DIY Cabinet Painting Guide

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1 Before tackling a cabinet project on your own consider these simple steps to getting the job done like a pro without the trial and error Color Theory

2 2 Process Overview Looking at Colors Materials and Equipment Setup & Removal of Hardware Prep work Primer Coat First Coat Second Coat Reinstall Doors & Hardware

3 Color Considerations Looking at Colors When deciding on a color scheme for cabinets the first consideration is lighting. If you re going from wood to paint, you re going to experience a drastic change in lighting if you go with a lighter color. If you decide you want to go with a dramatic bold look, you ll want to make sure that you have enough natural daylight and artificial light in the evening to compensate for a darker choice. Borrowing a color deck from your local paint store or picking up swatches will help you spend time with many different samples. Tape them to the cabinets and look at them throughout the day. Going with a basic white like Cloud White or Simply White is hardly ever a wrong choice, but you may want to spice it up by going two-tone with a medium gray on the bottom. Whatever your choice, make sure you consider what goes well with the countertops, flooring and backsplash. 3

4 Shopping List Materials & Equipment Here is a list of Materials and Equipment you ll need: Krud Kutter's Gloss Off Cut Buckets and Mini Roller Liners Rags Sanding Sponge Screwdriver or Drill Caulking and Wood Filler Drop Cloths 2" angle sash brushes Wooster 4.5" Mini Rollers 4.5" Microfiber Roller Covers Bonding Primer (Sherwin-Williams Extreme Bond or Benjamin Moore Advance Primer) Waterborne Alkyd Paint (Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic or Benjamin Moore Advance) Title of the book 4

5 Setup & Removal of Hardware Painting cabinets requires a lot of space. It s best to consider clearing out space in your garage so you can spread out your doors on saw horses and give them enough room to lay out and dry. When you are doing a painting project in your garage be careful about humidity levels. When the humidity is too high you run the risk of a certain type of paint failure called blushing which will affect the bonding properties of the coating. Remove all of the doors from their hinges, remove all hardware and place it in a plastic bag for safe keeping. It s smart at this point to develop a labeling system whereby you might remember where to return each door. A simple piece of tape with a sharpie will do. You ll also find small bumpers on the backs of the doors in the top and bottom corners. These bumpers keep your doors from slamming. Typically, when painting, it s best to remove these bumpers completely and replace them with new bumpers once the project is finished. 5

6 Prep Work Now that you ve got all of your doors off and Replacing hinges and door knobs If you are replacing the hardware there are a few things you ll want to consider before purchasing replacements. First, make sure that you are buying compatible hinges. There are four basic types of cabinet door hinges: Overlay Cabinets are doors that are larger than the cabinet spacing. Full Inset Cabinet Door hinges allow the door to lay completely flush with the cabinet surface. Partial Inset Cabinet Doors where part of the door is inset and the other part overlays. Offset Cabinet Doors are similar to inset cabinets, however the entire hinge is visible with this style. When replacing door knobs and handles sometimes you ll get lucky and it's just a matter of swapping them out. However, if the size of knob or the number of slots needed is different from the original you may need to fill in existing holes and drill new holes to fit the new hinges. ready to go, begin the detailed work of preparation. If there is any damage to the wood apply a wood filler, let it dry and sand it smooth. While you re at it, go ahead and do a light scuff sand on all of the surfaces. I do want to emphasize giving it a light sand as this will be sufficient so long as you wipe everything clean with Gloss-off and you use a strong bonding primer. In the old days, before gloss-off and strong primers, we would have to strip the paint down all the way to bare wood which was no fun at all. Painting will also reveal seams in all of the corners and details of the woodwork. You ll want to use caulking to fill in the gaps on the front and back of the doors. This can happen before or after priming. Now let the caulking dry and you ll be ready for painting. Repeat these same steps with the cabinet bases, keeping them installed on the wall during the process. If you are really skilled with the paintbrush you won t even have to remove any of your dishes! The importance of preparation: A little bit of extra preparation now will save you a whole lot of hurt in the future. Cabinets succumb to a lot of wear and tear over time. Without proper preparation the lifespan of your cabinet paint job will greatly diminish. When prepared properly, the life of your cabinets will be extended and while they will naturally distress over time, they will do so gracefully and gain that much sought after charm. 6

7 Primer Coat The primer coat is the next step in the process. The main goal of the primer is to give the top coat something to grab onto and form a bond. Strong bonding primers are usually best for this task because they allow for minimal sanding and extreme adhesion. You ll find that primers don t really provide good coverage but that s not their purpose. The main goal here is to provide a smooth finish as opposed to a fully covered finish. To apply the primer use a combination of brush and roller. You ll use the brush to get into the cracks, grooves and corners and then you ll back roll all surfaces you can get to creating a uniform stipple that will level out as it dries. For the primer coat you are going to do fronts and backs of doors starting with the back and sides. *It is important to start with the back because most cabinet doors curve around the edge of the front. Painting the back first helps you to avoid runs and paint build up on the back and feathering out the drop off on the sides of the curved edge. Repeat the step for the base of the cabinets as well, only going up to the inside lip. Once it s dry give it a quick sand between coats for an extra smooth finish. 7

8 First Coat First Coat The first coat is fairly similar to the primer coat with a couple of caveats: The first coat doesn t guarantee coverage, even with a primer. Depending on the paint provided and associated dry times, it is possible to recoat in one day but usually you will do the first coat and then wait for the second coat on the next day. However, certain paints are much less stringent on dry times. The only difference with the first coat is that you will again start with the backs of doors, but instead of flipping them over for their first coat on the front, we are actually doing the second round on the same side. The purpose in this, again, is to reduce runs but also to help protect the fronts of the cabinets which will receive the most wear and tear. Title of the book 8

9 Second Coat The Final Coat At this point the cabinets are starting to look pretty good from the back. Now you ll flip them over once they are dry and proceed to paint the first and second coat on the front. We should have done a decent job of not letting any paint glob up our work on the previous side but if there are some areas, before you paint again, sand down and clean up those spots first. You ll also wrap up the second coat on the bases that you started a little earlier. Allow the cabinets to dry and get ready for install the next day. 9

10 Reinstall Doors & Hardware Reinstall Doors This part is surprisingly difficult. It takes a lot of tweaking to make sure that every cabinet is square and that every door is in its proper place. You ll definitely want a power drill to screw in all of the tiny little screws. Be patient here, this is typically the time that curse words really start to fly if they haven t been already. But low and behold, your new kitchen! So exciting! 10

11 If you need help... Color Theory is standing by if you need help with color or have started a cabinet painting project and no longer want to finish it. There is no shame in that, it happens all the time. If you do decide to call a professional for this one make sure to check the website for current deals on cabinets. We want nothing more than to help you love your home