Painting your cabinets is by far the easiest, most budget-friendly way to spruce up a kitchen. While cabinet replacement can easily add up to thousands of dollars in labor and materials, repainting your cabinets yourself can achieve a similar result for around a couple hundred bucks. Best of all, even an amateur painter can achieve a professional finish by following a few simple steps and picking the right color.
Whether your kitchen cabinets lend a dated look to your kitchen or simply need a refresh to return to their former glory, prepping, priming with a bonding primer, and painting with high-quality latex paint will do the trick. When done properly, you can repaint and give your cabinets a new, durable finish that will last for years to come.
Before You Begin
Because kitchen cabinets come in a variety of materials, it is wise to familiarize yourself with yours before starting. Common materials include wood, laminate, and thermofoil, and the process of painting can differ slightly between materials. Most finishes will require a simple cleaning and scuff before priming, but others may require stripping for the best results. Oil-based finishes will also require an oil-based primer to allow latex paint to fully adhere.
What Is Thermofoil?
Unlike the name suggests, thermofoil cabinets contain no foil. In actuality, thermofoil is a complex name for a common type of laminate cabinet. Typically, these cabinets feature an MDF (medium-density fiberboard) core with a thin sheet of vinyl laminate covering the exterior.
Doors and drawers are much easier to work with on a designated work area, so it is a good idea to set up a table or bench with a drop cloth and a means of elevating the doors and drawers, such as painter’s tripods.
Lastly, choose your paint. You may have heard that cabinets require special paints like chalk paint or heavy-duty oil-based paint, but this is not the case. With proper preparation, a high-quality latex paint will do the trick, which makes repainting your kitchen cabinets even easier. To determine how much paint you will need, use this handy tool:
Safety Considerations
Whenever sanding and painting, proper safety equipment should always be worn. Eye protection and a face mask rated for dust and fumes are a necessity. This is even more crucial if you are working with existing lead-based paint. If you have any reason to suspect your cabinets could be coated with lead-based paint or if the home was constructed before 1978, conduct a test before moving forward.
Source: The Spruce
