How To Prep Cabinets For Painting

One of the more popular options for refinishing cabinets is to paint them. While veneers are a common choice, they can also be a little more expensive and a longer project to perform. But painting is something the homeowner can do him or herself, without the need for fancy equipment or complicated tools.

If you are planning to paint kitchen cabinets in the home, you need to first prepare them properly. That means taking off the old paint or stain first. You cannot paint over cabinets that still have their current coatings on them because your new paint won’t be applied properly. The result is a cabinet that looks old and damaged as the paint will most definitely begin to flake off in no time.

You will then need to do the job all over again. Why do this twice when you can do it right the first time? We’re going to tell you how to do just that and for those of you who would much rather leave this type of work to the pros, give Cabinet Painters Chino Hill CA, a call to address all of your cabinet painting needs.

Cabinet Preparation

For starters, you are not going to strip or paint your cabinets while they are still intact. This first step is the one that most novice DIY’ers will often skip because they either don’t know to do it or (in more cases than not) are simply too lazy to do it.

Don’t be part of the latter and now that you’ve read this article, you won’t be among the former. Skipping this step is a recipe for disaster as your paint job will look like it was done by an amateur at the task. So grab a screwdriver and start to take down all your doors and drawer fronts from the cabinetry. The hardware is important as well, you don’t want that looking dingy so take it off and clean it.

Assess their Condition

Now that you’ve got the cabinet doors and drawer fronts removed, check the state they’re in. Is there any damage or do the cabinets fail to function in the manner which they are supposed to operate? If so, don’t go forward with the project until you get the damage repaired. There’s no sense in painting a broken cabinet.

Stripping the Paint or Stain

Now it’s time to remove the current paint or stain that is on your cabinets. Start by finding the stain remover or paint stripper you like the best. Remember to put on some gloves and eye protection, and then get ready to apply your preferred product to the cabinets in the manner prescribed on the bottle.

Be sure to be thorough and take your time, you don’t want to miss any areas. Otherwise your cabinets will not look their best across the entirety of the surface.

When you’re finished, allow some time for the remover to lift the paint or stain and then scrape it off with a scraping tool, starting at the top and working your way down.

Next, grab some sandpaper and get any remaining paint or stain left. Then repeat the process again.