How to Paint Old Kitchen Cabinets Yourself?

How to quickly refresh your kitchen interior without extra costs? Albert Ridge and his team at Ridge Painting, some of New York's top painters, confidently answer: repaint the cabinet doors.

What 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 smooth surface if it's prepped properly.

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

Gently tape off hinges, countertops, and all other parts you won't be painting. Then sand the cabinet door surfaces until they're perfectly smooth.

For minor defects, use 220-grit sandpaper. If the cabinets were previously painted and you need to remove old 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. Experts don't recommend using universal materials for all surfaces. Oil-based paints and primers work best on wooden cabinets, but they are unsafe due to high levels of vapors.

The ideal option is water-based paint. However, one downside is that they dry quickly. To prevent this and help the paint spread evenly across the surface, specialists use a special conditioner (added 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 what color will help cover the dark tone. For the first coat, a dense opaque primer works well.

You can tint the primer at a store. Albert recommends matching the primer tone to the final paint color about 75% (i.e., the primer should be slightly lighter).

After applying each layer of primer, lightly sand the surface again, 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 isn't suitable for kitchen cabinets — glossy is better.

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. Also, make sure you don't put too little paint on the brush — otherwise, you’ll have to exert extra effort and your hand will tire quickly.

Apply paint in straight strokes and don’t forget to gently go over already painted areas.

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