Paint Kitchen Cabinets That Will Last

Last week I discussed how we turned all of our wood trim and built-ins white. It was a long, long process. I had a bit more fun with the cabinets, but a lot less room for error. Paint drips or splotching was out of the question. This project could have easily been finished over 3-4 days, but it probably took us a week since we only had 2-3 hours of time to work on it per day.

Our cabinets started out a wood color pictured below. It seems the previous owners had just glossed the cabinets and all the doors because they were quite glossy. My initial reaction was a jaw-drop and laugh because they were almost unnecessarily glossy! I researched a lot on the best way to remove the gloss, or if it needed to be removed at all. Ultimately, I decided that sanding the cabinets would be the easiest way. Luckily for us, these cabinets do not have any texture, so this project was a breeze compared to other horror stories I researched!

Products needed to paint your cabinets:

1. Drill

2. Masking tape and pen

3. Kilz Original Spray Paint Primer; I tried to use this one linked when our Walmart had it in stock, but sometimes I had to get whatever was on hand. I didn't see much of a difference.

4. 2" Purdy Paint Brush

5. Baby paint rollers

6. Snap Dry Door & Trim paint in Extra White; the bottom cabinets were regular paint tinted in Queen Anne Lilac. I accidentally got regular paint, but it has held up really well. I'm disappointed it is not as glossy as the door & trim paint, but I could have got a gloss if I was paying attention to what I was buying.

7. 180 and 220 grit sand paper with an electric sander

8. Wash cloth

9. Black spray paint

First, we began by numbering all of the doors and hardware and then charting it on paper in case our tape got lost. We removed all of the doors and hardware and set up a sanding area outside. It was nice outside so we decided to save another in-home dust bowl and sand/paint the doors outside. We laid the original hardware out and spray painted them with the black spray paint mentioned.

After setting up an outdoor sand/paint area (four saw horses and a small table to set supplies on), we used the 220 sandpaper and electric sander to remove the thick layer of gloss on all sides of the cabinet doors. I bolded thick because seriously, why was there so much gloss. The cabinet bases did not have as much gloss, so we gave the insides a light sanding. Use a vacuum or wet wash cloth to clean the sand dust remaining.

If you are not removing your counter top, this would be a good time to tape it off and cover it; we were replacing the counter, so it was a step unnecessary for us.

Similar to the trim and built-ins, we used the Kilz Spray Paint to give the cabinet doors and bases a light prime coat. We then used a block sander to give a light sanding to remove the rough surface the spray paint leaves. You should not be sanding so hard you are removing paint. The paint does not take much time to dry, so you can sand within two hours or less.

Next, we used the baby rollers with the appropriate paint colors to roll each cabinet and base. I used Extra White on my top cabinets and Queen Anne Lilac from Sherwin-Williams on the bottom. Again, the white paint is thick so one good coat should be enough. You have to work fast since this paint dries quick. Since you are painting the doors on a flat surface outdoors, paint drops shouldn't be an issue--it is inside when you are painting the bases that you need to be cautious of dripping. Since I was being negligent when buying the lilac paint, I got regular wall paint. This went on well and has lasted, but I did need to apply two coats. At first, I was going to poly coat the purple to save it, but it has held up very well and cleans easily, so I have never done a finishing coat.

After rolling all the doors and bases, use the paint brush to cut into all the creases. You will most likely need to apply two coats with the paint brush on both white and purple. After everything has dried, you can rehang the doors with the coordinating number and reapply the hardware. I never used a "finishing coat" on either paint colors.

I love my kitchen remodel! The whole kitchen has held up very nice. The black spray paint on the hardware is beginning to fade on cabinets we use often, but that was expected. We have no chips in any of the paint, and I wouldn't say we are careful with it. We used quite a few steps, but I think it was necessary in the assurance of longevity.

Other notes:

We began the other side of the kitchen with an over-sized range hood, awkward upper cabinets, a split butcher block, useless soffit and outdated appliances. I never got a good picture of that side, but it was awkward. One night we just started tearing that side apart; I went to run one errand and came back to it torn way more apart than I anticipated, so we went with it and came up with a fun design! We restored the butcher block, built custom floating shelves, built a mounting place for the microwave and left the space above the fridge open for a larger look. This space ended up being one of my favorite designs.

I was hoping and praying the floor in the kitchen would come up and reveal wood floor to match the rest of the home. After some prying, getting hardly anywhere, seeing what looked like plywood, we ultimately decided to just put new flooring on top. We purchased vinyl sheet flooring from JC Flooring and More and had them install it! It is a great floor to have in the kitchen and cleans very well.

The tile back-splash is peel and stick tile that has held up tremendously and has no sign of damage or wear. The sink was a steal our realtor found on Craigslist--$35 for a cast iron sink! We used some Soft Scrub to clean it and it looked brand new.

Until next week.

Casa Azul Owner

Lauren