The Apartment Dweller’s Guide to Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Are you tired of looking at your outdated kitchen cabinets? If so, you may be looking to upgrade your cabinets. If you wanted to get all new kitchen cabinets you would likely need to spend about four thousand to ten thousand dollars for a standard ten by ten kitchen. This is likely an unrealistic amount of money for most of us to spend. 

If you are looking to upgrade your kitchen on a budget you may likely be looking to spray paint kitchen cabinets. Spray paint is an effective way to give your kitchen an upgrade without having to spend a fortune. Here are some tips and advice on how to spray paint kitchen cabinets.

Preparing Your Cabinets for Paint

The first thing that you must-do if you plan on painting your cabinets is to prepare them for paint. If your cabinets are not prepared they will not hold the paint well and this will turn into a nightmare. If you are going to put in the work you need to make sure it is done right.

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To make sure you are doing the job like a professional you should remove all the cabinet doors, drawers and hardware. You should write a small number on each door so you know where they go back. You should bring all of these materials to a workspace where you can have ample room to work.

To prepare your cabinets you must first use warm water and high-quality dish detergent to clean off any old grease or stains. Try using Dawn dish detergent because it is better at cleaning off grease than almost all other brands. You should remove all the grease and stains and then rinse the cabinets with water to also remove the soap residue.

Before you can begin painting it is crucial that you tape off your kitchen. If you try to paint you will likely get paint everywhere. Put tape and paper over your appliances, backsplash, countertop, walls, and anything else you have in your kitchen.

Priming Your Kitchen Cabinets

To help ensure that your paint and primer will stick to the cabinets you should use 320 grit sandpaper to take off the old shine of the cabinets and to rough up the surface a little bit. You should always remove the wood pieces with a vacuum and soft cloth so you have a smooth surface to begin painting on.

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Before using paint you must first apply a stain killing primer to the cabinet surfaces. You can use a paintbrush to do this. Depending on the weather conditions you should let your doors sit for about two hours so that they have plenty of time to dry. You can then use the same sandpaper to remove brush strokes from the surface.

Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets

Now you are finally ready to paint your cabinets. You need to combine a gallon of the paint with a half cup of water and a quart of Floetrol paint additive. Adding these ingredients to your paint helps give you a great finish and an even coat.

The quickest and most efficient way to is to use a spray paint gun. These guns allow you to get a great finish and to complete the work quickly. You can pour the mixture into the paint container and being spray painting all of your kitchen cabinets.

You should always spray about 10 inches from the surface of the cabinets and wear a respirator to help protect yourself from the paint. You should begin by painting the backs of the doors so you can feel comfortable with the spray gun. Once the backs are dry and you feel comfortable you can begin painting the fronts of the cabinets. It usually takes a full day to let the paint dry so this will be a multi-day project.

Once the doors are fully dry you can start hanging them in your kitchen. Remember to hang the cabinet doors in the same places that you took them off. Replace all of the hardware to the cabinet doors and drawers and take pride in the job you did. When hanging your kitchen cabinets backup be sure to do it carefully so that you do not scratch or chip the paint. 

You want them to look great so make sure they are fully dry before you start trying to hang them back up. Do not rush the process, and instead take more time if needed.

Tips to Remember

  • Remember to paint in a back and forth motion to get an even coat.
  • You should always use two coats of paint to help ensure added durability for the paint.
  • Use a gloss paint to help reduce the appearance of fingerprints later on.
  • If you notice paint runs use a paintbrush to smooth them out.
  • Purchase or rent a high-quality paint sprayer. The paint sprayer that you use will be responsible for the final product so you want to make sure that you use a reliable and quality sprayer for your kitchen.
  • Always try to upgrade your kitchen to add more value.

You should put a small piece of tape over your hinges to prevent paint from getting on them. Using tape over the holes of the hinges helps prevent paint from getting into the holes and you having to dig the paint out.

If you are looking to give your kitchen a new and updated look you should highly consider using spray paint to paint your kitchen cabinets and to give them a new and fresh look. You can paint your kitchen cabinets in a few days for less than about five hundred dollars. 

This investment of time and money is well worth the return. If your cabinets are in good shape there is no reason to get all new cabinets when you can remodel your kitchen on your own. This is a great way to add design and character to your kitchen while increasing your overall property value.