Avoid These Mistakes When Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets

One of the best ways to bring new life to your kitchen is to paint your cabinets. Far less costly, time consuming and disruptive than replacement, painting your kitchen cabinets lets you try some of the latest color trends in order to completely change the look of the most-used room of your house.

But painting your cabinets must be handled with great care in order to achieve a polished and professional look. Be sure to watch out for these common mistakes:

Not removing the doors. While the temptation to paint cabinet doors without removing them is strong, for the best results, unscrewing the hinges and removing them is essential. Doing so will help you avoid unsightly drips and allow you to accurately cover the entire surface inside and out. 

Skipping the prep work. Trying to avoid the prep work involved in painting kitchen cabinets will result in a sloppy job that will start showing signs of wear and tear in a few short months. So don’t skip this step. Most cabinets will require sanding and filling any cracks or uneven surfaces with wood filler. You’ll then need to carefully wipe the cabinets with a damp cloth to remove all dust and debris before painting.
Not labeling the hardware and doors. You may think this is unnecessary if you don’t have many cabinets, but be aware that once doors and hardware are removed, it can be tough to know what goes where, no matter how few cabinets you have. Number your cabinets then place the hardware for each door in a small plastic bag and label each one with the coordinating cabinet number. 

Laying it on too thick. While you might think that a thick coat or two of paint is the best—and fastest—way to go, you’ll have a much more durable result if you take your time and apply several thin layers of paint, allowing for ample drying time in between. Otherwise, your cabinets will be prone to chips.

Using the wrong finish. Kitchen cabinets require frequent cleaning so be sure to go with a gloss or semi-gloss finish for easy wipe-ups. A matte finish will be prone to stains.

One more pro tip: Don’t skip the primer. The right primer will help your paint adhere properly to the cabinets and ensure its durability, which is critical in this frequently used part of your home.

Source: Real Simple