Want to know exactly how to paint kitchen cabinets? These are the 11 steps we swear by to completely update and transform your space into the kitchen of your dreams.
Trying to figure out how to paint kitchen cabinets can feel very overwhelming. We have used this exact same process on our own homes and vacation rentals. And we have absolutely zero doubt that you can do it too!
This post is to teach you the exact steps to take when painting your kitchen cabinets. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, these steps will help guide you through the process leaving you with beautiful kitchen cabinets. Additionally, this method will ensure a smooth, professional looking finish.
Once you’ve learned our process for how to paint kitchen cabinets, you will feel fully capable of tackling this project and transforming your kitchen.
This post is all about how to paint kitchen cabinets in 11 simple steps.
How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets
Before we jump into the nitty gritty details of how to paint kitchen cabinets, let’s take a look at the before pictures when I used these same steps in my own kitchen. You can see from the pictures that the cabinets are in great shape and there’s nothing “wrong” with them, they just aren’t the beauties I know they can be. As you’ll see by the end of this post, that’s about to change 🙂
I will say, this is not a project that you can complete in a day or two (especially if you are sticking to the necessary dry times). I think it’s helpful to keep this in mind while you’re doing the project and to be realistic about it taking you 3-5 days. Otherwise you will just get frustrated and give up… and we don’t want that. I think in total this project took me a little over three days and I was working on it for the majority of those three days.
All in all, it’s going to take some time and work, but I promise you it is sooo sooo worth it. Don’t give up, you got this!
Alright, let’s jump into the exact steps for how to paint kitchen cabinets!
Step 1 – Gather Your Materials
The list below are the exact products that we have used when painting our own cabinets. Some of these things you probably already have around the house.
- Scrub daddy
- All-purpose cleaner or Dawn dishsoap
- Krud Kutter
- Sander
- Sandpaper (linked is an assortment pack)
- Rags or tack cloth
- Drill
- Extension cord
- Solo cups or canned goods (you’ll see why in step five)
- Drop cloths
- Tables (not necessary unless you already have them)
- Bowl or ziplock bag
- Brush
- Foam roller
- Paint (see this post for a full review of this paint)
Step 2 – Clean cabinets
The first step of prepping for your kitchen cabinets is simply to wipe them down with soapy water or any sort of all-purpose cleaner. The purpose of this step is to get any major “gunk” off of your cabinets. The tool that I found most helpful in this step was the Scrub Daddy. Get the one that is dual sided so that you can have both a spongey side and scrubby side (yes those are the technical terms). When I followed this step, I just filled my kitchen sink up with warm water and a bit of dawn dish soap. I submerged my Scrub Daddy in the mixture and then rung it out until damp. Then, using the sponge side, I wiped down each cabinet door (front & back), each drawer, and the cabinet bases. If I came along any gunky parts I would use the scrubby, rougher side on those areas.
I would highly recommend paying extra attention to the cabinets that are near and above your stove or range as these cabinets are typically much dirtier and greasier than the others. Additionally, give some extra love to the parts of your cabinet doors and drawers that you typically open them from. All of the oil and dirt from our hands is most present in the spots that we open our cabinets from.
Step 3 – Degrease cabinets
After you’ve cleaned up your cabinets, you want to degrease them as well. This step is crucial and will help your paint adhere to your cabinets so much better. I’ve tried multiple different degreasers and Krud Kutter is the one that gets the job done the best. You’re going to spray this onto all of your cabinets and let it sit for a few minutes. I let mine sit extra long on those cabinets above my stove and/or range that are significantly more greasy than the other cabinets.
Once the Krud Kutter has sat for a few minutes, you’ll take a damp rag and wipe the degreaser off of the cabinets. You’ll notice that the degreaser does an amazing job of getting rid of any residue that wasn’t removed from the first wipe down.
