Can I Paint My Kitchen Cabinets?

A new coat of paint can always make shabby, exhausted kitchen cabinets look new again. Homeowners often become confused to decide whether or not to paint kitchen cabinets. The truth is, wood and wood laminated kitchen cabinets can always be repainted without any difficulties. However, plastic laminate cabinets usually resist repainting and those that can be repainted often require special paints and techniques.

In case you have a plastic laminate cabinet in your kitchen, you need to look for an experienced painting contractor to take care of the paint job. Furthermore, you need to test a small amount of sample paint you like to use in an inconspicuous area to ensure that it bonds well to the material of your kitchen cabinet.

Following are the steps to paint kitchen cabinets:

Step#1: Remove All Hardware:

The first thing you need to do is to remove all doors and hardware from the cabinets. Make sure to remove all pulls, knobs, latches etc. You should place all hardware including the screws, knobs, latches etc in a plastic bag inside the cabinets where you can easily locate them for reassembling.

Step#2: Clean Surfaces:

Kitchen is the place where grease, steam, food etc are commonly found. Before you start applying paint on your kitchen cabinet, it is important that you thoroughly clean the surfaces to ensure the paint properly adheres to the surface. You can clean the surface by using a solution made from tri-sodium phosphate and water. The rule to properly clean the kitchen cabinets is to rinse, but not to soak the surface. It is also important to allow the surfaces to dry properly.

Step#3: Sand the Surface:

Once cleaned properly, you need to sand the surface of the kitchen cabinets on all sides. While sanding, you need to use a wood sanding block. However, in case you want to repaint the kitchen cabinets just to facelift for them, there is no need to sand and paint inside the kitchen cabinets.

Step#4: Apply Primer:

Priming is also important when painting a kitchen cabinet. You need to apply a best quality primer to all surfaces of the cabinet to ensure a well-bonded and even finish coat.

Step#5: Apply the Paint:

You need to paint the inside edges and openings of the face frames first. Then you need to move to the outer cabinet sides and the face frame front. This actually enables you to work quickly in less critical areas. You always need to apply paints in thin, light coats to get the best result.