The Best Way to Update Your Cabinets with Paint

Update your cabinets

You can hire a professional to paint your cabinets, but if saving money is a priority, do it yourself.

The kitchen is the heart of the home and the second major selling point of any house. And it costs a pretty penny to update especially when it comes to replacing cabinets and appliances. If you need to update your cabinets in the kitchen or in the bathroom, but you’re not financially able to replace them, think paint! Paint works wonders. But if you want crave-worthy cabinets with professional-style results, it’s imperative that you follow each step carefully. No skipping or skrimping. Remember, “haste makes waste” when it comes to painting.

How to Update Your Cabinets Yourself

You can hire a professional to paint your cabinets, but if saving money is a priority, do it yourself. Need some ideas to help you update your cabinets? Here’s an awesome list from HGTV:

1. Choose the Best Paint

If you’re going to save the cost of a professional and update your cabinets DIY, look for paint at your local paint supply store. The staff of a reputable paint supply store will help you pick the best products for your cabinets. Ask for paint that is non-blocking so it won’t stick when cabinets and drawers are closed. It needs to be able to stand up to a lot of wiping and cleaning. You don’t want the paint coming off whenever you’re scrubbing or wiping down your cabinets and drawers.

Choose your paint color and finish keeping in mind that oil paint is hard to work with. Choose a latex satin finish paint instead. It’s also important to know that dark colors tend to show imperfections in the paint and cabinetry and highlight dirt more than light colors do.

2. Prepare to Update Your Cabinets

First, decide if you want to paint your cabinets with a paintbrush and foam roller or spray paint them with a spray gun. Rolling the paint on won’t look as good as spraying the paint on, but it takes less skill. Spray painting will get the job done quicker than painting with a paintbrush and foam roller, but in order to get that professional-looking finish, you’ll need a good paint spray gun.

Now that you’ve decided the paint method to update your cabinets with, prepare for painting:

  • Clear counters
  • Empty cabinets
  • Cover backsplash and appliances
  • Remove hinges, hardware, doors, and drawers
  • Put hinges and hardware in plastic bags
  • Label each door with masking tape
  • Set up a worktable or prop 2×4’s on buckets or boxes

Purchase your paint and primer along with any of the products you need to prepare your cabinets for primer. Don’t forget the angled brush and mini foam roller if you’re not spray painting the cabinets.

3. Prep Your Cabinets

Before you begin painting, look at the existing finish. Is it pealing, greasy, dirty, etc.? If the existing finish is pealing, strip it off. Think of it as rust on a car. You wouldn’t paint over the rust because the rust will just fall off taking the paint with it. If the existing finish is in good shape, skip the stripping step and begin cleaning. Prepping all doors and drawers properly makes sure the paint will stick.

  • Furniture normally doesn’t have grease on it, but cabinets often do. Scrub them thoroughly using a clean, soft rag and mineral spirits or trisodium phosphate (TSP) to remove every drop of grease and grime, every drop. Don’t just wipe them down. It’s crucial that old oils, waxes, and grime are removed. Paint covers a multitude of sins, but it refuses to abide dirty, greasy surfaces. Daniel Jones of Wehrli Furniture Company in Naperville, Illinois, says, “We use a product called Wax Wash to clean furniture. But for greasy cabinets, we use something similar to 409 and then Wax Wash. You have to get all the grease off or the paint won’t stick.”
  • Fill dents, grooves, or holes with a good wood filler.
  • Lightly sand surfaces using 100-grit sandpaper to scuff every inch. This creates grooves so the paint has something to adhere to. This step isn’t anything you need to be crazy particular about. You just need to create a scratch pattern that paint will stick to.
  • Wipe cabinets and drawers with a tack cloth to remove dust before drilling new holes for new hardware.
  • Fill in gaps or seams with caulk

4. Apply Primer to Your Cabinets

If you want professional-looking results, don’t skip the primer. It’s imperative to prime every part of your cabinets – boxes, door fronts, drawers before you start applying paint. Use a stain-blocking primer designed for glossy surfaces.

5. Start Applying Your Paint

Once the primer that you applied to every part of your cabinets is completely dry, apply the latex satin paint. Work in sections using the angled brush and go over what you’ve painted with the brush with the mini foam roller. Applying the paint in this way provides that professional-looking finish you’re looking for.

If you chose to use a paint spray gun, the process is the same as it would be if working with a brush and roller. Just apply the spray paint to your cabinets outside where there is adequate ventilation.

Apply at least two coats of paint. Let the paint dry thoroughly and lightly sand between coats.

Once everything is painted and the paint is completely dry, use very fine grit sandpaper to give everything a final sanding. Use tack cloth to remove sanding dust and apply a couple coats of satin polycrylic for added durability.

6. Reinstall Doors and Drawers

Once all the paint is dry, put your cabinets back together. And now you get to install your new hardware or the old hardware you stored systematically in plastic bags.

If you’re stumped about how to upgrade your cabinets in your home, whether selling or buying, call Charles D’Alessandro. His 30+ years of real estate experience in the Brooklyn area has given him an eye for what is truly needed. He also knows the best people to contact for help. Contact Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate, at (718) 253-9700 ext. 206 today or click here now.


Charles D’Alessandro

Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate

718-253-9600 ext. 206

[email protected]

Tags: , , ,


Leave a Reply