I am back with more progress in our “Kitchen Makeover”and it’s probably our biggest improvement so far! Today I am going to talk all about painting kitchen cabinets, which is a HUGE job but also one with a tremendous reward. Tackling this project takes time, energy and a few useful tools but in the end a lighter and brighter kitchen is definitely worth it. I am in love with the change our lighter cabinets make in the space, I promise all the effort is worth it.
This is Part 1 of my kitchen makeover–our project is still going on. It’s a huge undertaking and we have a large kitchen. I will link up all our in-progress posts at the end so you can catch up if you missed anything. I’ll be back with Part 2, the full reveal but for now, I wanted to dig into how I painted our formerly cherry cabinets and got a beautiful ultra-smooth finish.
Just for the sake of a “how far we’ve come” here is the before picture of our kitchen, dark, reddish and shadowy for sure.
If there is one lesson my Dad taught me it’s always to have the right tool for the job. You can certainly tackle this project with nothing more than a can of paint and a paint brush but it’s going to take you a LONG time and you may not get factory-finish results. Since paying someone to paint a kitchen this size would cost in the thousands, it’s a small investment to purchase a few useful tools to make it much easier and give great results. Since we work with HomeRight, using their Spray Shelter and the Finish Max Pro sprayer was a no-brainer, and the results were impressive.
How to paint kitchen cabinets using a paint sprayer:
Here is a list of what I used:
A drill {to remove the cabinet doors, and hardware}
Paint {Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic for Doors and Trim in Decorator’s White, read that story HERE}
Primer {Kilz in the gold can}
Sandpaper in various grits
A good quality paint brush, I used this small angled trim brush
Ryobi Corner Cat Sander and several packages of refills (150 grit)
Dewalt Random Orbit Palm Sander {or similar} and refills
HomeRight FinishMax Pro Fine Finish Sprayer (This is the latest and greatest model)
Mineral Spirits and rags
Face Mask designed for painting
I would also highly recommend small domes to raise your cabinets off the ground {you can get them HERE} and cloth drop cloths you can get at the hardware stores–I didn’t have them to cover my garage floor but wish I had. I don’t recommend the plastic especially if you paint in the summer–they can stick to the paint as it dries {lesson learned 🙁 }.
Tips and Tricks for Painting Cabinets
The process will go so much faster if you assemble everything you need ahead of time and set up a work station as I did in my garage. I broke up our kitchen into four sections (lower cabinets, upper cabinets, island and desk area} then I completed the entire process for each section before moving on to the next, that way we didn’t have to live with chaos for too long.
Along those lines, if you need motivation to start your kitchen cabinet painting, just take the doors off! If you are as Type A as I am, you won’t be able to live with your cabinets like this for too long, this mess will get you started!
I started by assembling my spray shelter in my garage. It’s hot here at this time of year and I knew it was going to be up for awhile. You can purchase a Spray Shelter HERE and it will keep the paint overspray from getting in the garage and keep dust and dirt off the wet paint, which is important. Be sure to watch this video HERE to see how to set it up easily.
I first removed all my cabinet drawers, fortunately, I could just unscrew all the fronts so I didn’t have to empty them all. I saved the hardware in a plastic bag and left it right in the drawer which made reattaching the fronts super simple. Then I detached all the cabinet doors, I did go to the trouble of labeling each one but later found that I had to remove the label to paint them so that was a waste of time. Again, working in small sections will make putting everything back on go more smoothly, your doors won’t get all mixed up.
Next, I spent quite a bit of time prepping the doors and in all honesty, this may be the hardest part. I sanded the fronts and doors very well, my goal was to remove all the shiny gloss so the paint would adhere as best it could. While the palm sander made quick work of the flat panels, the most useful tool I had to sand was the Ryobi Corner Cat. I definitely went through quite a few sandpaper refills but getting into all the grooves of my cabinet doors was tedious, I would have completely lost my mind trying to do it with just a sheet of sandpaper.
After all the sanding was done {and don’t forget to do the sides}, I wiped everything down well with a rag, then wiped them again with another rag coated in mineral spirits to get every little bit of dust I could off before the painting process began.
I started by spraying on a coat of primer with the FinishMax Pro, which took no time at all. Unfortunately, our humidity was high that day so it took longer than usual to dry, and I had to wait a full day to flip them and spray the backs. At this point, I went inside and sanded, primed and painted the cabinets inside {I just used a brush to paint inside}.
After the primer was dry, I began the painting process. There are very easy to follow instructions that come with the sprayer, it’s simple to use. I found that diluting the paint by about half with water worked perfectly, but that will vary based on conditions and the paint you use. I also recommend you use a face mask with the sprayer, there is very little over spray but you always want to be safe rather than sorry.
Luckily the humidity dropped the next day and things moved along faster once I started the painting. After two coats, front and back, the doors were done. I let them dry overnight and then brought them in and reattached them.
You can see in this picture above about how perfect the finish is. No brush marks, air bubbles or streaking, it’s amazing. The Finish Max is very easy to use, I have mentioned before that I used to be afraid that I was not an experienced enough painter to use a paint sprayer but trust me, that’s unfounded. Not only does it make quick work of a painting project but it is super lightweight and easy to clean. Part 2 of this project will have a detailed video about using the FinishMax to paint cabinets so be sure to check back.
I can’t get over the difference the lighter cabinets make in our kitchen…
Even our granite, which we aren’t at all crazy about is less obtrusive against the white. Everything looks much cleaner and updated now, and I think our marble backsplash looks amazing.
Friends have told me what a challenging time they had getting a smooth finish when they painted their cabinets with a brush or a roller and I know that can be the case. As you can see, these look pretty much like they came this way.
We’re finishing up the other sections and I can’t wait to show off the island–I think that is going to make a big impact on how the kitchen looks. It’s not a small process or an overnight makeover, so thanks for your patience. It will be fun to show it off once everything is done and I’ll have a whole video detailing the process so stay tuned!
Note: We have linked to the newer (and less expensive!) paint sprayer then then one shown here, it is available here.
One of the hardest parts of the cabinet painting project is selecting a paint color, you can see my post on making that choice HERE.
To see all sorts of other projects you can do with a HomeRight FinishMax click {here} to see our Pinterest Board.
See more about my kitchen makeover:
Kitchen/Breakfast Room Paint Color {my favorite color ever!}
The DIY Under Counter Shelves {IKEA hack}
and…drumroll!
There is still much to come with this project–including new hardware, lighting, shelving and more. It’s a journey for sure! Please leave any questions in comments, I’ll be sure to try to answer them for you.
Also, be sure to check out this post with how the cabinets are holding up two years later.
Also, you might find this post to be helpful about the Do’s and Don’ts of Painting Kitchen Cabinets.
XO,
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