Painting the kitchen cabinets white
So the next step in bringing my kitchen out of the 1980's had to be updating the oak cabinets. I was terrified to tackle this task, so we looked into everything from having all the cabinets replaced, which was going to cost around $10,000 to having a professional paint them, which was about $1600. Since we have so many things in this house we want to update, and this is not our "forever house" my husband finally caved in to me painting them myself. I did lots and lots of research on various blogs. And doubted if I could even do a good job myself. You can totally do this!!
With the paint, rollers, brushes, new hardware, etc, it was about $550. A huge improvement for
such a small price!
I do not have step by step photos because I was in the zone and totally forgot to document the process, but I will list them.
Step 1: Develop your plan of attack! We have 40 cabinet doors and 18 drawers in our kitchen, so I decided to work in sections. You will have cabinet doors laid out while they are being painted and drying and then recoated, so plan around what you have space for.
Step 2: Remove all hardware, including hinges, and take each door down.
Step 3: Wash all surfaces to remove the years of kitchen grime, grease and dust. You could probably eliminate this step if you have somewhat new cabinetry. Ours were over 20 years old and very dirty. I used a product called Krud Kutter that I purchased at Lowe's. You simply spray on and wipe off. Very harsh on your hands, so I would recommend wearing gloves.
Step 4: You can either lightly hand sand or use a deglosser product to remove the sheen from the previous finish if you want.
Step 5: Prime.(Optional) Before this step also be sure to repair any cracks or holes with paintable caulk. If you are changing from handles to knobs, as I did, you will want to caulk the holes before this step as well. The guy at the paint store said that the paint did not need a primer if the sheen was sanded off already. I chose to use one anyways so that I could get my paint to stretch farther, less coats. I think the cabinet paint was $65/gallon! I used a spray on oil based Kilz primer in white. It worked like a charm and was so quick, even and dried fast.
Step 6: Begin painting! I purchased a very expensive paint from Sherwin Williams. Pro Classic paint in Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. You really cannot skimp on the quality of the paint you use for kitchen or bathroom cabinet finishes. It will be worth it in the long run. This paint is a latex paint with the qualities of an oil-based paint, except it doesn't yellow. It dries to a hard shell finish just like an oil-based paint. I used a good quality brush to paint in the carvings of the cabinets first, and then rolled on the flat parts. Tip: Prop the cabinets up with cans underneath a drop cloth to keep the edges from sticking.
I did one coat of primer, 2 coats of the pro classic paint and that's it! No topcoat or poly. Its been about 6 months and they have held up great!
I painted the island cabinets a contrasting color. Cabinets Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Island BM Sag Harbor Gray
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| AFTER |
So the next step in bringing my kitchen out of the 1980's had to be updating the oak cabinets. I was terrified to tackle this task, so we looked into everything from having all the cabinets replaced, which was going to cost around $10,000 to having a professional paint them, which was about $1600. Since we have so many things in this house we want to update, and this is not our "forever house" my husband finally caved in to me painting them myself. I did lots and lots of research on various blogs. And doubted if I could even do a good job myself. You can totally do this!!
With the paint, rollers, brushes, new hardware, etc, it was about $550. A huge improvement for
such a small price!
I do not have step by step photos because I was in the zone and totally forgot to document the process, but I will list them.
Step 1: Develop your plan of attack! We have 40 cabinet doors and 18 drawers in our kitchen, so I decided to work in sections. You will have cabinet doors laid out while they are being painted and drying and then recoated, so plan around what you have space for.
Step 2: Remove all hardware, including hinges, and take each door down.
Step 3: Wash all surfaces to remove the years of kitchen grime, grease and dust. You could probably eliminate this step if you have somewhat new cabinetry. Ours were over 20 years old and very dirty. I used a product called Krud Kutter that I purchased at Lowe's. You simply spray on and wipe off. Very harsh on your hands, so I would recommend wearing gloves.
Step 4: You can either lightly hand sand or use a deglosser product to remove the sheen from the previous finish if you want.
Step 5: Prime.(Optional) Before this step also be sure to repair any cracks or holes with paintable caulk. If you are changing from handles to knobs, as I did, you will want to caulk the holes before this step as well. The guy at the paint store said that the paint did not need a primer if the sheen was sanded off already. I chose to use one anyways so that I could get my paint to stretch farther, less coats. I think the cabinet paint was $65/gallon! I used a spray on oil based Kilz primer in white. It worked like a charm and was so quick, even and dried fast.
Step 6: Begin painting! I purchased a very expensive paint from Sherwin Williams. Pro Classic paint in Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. You really cannot skimp on the quality of the paint you use for kitchen or bathroom cabinet finishes. It will be worth it in the long run. This paint is a latex paint with the qualities of an oil-based paint, except it doesn't yellow. It dries to a hard shell finish just like an oil-based paint. I used a good quality brush to paint in the carvings of the cabinets first, and then rolled on the flat parts. Tip: Prop the cabinets up with cans underneath a drop cloth to keep the edges from sticking.
I did one coat of primer, 2 coats of the pro classic paint and that's it! No topcoat or poly. Its been about 6 months and they have held up great!
I painted the island cabinets a contrasting color. Cabinets Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Island BM Sag Harbor Gray
Totally beautiful. Kitchen cabinets are on my to-do but it seems a bit too daunting. My kitchen is about half the size of your. I want white cabinets with a butcher block countertop. I love a farmhouse look. Thanks for the steps. Maybe after I get my brown-paper floor done, I'll tackle this job.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for giving us such kind of handy content which will be most useful to me as well as others
ReplyDeleteKitchen Cabinets
Wow great post. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteKitchen Cabinet
People are said to mellow with age, and the same can be said of Walnut kitchen cabinets. Walnut wood tends to mellow and lighten in color with age, creating a beautiful look for home interiors.
ReplyDeleteReally a nice blog post...very valuable information.
ReplyDeleteWe offer cabinet doors in a wide variety of styles and colours, and we perform custom colour matching so any new cabinet doors you get can perfectly match your kitchen décor.
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