How to paint kitchen cabinets?

Sherry Gilbert
by Sherry Gilbert
  2 answers
  • Nancy Nancy on Sep 16, 2018

    Hi Sherry, I painted my dark brown and cabinets in the kitchen. They look great but there is one thing I wished I had known before I started. That was because the dark color might bleed through I used 2 coats of Kilz and then 2 coats of my light color. I don't know what I was thinking. I took all of the doors off their hinges and painted them seperately. Then I painted the base cupboards with the same 2 and 2 coats. What I didn't realize when I attached the doors when everything has dried was that where the cupboard closes there would be essentially 8 coats of paint. None of the cupboards would close. I had to carefully chisel the inside lips of all the doors of the build up of paint preventing the doors from closing. I only did the inside lips and it worked. Good luck. It was more work than I thought it would be.

    • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Sep 16, 2018

      Nancy, this problem can also be avoided by using an hvlp. It puts a very fine layer of paint on with each pass but the coverage is better since there are no brush strokes.

  • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Sep 16, 2018

    Sherry, it's extremely important to prep if you want it to last. Top coating isn't necessary if you follow this.... Clean (TSP is a good choice), sand off any uneven spots, prime (Kilz works well), paint using a latex enamel gloss paint. Use an hvlp or a very fine nap roller. Avoid using paint brush. You will need two coats of the final color.