Phase Two: Prep and Paint Your Cabinet Frames
- 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.
- Label cabinet doors. Here's the easy way:
- 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.
- 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! - Clean every part of your cabinet frames with a good degreaser or TSP. I didn't like the sound of teaspoon 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!
- 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.
- 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. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Once the primer and caulking is dry, give it a light sand with 200 grit sandpaper. Clean well, using the method in Step 7.
- 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.
- 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 - 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.
- Add a final coat of paint, following the process in Step 11.
- 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!
Tammy Loro says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new space!!!! This is THE most detailed, informative article I've read and I am SO appreciative!! I think I can do this now!!
Meredith says
Thanks Tammy, I'm so glad! Best of luck on your project and let me know if you have questions along the way!
Amanda says
Do you mind me asking what brand and type of flooring you have in your kitchen? I am thinking of painting my cabinets white and I LOVE the combo! Thank you =)
Meredith says
I don't mind a bit! Here's the link to the exact product I used: http://www.homedepot.com/p/MARAZZI-Montagna-Saddle-6-in-x-24-in-Glazed-Porcelain-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-14-53-sq-ft-case-ULG56241P/203600174
I paired it with a dark grout and small grout lines for a more natural look.
Thanks and good luck!
Cheri says
Thanks for this great tutorial! I will be painting my cabinets soon and I've spent hours on Pinterest reading everyone's tutorials. Your kitchen looks amazing! I'm so glad to see that you still have your white appliances. In almost every tutorial I have read the appliances have been replaced with stainless, which are beautiful, but I have white and since a couple of them are only a year old, I'm planning to keep them. Good job! 🙂
Meredith says
Thank you Cheri! I was in the same boat with my appliances so I decided to keep them, and I ended up really loving the whole white effect. Plus I read in a design magazine just last month that white appliances are becoming more popular again, so you're on trend!
Anne Bacon says
Hi!
I wonder if your cabinets are made of real wood? I am not able to see the pictures. I have melamine cabinets and I wonder if it would work.
Meredith says
Hi Anne, I'm not sure if this method would work on melamine, but I think I've seen other bloggers do some version of it. You might try searching for their tutorials. Good luck!
An Ne says
I do not see what equipment cabinets are made but I wonder if this fonctionnerais on my cabinets melamine?
Bobbie Jolly says
You did a great job with instsructions. It looks beautiful. Here is my question. You said you used Benjamin Moore Alkyd and then you said valspar. Which one id you use? I am interested in painting the kitchen cabinets.
Meredith says
Hi Bobbie, what I meant by that is I picked a color out of the Valspar line, but then I went to Ben Moore and had them use that color formula in their paint. Does that make sense? (Most brands of paint have access to other brands' color formulas.)
Michelle says
It looks like you did not paint the interior or the shelves inside the cabinets. Is that a correct assumption? Did you paint underneath the cabinets?
Meredith says
That's correct. I did not paint the inside shelves. My cabinets were fairly new and the interiors were in great shape, and had light-colored wood already, so I didn't need to paint them. I did, however, paint the underside of the top cabinets, so that shorter people (like me!) wouldn't see a different color looking from below.
Gary Baer says
I like your kitchen cabinet makeover !
In a couple of weeks I am going to do the same thing to the kitchen cabinets in my house trailer. With less than 1/2 of the cabinets that you had to refinish, It will probably be a lot easier for me to handle .
The only thing that worries me is that I purchased the proper paint. I have Valspar Optimus in a semi-gloss(that is what the people at the hardware store told me to use .You used an alkyd base . I hate to waste this paint and buy more paint ,but I think that it might be wise ,for me to have a decent job in the end ?
Meredith says
Hi Gary, I apologize for taking so long to respond! Have you already decided about your paint? I don't know anything about the Optimus line, but I do love Valspar paint. Their products are very good. I went with Ben Moore in this case because I wanted a self-leveling paint. Without the self-leveling aspect, you might get a few more brush marks, but that won't be the end of the world. And the alkyd means that the finish will be a little more durable than with latex. So those are the two things to consider, but I know what you mean about hating to waste the paint. I'd love to hear how it works out for you!
