How to Paint Old Kitchen Cabinets Yourself?

How to quickly update the kitchen interior without extra costs? Albert Ridge and his team at Ridge Painting, some of the best painters in New York, confidently answer: repaint the cabinet doors.

Which cabinets can be repainted?
It's easiest to repaint cabinets made of natural wood and MDF. But according to Albert, paint will adhere to any flat surface if it's prepped properly.

Where to start?
Remove all contents from the cabinets, then clean the cabinet door surfaces from dirt and degrease them (easiest with alcohol). Remove handles and drawers (and don't forget to label them so you know what goes where).

Carefully cover hinges, countertops, and all other parts you won't be painting. Then sand the cabinet door surfaces until they are perfectly smooth.

For minor defects, you can use sandpaper with a 220 grit. If cabinets were previously painted and you need to remove excess dried paint, choose 120 grit. If there's too much paint, it must be removed using special chemical solvents.

Preparing the Surface for Painting
Now the surface needs to be primed. Specialists don't recommend using universal materials for any surface. Oil-based paints and primers work best on wooden cabinets, but they're unsafe due to high levels of vapors.

The ideal option is water-based paint. However, there's one downside – they dry quickly. To prevent this and help the paint distribute evenly across the surface, specialists use a spray gun (add it to the paint as a reducer).

Design: Jillian Schwarz
If you want to repaint dark cabinets in a lighter color, begin with primer. Think about which color will help cover the dark tone. For the first coat, it's best to use a dense opaque primer.

You can color the primer in-store. Albert recommends matching the primer tone to the final paint color about 75% (so the primer is slightly lighter).

After applying each coat of primer, sand the surface again carefully, but not as thoroughly as the first time.

Painting the Cabinets
"We always use quality paint to achieve the desired result," says Albert. According to experts, matte paint is not suitable for kitchen cabinets – it's better to use gloss.

Cabinets should be painted in two coats. For the best effect, use a brush with fine bristles together with a roller. After painting, apply a clear varnish to the surface and leave the cabinet doors to dry (the paint packaging usually indicates how long it takes to dry).

Whatever safe paint you use, remember to ventilate the room. Prepare masks in advance and use a fan if possible to blow harmful vapors out through an open window.

How to Apply Paint Evenly?
Don't load your brush with too much paint, or it will drip and ruin the result. At the same time, ensure that there isn't too little paint on the brush – otherwise you'll have to exert extra effort, and your hand will get tired quickly.

Apply paint with straight strokes and don't forget to carefully go over already painted areas.

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