Step 4 – Sand & wipe down cabinets
Now that your cabinets are nicely cleaned and degreased, it’s time to get your sander out. Now I know what you’re thinking… do I really have to sand?!?! Well… the choice is ultimately yours my friend and I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to. But do I think you should do this step that truthfully will probably take you no more than 20 minutes? Yes, yes I do.
I would recommend using a fine grit sand paper (like 120 or 150) here. In this step, you are wanting to remove any major sheen/top coat that your cabinets currently have, as well as “rough them up a bit” so that your paint adheres better.
Just like my recommendation in the previous step, pay extra attention to the areas that you open the cabinets from as well as those cabinets closest to your cooking spaces.
Once you’ve sanded your cabinets down, of course we want to get rid of any left over debris or dust. Using a clean damp rag or a tack cloth, wipe down all of your cabinet doors, drawers, and bases one last time.
Step 5 – Set up your workspace
Before you start taking off your cabinet doors and drawer faces, you want to make sure that you have your painting space set up.
One of my biggest recommendations would be to try and use tables of some sort to set your cabinets up on. Obviously, this is not completely necessary and I know that not everyone has multiple folding tables laying around. If you’re one of these people, DO NOT buy them just for this project. However, if you already have foldable tables, card tables, etc. – using these will save your knees and legs from having to stand up and down no less than eight million times. You can also use parts of your countertops to set your cabinets up on.
Whether it be your floors or tables, get your drop cloths laid out. You will notice in the photos below that I didn’t use drop cloths on my counter tops but that is only because I plan to epoxy them later on. If you want to save your countertops from paint drips and splatters, use your drop cloths!
The other lifesaver in your set up is going to be using something to set your cabinet doors up on. Two of my favorite things to utilize for this are solo cups or canned goods. Use what you have lying around but just make sure that you have your cabinet doors propped up because they WILL stick to your drop cloths as the paint dries if you don’t (don’t ask me how I know this).
*You can see here that I have all of my cabinet doors and drawer faces set up on solo cups and canned goods to ensure proper drying.
Step 6 – Number your doors and drawers
Before you start taking your cabinets down you want to come up with some sort of numbering system so that you don’t lose track of which cabinets go where. It is sooo easy to think ‘oh, I’ll remember’ but this project is one that is going to take you a few days and may result in some moving around from time to time. Having your cabinets numbered ensures that everything gets put back into place just as it was.
When I painted my own kitchen cabinets, I used post-its to number both my cabinet faces as well as the corresponding spot on the bases. I also tried my best to lay everything out in order when setting up my workspace. Once I started painting, I set the numbered post-it underneath the door or drawer as it was propped up on solo cups.
Step 7 – Take cabinet doors and drawer faces off
Now that your workspace is prepped and ready to roll it’s time to take the cabinet doors and drawer faces off and down. I know it is tempting to leave the doors hanging up and to skip the hassle of taking them down, but I promise you, you will save time in the long run by taking them down. Leaving them hanging means you’ll have to work around a lot of hinges and hardware, which can get time consuming and sloppy.
Now, because we are bada@$$ independent women you can absolutely do this step (and all of these steps) on your own. BUT there is one partner that I am going to highly recommend and that is an electric drill. If you are using a corded drill, make sure to throw an extension cord on that bad boy so that you can move about your kitchen with ease.
The first time I painted my kitchen cabinets I did this step with just a screwdriver (0/10 would not recommend). Because we want to keep our sanity and not rip our hair out, we are going to use a drill.
Once you have your handy dandy drill ready to go, take down all of your cabinet doors and set them up on your solo cups and/or canned goods.
Make sure to remove all of the hinges and any hardware so you can effortlessly paint without having to work around any hardware. Place all of the screws, hinges, and hardware in a bowl or ziplock bag so that you don’t lose any parts.
Once you have all of the cabinet doors off, go back and take off the drawer faces as well. Typically, these are attached to the drawer base by a screw or two and are very easy to remove.
