Painting Cabinets

Alkyd or oil base paints require good ventilation because the paint contains solvents that can irritate your lungs and make you feel sick.

Painting cabinets. Before painting your cabinets you first need to decide whether to use oil based or water based latex paint and primer. Choose a high quality paint. This allows you to work quickly in the less critical areas and enables you to see and correct any drips or smudges on the most visible areas.

Remove all draws and doors and don t forget to remove any hardware. Select cabinet paint color you ll need to choose between acrylic enamel paint and alkyd paint for cabinets. Between coats sand the surfaces lightly making sure to clean up the debris afterwards.

Start by painting the inside edges and openings of the face frames then the outer cabinet sides and finally the face frame fronts. Special cabinet paints are available that provide a smooth finish but any high quality paint should work. Painting cabinets is a messy job and the last thing you want is paint all over your countertops as you learn how to paint kitchen cabinets.

Laminate cabinets require a special bonding primer. The laminate must be in good condition for best results. Wood cabinets are ideal for painting but any surface that can be scuffed with sandpaper can be painted.

If your cabinets were previously painted with water based latex paint often labeled latex enamel stick with that. Acrylic or water base cabinet paints are low fume and clean up easily with water. Start by painting the inside edges and openings of the face frames then the outer cabinet sides and finally the face frame fronts.

A common roll size is 35 in wide by 140 ft long. A flat painting surface is the key to refinishing kitchen cabinets. An easy way to protect your countertops backsplash and floor is to cover them with inexpensive rosin or brown builder s paper.