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The Ultimate Secrets to Cabinet Painting
There are a lot of people who experience trial and error situations when painting their kitchen cabinets. That is not something you want to have to deal with since it can cost a lot of money, take a lot of time and also ruin your kitchen cabinets. You basically need to be a pro before you’ve ever done it – not an easy task. But with the help from professional painters, you can know the ultimate secrets to cabinet painting.
- Prep Your Cabinets
- Remove Hardware, Doors, Drawers, and Shelves
- Clean Everything
- Fill the Holes
- Sand All Surfaces
- Prime the Cabinet Boxes
- Caulk Seams and Dents
- Paint the Cabinet Boxes
- Repeat Steps 2-7 on the Cabinet Doors and Drawers
- Put Your Kitchen Back Together
Since so many people are eager to get the painting, they forget that there is a lot of prep work that has to be done. Everything should be removed from the kitchen such as appliances, dishes, etc. Cover your counters and flooring with rosin paper and your backsplash, fixed appliances, windows and interior doorways with plastic sheeting. Covering everything will save you a lot of clean-up later.
A lot of people think they can get away with painting around the hinges – you can’t. It may work for a little while but it won’t take long the hinges to start rubbing off the paint on your freshly painted cabinets. By removing the doors, drawers, and shelves you will be able to lay them flat and get an even coat on them. Be sure to label everything, including the hardware, so you know where it goes when you put your kitchen back together.
Now comes the most important part of painting your kitchen cabinets – cleaning. Cabinets are covered in dirt, grime, and grease so if they are not properly cleaned, the paint won’t stick to them. Use a cleaner that has tsp so it can get everything off. If your cabinets are glossed, you’ll have to use a de-glossing cleaner. Wipe them down with the de-glosser and then wipe it down with a water damp cloth. If you don’t wipe off the de-glosser the paint won’t stick.
Fill in any holes in your cabinets that need filling with a two-part polyester wood or autobody filler. Since the filler shrinks, overfill them slightly and then sand off the excess.
Sanding is essential to get a smooth finish on your cabinets. Once you have sanded down every surface, vacuum up the dust and then wipe clean with a tack cloth. Hand sanding works the best for oak cabinets because you can push the paper into the grain where a power sander can’t do that.
When priming grainy wood, brush across the grain initially then finish brushing lightly over the wet finish in the direction of the grain. It needs a day to dry. Once dry, sand down any imperfections – it should be perfectly smooth.
Use a thin bead of caulk to fill in any open seams on your cabinet boxes. Smooth the caulk with a damp finger. Once dry, sand the area smooth. Spot-prime the spackle and any other places that you can see through the primer. Wait an hour to sand it smooth, then clean it with a vacuum and tack cloth.
Similar to priming, start from the top to the bottom painting across the grain. Finish with lightly brushing with the grain. On the interior part of the cabinets, you can use a smooth mini roller. Once everything has dried, sand all the surfaces and clean with a vacuum and tack cloth.
Did we mention this is a long process? Clean, fill the holes, sand, and vacuum the cabinet doors and drawers. Prime, sand, caulk, sand, clean, paint, sand – you get the picture. Be sure to give your prime and paint a day to dry each.
Once everything is dry, you can put the shelves back in, attach the cabinets with the hinges, and place the drawers in their original places. Now you can enjoy your newly painted kitchen cabinets for years to come.
Sound Finish Professional Cabinet Painting and Refinishing Services
Sound Finish Provides the highest quality cabinet coatings in the industry because cabinet coatings are our primary focus and our specialty. With 20+ years of experience, our unique system paints your kitchen cabinets in 2-3 days!
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