwanted Holes
Fill unwanted holes, dents and dings with spackling or wood filler. The Family Handyman prefers filling with an oil-based spackling compound like MH Ready Patch because it sticks well and dries hard for a durable repair. But other quality wood filler/putty will also work.
6. Sand
Most cabinet finishes are too smooth or glossy to reprime and repaint, so using a medium sandpaper (120-grit sandpaper), sand down your surfaces a little—not enough to sand away the current finish entirely, but enough to give the primer a little more grit to stick to. Use a green abrasive pad to sand the molded profiles. Sandpaper doesn’t conform well enough to get into all of the intricate spots. Wipe away any dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.
Pro-Tip: *To ensure a smooth paint job and good adhesion, it’s critical that you remove all the sanding dust from the doors, drawer fronts and cabinet frames. Start by vacuuming everything using a soft bristle brush attachment. This removes loose dust, but you still need to get rid of the rest. The traditional painter’s method is to use tack cloths. To use a tack cloth, completely unfold it and loosely bunch it up. Wipe it gently over the surface to pick up dust. Shake it out frequently and re-form the bundle to use it again. When the cloth has lost its dust-grabbing ability, throw it away and get a new one.
7. Prime
Use an enamel underbody primer.
• Oil-based paint dries slowly (more working time)
• Levels well for smooth finish (fewer brush marks)
• Helps mask minor imperfections
• Sands easily
• Dry time: At least 24 hours
Wood cabinets: Benjamin Moore ADVANCE Primer (790) has great adhesion that provides the proper foundation for any ADVANCE finish. Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer is recommended because of its excellent adhesion, cover and ease of use.
Choose your primer and paint at the same store to insure that both products are compatible with each other. Read the label and choose a paint that’s formulated for painting woodwork and cabinets. And remember, glossier surfaces highlight imperfections, so unless you’re a very meticulous painter, consider an eggshell or a satin sheen.
Pro-Tip: If you’re worried about adhesion, try acrylic urethane. Acrylic urethane has many properties that make it a perfect primer for cabinets. First, it sticks tenaciously to almost any surface. You could even paint over plastic laminate cabinets with acrylic urethane. Acrylic urethane also cures to a very hard and durable finish. You can use acrylic urethane primer and cover it with your choice of paint. Or you can use acrylic urethane paint as the final coat too.
8. Sand Again
Let the primer dry at least 24 hours in a well-ventilated area and sand again using a 220-grit paper or sanding block, sand all surfaces lightly, focusing especially on areas that may have drips or pools (i.e.: inside corners and anywhere two flat areas meet). Make sure the surface is as even as possible—this ensures your paint will go on smoothly. Wipe away any dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.*
9. Paint First Coat
A good painter can work wonders with a brush, but for most of us a mini roller is a great alternative when painting kitchen cabinets.
Mohair, microfiber or foam sleeves are good choices for mini rollers. Foam sleeves will leave the smoothest finish, but they don’t hold much paint, so you’ll be reloading frequently.
Sherwin Williams Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel, satin sheen is a perfect choice for top coat paint because it has excellent flow and leveling characteristics, which means a smooth and durable finish on cabinets, doors and trim.
Paint the back of the door first, leaving the edges unpainted so you’ll have a spot to put your fingers when you turn the door over and rest it on the screw tips. Now paint the door edges and front, then let the door dry.When you’re painting the edge of a cabinet door, it’s easy to apply too much paint and create a buildup along the edge. To avoid a dried ridge of paint along the door edge, smooth out any paint that’s lapped over onto the adjoining surface with a paintbrush or small sponge brush.
Pro-Tip: If paint isn’t leveling out after it’s applied, try mixing in a paint conditioner like Floetrol. Read the instructions for the correct proportion of conditioner to paint. Conditioned paint is often easier to apply and dries to a smoother finish.
Our pro painting consultant insists that even fresh paint should be strained before use to remove any small lumps that could mar the paint job. If you don’t want to go to this extreme, at least filter any leftover paint.
Dampen your brush. It’s easier to clean your brush if you dampen it with water (for water-based paints) before you start painting.
10. Sand Again
Dust can settle in the paint or primer as it dries. For the smoothest final coat, sand between coats of primer or paint with 220-grit sandpaper or an extra-fine sanding sponge. Then vacuum and tack as usual before recoating.
11. Paint Second Coat
Apply a second coat of paint.
12. Let It Dry
The longer the paint dries, the more durable its finish will be, and the less likely it will stick during reinstallation. At minimum, let the cabinets dry in a well-ventilated area for at least 24 hours—however, two or three days is even better. Once everything is fully dry, you can begin replacing the hardware in your repainted cabinets and returning them to your newly refreshed kitchen.
Supplies
• Plastic painter’s pyramids
• Rosin or brown builder’s paper (35-in.-wide by 140-ft.-long)
• TSP
• MH Ready Patch
• 120-grit & 220-grit sandpaper
• Green abrasive pad
• Soft bristle attachment for vacuum
• Tack cloths
• Acrylic Urethane primer and paint? OR
• Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer & Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel,
Alabaster in satin sheen
• Mini Roller & Sleeves: Mohair, microfiber or foam
• Floetrol
• Paint Strainer
Let’s Talk!
Roberta Peters
Birch Hill Interiors
Twin Cities