You can paint your Kitchen Cabinets

Painting Your Kitchen Cabinet Remodel

By

Ken Rader Interiors-Professional Painting Staff

PAINTING NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BEAUTIFUL."ONE HOUSE AT A TIME".

PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THE PROJECT

• Screwdriver
• All-purpose cleaner
• Sandpaper
• Primer
• Paintbrush
• Paint

When undertaking a kitchen cabinet remodel, you might want to paint your kitchen cabinets. They will need protection since they’re subject to plenty of wear and tear through daily use. Apart from being handled when they’re opened and closed, they are also in the proximity of heat and humidity from cooking. Any paint used to remodel cabinets needs to be hard wearing and durable.  Several paint companies offer a combination Paint and Primer.  These are excellent products and are the best choice when painting your cabinets.

Step 1 - Clean the Cabinets

Unless your kitchen cabinet remodel includes brand new cabinets, you’ll need to clean your old cabinets before you paint them. This will be much easier if you remove the cabinet doors and clean them separately. Unscrew the doors at the hinges. Use a strong all purpose cleaner on the door and the outside of the cabinets. This can require several applications to get rid of all the accumulated grease and grime. Allow the cabinets and doors to dry completely before moving on.  Use of  TSP or a TSP substitute are the best and most economically suited product for this job.

Step 2 - Sanding

Before you use primer, it’s important to sand all the surfaces. This doesn’t need to be a heavy sanding project; you only want the primer to adhere to the surface properly. Use a fairly fine sandpaper of around 150 grit but make sure you leave each surface lightly roughened.  Please take your time and make sure that all of the surface is sanded.  Of all of the steps taken to paint your cabinets, this is the most IMPORTANT ONE.

Step 3 - Primer

The kind of primer you use in a kitchen cabinet remodel used to depend on the kind of paint you’re going to use.  However, the combination Paint and Primer that we mentioned earlier is the only way to go.  Oil and Lacquer paints will yellow, gray or crack very quickly.  The new acrylic paints will stay true to the color and are warranted for at least 25 years. But in all cases, the kitchen needs to be well-ventilated while you work and while the primer dries. You will only need one coat of primer.  The primers that we suggest are "Glidden-Gripper", Zinsser- Bulls Eye 123, or Kilz-Total.
Even with the use of the paint and primer combination you will still need the undercoat of primer.

Step 4 - Painting

If you have a proper paint sprayer, you can use it to apply the paint. If not, a brush will do a fine job although it shouldn’t be more than 3 inches wide. You must apply paint in very thin coats for your kitchen cabinet remodel as nothing is gained by using a thick coat. Several thin coats, with proper sanding in between them, will give a much stronger finish to your kitchen cabinets. With the paint and primer combination you will be able to do the job in only 2 coats.

Step 5 - Additional Coats

Once the first coat of paint on your kitchen cabinet remodel has dried, sand it very lightly with 400 grit sandpaper. The purpose behind this is to create a smooth surface for the next coat to adhere to. Make sure your sanding is very light.
Clean off the surfaces so that no sawdust remains and then add a second light coat of paint. In most instances, two coats will be all you need but if you choose to add a third coat, give another light sanding before you apply it. Again, let the paint on the cabinets dry completely before sanding and also after the final coat of paint.

Step 6 - Finishing

To complete your kitchen cabinet remodel, hang the doors again and check that they open and close smoothly. Your new paint should look good and be ready for the demands of your kitchen. You’ll be able to keep them clean with regular use of soap and water.
   
   
   

AS ALWAYS,”HAPPY PAINTING AND DECORATING”

Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. --  Painting Northwest Arkansas Beautiful, “ One house at a time”.

Serving Northwest Arkansas and the greater Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bella Vista area.
 Professional Painters since 1987.

Check us out at www.kenraderinteriors.com
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Ken Rader