Ready to be bold and get adventurous with your kitchen? My husband and I had talked for seven years about painting our kitchen cabinets. Our hesitation was the scope of the project. How long would it take us? Did we have the basic skills to get it done without looking like a child painted our cabinets? Could we do it with the kids around? What tools did we need?
With the quarantine we were all facing from March to May we started to get tired of just cleaning out and we got BOLD. One day we were discussing painting our cabinets and literally the next we were purchasing the supplies. We settled in for the long haul knowing we could only do it over the weekends and that we would have a one & three year old under toe the entire time. Thanks to my cousin, whose profession is painting & selling furniture and who has also done several cabinet projects, we knew the right steps to take. Here is how you do it:
● Terms to know
Cabinet base- The part that stays attached to the wall
Cabinet doors and drawer faces are what get removed (Once removed from the base each door has hinges, screws, and hardware. Each drawer face has hardware and screws.)
Cutting in- painting along edges and trim with a brush not a roller.
● Start by making a diagram of your kitchen and assigning a letter to each cabinet door and drawer face.
● We DID NOT empty any cabinets
● Remove cabinet doors and drawer faces one by one labeling them and placing all parts in a plastic bag with the same label. Once you have labeled and removed everything and it is in the bag, stick the back in that cabinet base or drawer. (TIP: WE STARTED WITH ONLY THE TOPS AND THEN DID A SECOND PHASE WITH THE BOTTOM CABINETS MAKING IT LESS OVERWHELMING)
All hinges for cabinet doors need to be labeled coordinating with the cabinet.
■ Example: Door “A” remove from base of cabinets. Next you remove the hinge. Write on the back of the hinge “A1” also write in the hole where you removed the hinge from “A1” (IF YOU ARE USING A SPRAYER YOU WILL COVER THESE HOLES WITH PAINTERS TAPE)
● Every hinge needs to go back in its original spot or your cabinets could be thrown completely off.
With drawer faces you want to mark the back of the drawer with its appropriate label (example “B”) and do an arrow up for the top of the drawer. Write this close to the hole for the hardware as you will cover it with painters tape.
● The following steps are what needs to be done to the cabinets prior to painting
Remove all stickers and bumpers
Sand all doors and faces with a
Wipe down with Deglosser using a cloth
Use a new cloth to wipe down with soapy water
Use a new cloth to wipe down with clean water
■ It's suggested to do this twice with a new cloth the second time. We only did it once.
● Find a place for every cabinet door or drawer face to safely dry. See products below on some cones we purchased. We also used a ladder and two folding tables for drying.
With FL humidity we turned our foyer and dining room into a drying area but if it had been a less humid time of the year or if you live in a dry environment the garage is fine.
● Prime the cabinet bases, doors, and drawer faces if you are going from a dark color to a light color.
This will look awful at this point in the process. You will see every stroke of the brush or roller.
● Allow three hours between coats of primer or paint.
● Begin painting!
Chris worked primarily with the sprayer and I focused on the bases as it takes a lot of cutting in.
I always had a roller and a brush with me. (Typically I would put my paint on a paper plate or a paint roller pan)
We rolled all backs of the cabinets so that I could do that whenever I had a chance vs waiting for Chris with the sprayer.
Our cabinets took 1 coat of primer and 3 coats of paint. They were originally almost as dark as you can get.
TIP: Put your paint brush in a plastic baggie. Zip it as best you can and keep your brush and roller in the fridge like this so you are not always rinsing your tools. I kept mine like this for over two weeks because I would randomly paint when I got a chance.
TIP: Save whatever you are using to pour your paint on (Paper plate or Roller pan) and don’t worry about rinsing it. Empty any extra paint back into the bucket when you are stopping for an extended period and it will dry off and be ready to use again without rinsing.
● Once your final coat has dried for three hours you can hang them back up.
Don’t forget your new bumpers. We put them on the tops and bottoms of every door.
● The cabinets take several weeks to cure so be very careful for the next 2-3 weeks to not scratch them.
The products we used are key! Here is a list of them and links:
● Cabinet Door Bumper Pads
● Paint Sprayer
This is a MUST but it doesn't have to be this one. When we purchased it, it was $52. We got very lucky!! I do however recommend getting this brand!
● Paint brushes
● Drying cones
● Foam rollers
I had never used a foam roller and was apprehensive but it was what was recommended to me and I loved them!!
● Klean Strip Liquid Sandpaper Deglosser
● Extra fine sanding blocks
● Sherwin Williams Urethane Trim Enamel Paint
Our colors: Alabaster was our white and Navel was our blue
We have 31 cabinets we painted white and needed 2 gallons
White took 3 coats
We have 32 cabinets we painted blue and needed 1 gallon
Blue took 2 coats and no primer
We were fortunate to get a major discount on this paint but it is currently on sale from $95 a gallon down to $65!
● Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer
Quart size for our kitchen was enough
Primer first going on the cabinet bases
Primer complete on top bases just so you know how bad it really looks at first!
First coat still looking rough
Drying set up while spraying cabinets
Before and Afters
We did everything with the kids at home so we had a lot of "help"!
