Update Your Kitchen Cabinets With Paint! Here's How...

Jenni Ingram
by Jenni Ingram
12 Materials
$100
1 Week
Easy

My neighbor's kitchen is a builder grade oak kitchen from the late 80’s. It has great storage space and great lay-out, but it’s time for the orange-hued oak to go. I think hands down the least expensive and best way to redo your kitchen is to paint your cabinets. It’s a bit of work, but it makes an HUGE difference.

The most important step in getting a lasting, durable finish on your kitchen cabinets is the prep work.

I know prep work is annoying, time consuming and the least fun part of the process, but if you don’t do it right, your paint will chip/peel off.

Clean all cabinets then set aside to dry.

So here’s how you do prep work right:

  1. CLEAN THOSE CABINETS! To ensure painting success, you must remove the grease first! I used Krud Kutter and a scotch brite pad to remove as much as I could.
  2. SCUFF SAND. Not required, but I did go over the flat parts of the cabinets doors and boxes with 220 grit sandpaper. Just sand enough to ensure the paint will stick.
  3. CLEAN AGAIN. I used a TSP cleaning mixture and paper towels to clean off what was left. 

Once everything was dry, I primed the cabinets to be sure they didn’t yellow over time. I chose Dixie Belle BOSS primer because:

  1. It’s water based (ie: not smelly).
  2. Could be sprayed. You can also use a good brush instead.
  3. I think it’s the best water-based stain blocker available.

 

Overall, the cabinets took 2 coats primer, 3 coats paint, and 1 coat top coat. Priming wasn't necessary on the darker gray island.

Watch me in action!

A little paint, and it now looks like a whole new kitchen!

Be sure to click the blog link icon for more cabinet painting ideas.

Like this project? Follow me on Facebook to see my latest ideas and inspirations.

New to furniture painting? I can help!

Please grab my {FREE} Furniture 101 ebook here.

 

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Jenni Ingram
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  • Bonnie Bonnie on Jun 23, 2019

    What did you do to hide the grain of the oak cabinets? I'm in the process of painting mine (just starting), and would prefer not to have the grain marks showing through. My paint store person said to use spackle ... yet another step in the process. Any thoughts?

  • Margaret Margaret on Jun 23, 2019

    Could you do this on veneer covered cabinets.

  • Nicole Nicole on Aug 05, 2019

    I have fake covering on my cabinets. Can I paint over them?

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