Repeat Steps 1-4 to Prep your Cabinet Bases
If you didn’t prep the cabinet bases while you were prepping the doors, make sure to go back and repeat steps 1-4 with your cabinet bases so that they are ready to go as well.
Step 8 – Priming your cabinets (optional with the right paint)
Ok, if you’ve read this post you know that we believe you can skip priming your cabinets if you are using the perfect paint. With that being said, if you are not using this paint, priming is most likely a step you’ll need to take.
If your cabinets have any sort of indentations or boarders (most do) you are going to want to use both a paint brush and a foam roller. I’ve linked both of my favorites and the foam roller is non-negotiable. You want to make sure to use a foam roller to ensure a smooth finish. You will want to start with using your brush around the boarders and to help get paint in any of the indentations. Once you’ve done this step you will take your foam roller to paint the rest of the cabinet – don’t forget to get the sides as well!
While you’re waiting for your primer to dry on your cabinets, head on over to your cabinet bases and get a coat of primer on them as well.
Once your primer has dried on the first side of the cabinet doors, you will want to flip them over and repeat the process on the other side in the exact same way.
*You can see in these photos that I started with outlining the boarder of the cabinets and any indentations with my brush. After this step I went back over everything with my foam roller.
Step 9 – Painting your first coat
Just like we discussed in the last step, you are going to want to use a brush and a foam roller for the painting process. Make sure that you’ve flipped your doors back over so that you are now starting on the back side of them with your first coat of paint. If you missed it earlier, check out this post for a full review on just why we think this paint is the best of the best.
Just like before, you will want to start with using your brush around the boarders and to get paint in any of the indentations. Once you’ve done this step you will take your foam roller to cover the rest of the cabinet – don’t forget those sides!
Once you get that first coat of paint slapped on the cabinet doors – get that first coat put on your cabinet bases as well.
Although the painting process seems a bit self-explanatory, I think there are a few tips worth mentioning…
DO NOT drench your brush or foam roller in paint. You are absolutely going to have to do more than one coat so don’t worry about getting everything completely covered and opaque in the first coat. Thin layers are best and help to reduce any drips or pooling of paint.
Make sure to follow the dry time instructions. For some paints this can be up to eight hours – which feels totally annoying, I know… but trust me, in the end it makes the final product so much better if you allow the paint to dry and cure as recommended.
Step 9.5 – Painting your second coat
I don’t think we have too much to explain here except… get that second coat on those cabinets and bases baby.
You will probably be good to go after doing two coats, especially if you are using this paint. However, if you are going from extremely dark cabinets to white cabinets there is a chance that you will need a third coat. You’ll know whether two or three coats is necessary for your cabinets.
Also, don’t stress if you have some spots or areas that didn’t get completely covered during your second coat. We are going to do touch ups once the doors are hung back up.
Step 10 – Hang cabinet doors and drawer faces back up
Alright, before we jump into hanging up the cabinets I feel the need to remind you of something. We are bad@$$ independent women that can do all of these steps by ourselves if needed (well, with the help of our drills).
Grab your drill and get those cabinets hung back up. There isn’t a whole lot of other explanation necessary other than that 😊
*If you are going to be adding hardware to your cabinet doors and drawers you are going to want to make sure to drill the holes for them before you do your final touch-ups and final coat of paint.
Step 11 – Final touch ups
Now that you have your cabinets all put back together, it is time to do your last and final round of touch-ups. My biggest piece of advice is to do this step when the lighting is best in your kitchen. For me and the placement of my kitchen this is first thing in the morning. The point of this step is to try and find any imperfections or spots that you missed so that each and every square inch of your cabinets are covered and opaque.
Final Step – STEP BACK TO ADMIRE YOUR BEAUTIFUL CABINETS AND ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO THEM!!!
Here are the after photos from my own kitchen. Pretty gorgeous huh?!
And as a reminder here is the before…
Now that you know exactly how to paint kitchen cabinets it’s time for you to get started. You got this!!!
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