Kitchen Cabinet Makeover Reveal

Phase Two: Prep and Paint Your Cabinet Frames

1. Move out of your kitchen. It’s going to get messy when you start sanding, so take everything off your countertops and out of your cabinets. (Confession: I just removed the stuff that wasn’t already dusty. I figure I’ll have to dust the other stuff eventually anyway before I use it next, so why do it twice?) Even the big appliances should be pulled out of the way so you can paint the edges of the frames. Give the coffee maker a place of honor in the living room next to an outlet. You’ll need it.
2. Label cabinet doors. Here’s the easy way:
3. Remove cabinet doors by unscrewing the hinge from the cabinet frame, leaving the hinge attached to the door. Also remove drawers and set aside for later. Drawers and doors will be painted in another step. Right now the goal is to get the frames prepped and painted so you can move everything back into the kitchen and go back to (more or less) normal life while the doors are being painted in the garage.
4. If possible, remove baseboards or toe kicks from under cabinets. If not possible, tape along the floor to protect floor from scuffs and paint.
   

   That is NOT a pretty sight. But it means things are happening!

5. Clean every part of your cabinet frames with a good degreaser or TSP. I didn’t like the sound of TSP which is short for some chemically-sounding compound, so I opted for Krud Kutter instead. It works great and is safe and environmentally friendly. I couldn’t believe the gunk that came off of those cabinets, especially close to the sink and oven!
6. Using a block and sandpaper, hand sand each surface evenly, just to remove the gloss from the prior finish and give the paint something to adhere to. You don’t have to sand off all the finish, just make sure to rough it up all over. My cabinets were maple, which turns out to be a pretty hard wood, and they had a really durable finish on them. (I have new respect for my cabinets after wrestling with them throughout this project. They were built to last!) The paint guy at the Benjamin Moore store told me to use 200 grit sandpaper, but I found that it didn’t even touch the finish, so I had to switch to 100 grit.
7. Clean every bit of dust off the surface. Vacuum first, using the drapery attachment. Then you can use a tack cloth, but I prefer a high-quality microfiber towel. Make one pass with a dry towel, then dampen the towel with rubbing alcohol and make another pass to pick up any invisible dust. Do not use water on your towel, as it can raise the grain of the wood and make it hard to get a good finish.
   

   The inside of my cabinets were in great shape, so I decided not to paint them. I just taped off the edges to keep them tidy.

8. Prime. Simply paint on a light coat of the primer, making sure to get in every crack and crevice, without leaving drips. Easier said than done on vertical surfaces, but if you use a light touch, and don’t overload your roller and brush with primer, you’ll be fine. At this point, these cabinets will be UGLY. Primer looks like a terrible paint job. Don’t fear. It doesn’t need to look even, it just needs to have some coverage everywhere. You’re just giving the paint something to stick to later.
9. While the primer is drying (check your paint can for drying times and believe whatever it tells you – no rushing!), this is a good time to paint the walls, if you’re doing so.
10. Add a bit of wood filler or caulking wherever you have gaps between wood. When painting wood, this is an important step in giving it a really professional finish.
11. Once the primer and caulking is dry, give it a light sand with 200 grit sandpaper. Clean well, using the method in Step 7.
12. Now is the fun part – paint! Mix your paint well and pour some into a paint tray. With your brand new (do NOT use an old ratty roller!) mohair roller, roll a light coat of paint all over the cabinet boxes. Roll in the direction of the wood, and with the direction of the nap on the roller. You can’t tell the direction of the roller nap by looking at it, but you’ll be able to tell once you’re using it. When you roll the wrong way, it will sound “tackier” and may leave tiny bubbles in the paint (gasp!). When you roll back the right way, it will feel smoother and the coat of paint will look more even. Try to finish each section rolling in the right direction, to get a smooth even finish. Go back with a brush to fill in all the corners and edges that the roller missed. A good self-leveling, slow drying paint will make this process go much better. When you use a fast drying latex paint, it starts drying even in between passes of the brush or roller. Then you’re dragging through partially dry paint, which is what leaves tracks and marks in the finish. This is why the type of paint and roller matter so much to a smooth, professional finish. 
13. Allow the paint to dry fully. BM Advance takes at least 16 hours between coats, and I can attest to this personally. If you try to sand before it’s dry, you’ll get globs of wet paint gumming up your sandpaper, and stripping the paint off the cabinet. Pretty traumatizing. Take my word for it, and plan for the right drying times. There are plenty of other things you can work on in the meantime, like getting started on your doors.
    

    Mom’s Little Helper

14. Once the paint is dry, give it a light pass with 320 grit sandpaper, and clean well with a clean microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol.
15. Add a final coat of paint, following the process in Step 11.
16. Allow the paint to cure for at least a couple of days while you’re working on doors. Once it’s good and dry, you can replace all your kitchen gadgets and dishes and start living in your kitchen again. It’ll be open concept, and you might find you like having some of your doors off. It’s pretty convenient, but I found out that I have way too much stuff (and it’s not all pretty) to have the doors off for long!