How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets: An Easy Guide for Weekend Warriors and DIYers

We always suggest that you hire a professional to do the job for you for multiple reasons including experience and insurance of quality work. But for those who want to know how to paint kitchen cabinets without a professional sprayer, here’s how they can get professional-looking results for under $ 200.

How to achieve professional results when painting your kitchen cabinets

I’ve been getting a ton of questions lately about one of our Facebook posts where I painted our kitchen walls and cabinets. Most people are curious and want to know how to paint kitchen cabinets and how much it costs to make our cabinets look like new.

Our house is very old and so are our cabinets. It didn’t bother us at first, but eventually we got tired of seeing that ugly varnish look, so we decided it was time for a makeover.

It’s not very difficult to paint over veneer, you just need the proper prep work. If you hire a professional, I suggest you try to do as much as you can yourself, such as removing the doors and hardware and maybe lightly sanding them with a 220-grit sanding block. A light rubbing will suffice (imagine you’re cleaning a window). That will save you a few bucks. But if you decide to do it on your own, here are some tips on how to paint kitchen cabinets for amazing, long-lasting results.

Preparation when painting kitchen cabinets

After removing the doors (or just masking the hinges), lightly sand / scratch the surfaces to be painted with a 220-grit sanding block. Use a type of degreaser such as Windex or Zep Citrus Degreaser.

You then have 2 options: You can either use a 220-grit sandpaper and lightly scrape the surfaces or use Krud Kutter-Gloss Off, which you can wipe clean and let it sit for 10 minutes. Your surfaces will remove the shine without having to sand them.

The next step is to apply the proper primer to the surfaces. I used a coat of “INSL-X Stix”, which is a urethane acrylic. You can find it online or at your local Benjamin Moore dealer. Check with your local hardware store.

Using a good quality paint will help you get the best possible finish. I suggest using Benjamin Moore Advance Alkyd. It is very easy to work with and dries to a hard, long-lasting finish.

Using a 2-inch nylon brush, begin cutting around the hardware (if you did not remove the doors) and where the Whiz ™ roller will not reach. Next, use your Whiz ™ roller to apply your ALKYD polish. Try to paint in the same direction as your grain (if your cabinet has a faux wood pattern). Let it dry overnight and repeat. You can hang your doors now, but keep in mind that even though the polish will dry overnight, it will still take 30 days to fully cure, so be careful to avoid scrubbing before those 30 days.