Pat says
There is one thing I would like to offer on saving old hardware. If the hardware, like the hinges, are painted with latex paint you can boil it off, not completely, but it will soften it enough to brush it off with a still brush. I used a hard surface pan, covered the hinges with water and boiled them until the paint was soft enough to peel. This too a while so don't give up, you may need to add a little hot water to keep the hinges covered. Then I held them with a hot mitt and brush with a stiff brush. It did a good job, but I worked at it with the brush and even used a wooden toothpick for some of the tight spots. Anyway, that's what saved me a lot of money as well.
Meredith says
That's a great money saving idea Pat! Also, the Krud Kutter that I mention here for cleaning the cabinets will help take off old latex paint, so you can use that too if the boiling doesn't completely work.
Vikki Ryan says
I absolutely love, love, love your kitchen Meredith. Thank you so much for sharing your in depth instructions...this is a project on our to do list and I will definitely be sharing your post with my hubby.
Meredith says
Thank you Vikki! I'm so glad it's helpful, and I hope your hubby doesn't resent me too much for the new item on his honey-do list! 🙂
Jolena says
Visiting from Remodelaholic. How has your paint job held up? Considering this for an upcoming project and interested in the long-term effect.
Meredith says
It's held up great! Full disclosure: I've since moved from the house, but before we moved we lived with the new kitchen for a little over a year. The paint held up great. I did have to do some minor touch ups in high traffic areas, but only for tiny little nicks in the paint that took less than a minute to fix.
Shelly Ayers says
I'm curious myself about how well the paint it holding up. I use my kitchen constantly and want to make sure that it stays on really well.
Meredith says
Hi Shelly, check out my reply to the comment above yours. I loved this paint!
Keri says
Looks amazing and really helpful info! I want to paint my kitchen cabinets white but have heard that it's common for them to yellow after a few years. Did you take any steps to prevent yellowing? Thank you!
Meredith says
Hi Keri, from my understanding, the yellowing comes from using the wrong type of polyurethane as a finishing coat. This method uses no additional finishing coat, and Benjamin Moore paint should hold it's color indefinitely, so it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't coat it with anything and you should be fine.
Cheryl says
Hi I happened upon your post when researching painting kitchen cabinets. I'm really nervous/hesitant about DIY vs. professionally having painted. After, reading your post I do feel better. Just a couple questions- what primer did you use? Did you need to have it tinted since cabinets appear white and primer is white? Also, most articles I've read do not recommend rollers versus brushing on paint, so I'm confused about that also. Can you elaborate on your choice of roller versus brush, please. When painting large cabinet boxes any recommendations to avoid start/stop marks? For example- large pantry cabinet side. Thanks!!
Meredith says
Hi Cheryl! I apologize for taking so long to reply. For some reason your comment didn't come through to me till now. Here are some answers for you... I used the Benjamin Moore Advance primer, with no tint since I was painting with white. I like the roller for even, fast paint application. With this type of paint and a mohair roller, you don't get that bumpy surface that is usually the reason people don't use rollers. Also, this paint will minimize your stop/start marks. (Very good question, by the way!) The paint takes a little longer to dry, which means your earlier brush strokes won't be dry yet by the time you brush or roll on the new ones, which is what causes that problem. Just try to do a large area all in one sitting, and you'll be fine with this paint. Good luck!
Janet says
Looks great! But no top coat needed?
Meredith says
Thanks Janet! No top coat needed! This paint is durable enough that you don't need to cover it with anything.
Kay says
Did you use the mohair roller for the primer too?
Cheryl says
Great question- I wondered about that also!
Meredith says
That is a great question! Yes, you should use the mohair roller for both. You'll need a smooth finish on both the primer and the paint, if the end result is to be smooth.
Holly says
Do you have an update on your cabinets? I am wanting to paint my cabinets, but debating on what technique to use. I found one that required no sanding and hers have held up for over a year!
Is there a reason you don't suggest a poly top coat?
Meredith says
Hi Holly, I do have a couple of updates for you. This post gives you the update on these same cabinets after a year: https://thepalettemuse.com/painted-kitchen-cabinets-one-year-later/ and this post is a whole new method that I used for my new house's cabinets: https://thepalettemuse.com/best-way-paint-kitchen-cabinets/
I like the new method much better, and it's MUCH easier to accomplish. I haven't written the update post on those yet, but in a couple of weeks it will have been a year since doing that project too and it's held up beautifully.
