Kitchen cabinets are subject to more wear than most woodwork in the home. The assault of messy fingers and hands, the constant opening and closing of the doors and drawers, and the exposure to the cooking residue in the air will take a toll over time. The result is significant wear and a worn look that can take away from the overall appearance of the kitchen. A good paint job can bring new life to your kitchen's atmosphere and save you a ton of money versus the cost of cabinet replacement. The savings can be significant if you are willing to tackle this project yourself. Great results will be achieved by following the fundamentals for successful paint application.
Preparation
The most important step in all projects is preparation. This is especially true in painting projects. The desired result cannot be achieved if the preparation isn't done correctly. Painting will not "fix" broken, sagging and dented objects. So it is important to prepare and if need be, repair the surfaces to be painted.
The first step is to remove all hard ware including hooks, knobs, hinges and anything that is not going to be painted from the cabinet boxes, doors and drawers. You should clean them well using an all purpose cleaner/degreaser with a rag and let them dry thoroughly. If there are any loose parts in the surfaces to be painted they will have to re-set, for example if a drawer front is loose, a simple tightening of a couple of screws may be all it takes to secure the front to the box. Or perhaps you have a sagging shelve because of a loose support or not enough support, this will have to be taken care of before you paint and reassemble. I won't go into much detail about cabinet repair in this article. (If there is extensive repair needed you might be advised to replace the cabinets.)
For dents and deeper scratches, you should apply some wood putty with a putty knife to the damaged area and smooth it down to a sandable height, being careful to not scrape in down too much. (If it is too flat or flush, it may leave an indention after drying.) After the putty has dried, sand it down with fine grit sandpaper.
Sanding
When the doors and drawers have been removed, and the hardware removed from them, it's best to place them on a flat surface such as a table, work bench, or I find it works well to place a long board, such as a 2x12, between 2 sawbucks and line the doors or drawers down the board. This next part is a little labor intensive, or tedious, but very important to ensure a good result. Use a fine grit sandpaper and rough up all the surfaces to be painted. That goes for the cabinet box faces, sides, and inside edges of the faces.(That is the smaller visible edge just inside the face going toward the inside of the cabinet) This sanding step will allow the primer or the paint to adhere much better and reduce chipping, flaking and peeling in the future. You don't have to sand really hard, just rough it up a bit, covering the entire surface thoroughly.
Applying the Primer
If the cabinets were painted before and you're just repainting you can skip this step. Applying primer is a must because it will cause the paint to adhere better to the surface making the paint less susceptible to chips and peeling. If you're painting over stained wood, or sealed wood (such as polyurethane) the color is likely to "bleed" through, and the paint tends to not stick to these types of surfaces.
If you are going to use a latex based paint, then a shellac base primer should be used. If you will be using an oil-based paint, the best primer will be an oil-based interior type. When applying primer it is best to do so when the work area can be properly ventilated. An open door or large window with a strong fan pulling the vapors out would be best.
Now It's Time to Paint
At this point, after the repairs, sanding and priming the doors, drawer faces and cabinets might not be very pretty, but rest assured that you have made a good foundation for your paint that will bring satisfaction with the final result.
The key to applying the paint is to apply 2 or more thin coats. This will result in a smoother and more durable finish. It's tempting to go with one thick coat at this time because of the urge to hurry and finish after all the work you've put in so far, but you will be more pleased with the outcome if you'll be a little more patient here at the end.
A smoother, more glossy coat will be achieved with a pneumatic spray gun, but not-to-worry if you don't have access to one because great results can still be achieved with a good quality 2 ½ " to 3" brush. Again, the secret is to apply more than 1 thin coat. After the 1st coat has dried, use some 400 grits sanding paper to smooth out any blemishes or rough spots. You are not trying to remove paint, but just insuring the smoothest surface possible for the next coat. In applying the coats, naturally you want to avoid runs or drops in the finish, but if you accidentally have any, you can let the paint dry thoroughly and lightly smooth it out with the 400 grit paper. Usually 2 coats will do unless you have a coarse grained wood to cover.
Inspect to make sure all edges are covered and smooth. Don't forget those inside edges of the cabinet face. This will give your paint job a much more pleasing and professionally finished look. Install the hardware, drawers and doors, and enjoy your bright, revitalized kitchen. You will feel satisfaction and pride in the new look and new feel of the kitchen, not to mention the fact that you've saved thousands of dollars in replacement cost.
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