Neither method requires a top coat and I recommend NOT using one, so you get a true paint color. Both types of paint are durable and colorfast without top coats. Good luck, and I'm happy to answer more questions!
Sondra Sorensen says
Absolutely beautiful! I'm in the very beginning stages of my kitchen makeover. I am curious to know what you think about Valspar Cabinet Paint from Lowe's?
joel says
Hello I am painting a set of cabinets for a customer right now and i played with that valspar cabinet stuff and it was no good. very liquefied and didn't cover or stick well i stopped after one and peeled it off after it dried. after looking online the reviews for it were same as mine. Valspar in general is a crap product. I agree with this post about the Benjamin Moore Advance paint. That's a very high quality paint with coverage and self leveling ability. That's the exact paint i am currently using too. Also Sherwin Williams has a product called SW Pro-Classic that's comparable to the BM Advance so either of those are great choices. Yes they are expensive. Yes they will last longer in every aspect of painting than a cheaper low quality valspar paint will. So in the end you get what you pay for with paint. Don't try and cut corners especially with the amount of work it takes to do this type of job. Quality work lasts just as quality paint lasts. Hope that helps and good luck!!!
Meredith says
Hi Sondra, I'm glad Joel had a good answer about the Valspar because I don't have any experience with it. I've seen the SW Pro-classic a few times, and haven't been impressed personally. But that may be because the people using it didn't prepare their cabinets correctly. If you're looking for another option, I have an updated post here about my second kitchen that I've painted: https://thepalettemuse.com/best-way-paint-kitchen-cabinets/
I would definitely recommend the new method over this one, especially if you're not into doing a lot of sanding and prep work!
joel says
Very impressive to do this yourself!! I run my home improvement business and i just finished painting a set of kitchen cabinets for a customer. This is not an easy thing to do. It requires skill and a lot of patience. I loved the part about professional results only come from professional labor, putting in the work will always get you the right outcome. I personally sprayed the doors and drawer fronts, but i have a quality spray gun necessary for this type of job. Awesome work. I know plenty of people who wouldn't have the guts to try this them self.
Meredith says
Thanks Joel! And thanks for answering Sondra's question too. I would love to try a sprayer some time, but I know the learning curve would be a little more than I'd want to take on for a project like this.
Mona says
Hi you have done a great job! I was just wondering, after sanding them once in the beginning why do you need to sand after primer and then after first coat of paint?
Meredith says
Hi Mona, sanding between coats is what gives the paint a really smooth finish. If you want to cut down on sanding, try this newer method that I've found: https://thepalettemuse.com/best-way-paint-kitchen-cabinets/
Mary says
Lovely rehab. How has the paint held up over the years?
Meredith says
Thank you Mary! We've since moved out of the house, so I can't really answer that. I did redo the cabinets in my new house, and wrote about them here: https://thepalettemuse.com/best-way-paint-kitchen-cabinets/ and I did an updated post about how they've held up here: https://thepalettemuse.com/painted-kitchen-cabinet-faqs-theyre-holding/
Laurie Gattis says
Your tutorial is hands down THE BEST!!! I've been contemplating this project for a few years, yes, years 😉 After researching the do's and don't ad nauseam, I'm now in the thick of it and keep going back to your post as I run into those inevitable snags we run into when doing a project for the 1st time. And your advice and tutorials are spot on! Honestly, if I had just printed this out from the get go and followed to the T, there would have been no snags! So, thank you for taking the time to walk through this so thoroughly, because in a project like this, those little details will make or break your project! So this morning I'm heading to the store for that Mohair roller you recommended 😉 because I've just discovered cutting corners on this project isn't an option if you want a professional finish.
Meredith says
Thank you Laurie! You're so right, it really is all about the details. I know your project will turn out great since you are obviously taking the time to do things right. It will be worth it in the end!
tami Luttrell says
I know this was forever ago, but what primer did you use? Advance Primer? Is Zinsser shellac-based compatible? I want to make sure there is no bleed through.
Thank you
Meredith says
Hi Tami, when I did these cabinets I used the Ben Moore Advance primer and it worked great. But I've since started using the Zinsser shellac primer, called BIN. It covers everything! It smells a bit worse and cleanup is a bit tougher, but I'm always impressed at how it prevents bleed through. You can read more about that here if you're interested: https://thepalettemuse.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-painting-cabinets/