Repainting Kitchen Cabinets

In 2015, my house was flipped.  At that time, they painted the cabinets and added modern handles.  (They did a lot more, but today we're focusing on the cabinets!)  These pics are from the listing after it was flipped.  

When I bought the house in 2017, the cabinets had started to yellow.  Against the white stove, dishwasher, and subway tile back splash, it was very noticeable.  These pics try to capture the comparison of the cabinets with the paint sample and then with just one coat of primer.

The yellowed look bothered me enough that I decided to take it on as a project before I moved in.  So in the midst of packing at my old house and moving into my new house, I was also painting cabinets.  

Like all the other bloggers I read - I'm going to warn you - it's a LOT of work.  It's not a weekend project.  There are so many steps and it's really time-consuming.  The only other painting project I had to compare it to was when I repainted my dresser, and I thought that was a LOT of work, but obviously this was even bigger in scope.  But I also think it was totally worth it.

I hope this list helps you - I never found a really good comprehensive list and ended up going to the store about 5 different times.

For this project you'll need:

Cordless screwdriver

Painters tape (this can also be used to make the labels)

Marker

Drop cloths, roll of brown builder’s paper

Gloves

Krud Kutter

Sponge(s)

Bucket

Medium grit sandpaper

Fine grit sandpaper

Microfiber cloth(s)

foil

Zinsser stain blocking primer

Benjamin Moore Advance paint

Paint can opener

Stirring stick

Paint tray

Paint roller

Paint roller cover  - I used the “foam roller for cabinets” type

Foam brushes

Paint pyramids – 10 in a package and you need 4 per cabinet door (optional, recommended)

Spray paint for hinges

Clear topcoat spray paint for hinges

Extras:  paint clothes, stool, phone to listen to podcast, lots of diet Coke, paper towels

Step 1 - Prepare labels (3 duplicates of each) and a map of your cabinets.  I had a hard time with this because since you're cleaning and painting both sides of the cabinet doors, at some point they lose the labels.  I think if I were super organized I could have labeled their place on the drop cloth to solve that problem.  You need 3 of each label because you need to label the cabinet base that the door came off of, the cabinet door and the Ziploc bag full of hinges and handles.  

Step 2 - Take off all cabinet doors and pull out all drawers.  

Step 3 - remove the hardware from each and put it into Ziploc bags with the corresponding label.  I did all of this with a manual screwdriver and that was crazy - one of the bloggers should have told me - STOP - go buy an electric screwdriver.  I got mine at Menard's for under $10.  It's worth it.

Step 4 - Clean/degrease/degloss (all one step, not three separate) all the places you'll paint - the cabinet doors and the bases still in the kitchen.  I read about and used Krud Kutter and thought it was good.  I made sure to wear gloves when using this product.  Remember - if it took you six days to get to step 4, that's totally normal.  This is a long process.

Step 5 - Sand everything with a medium grit sandpaper.  Not down to bare wood, but to get it roughed up, to help the paint stick better.  

Step 6 - Wipe everything down with a microfiber cloth.  You need a clean, smooth surface to start painting.

Step 7 - Tape the walls around where you'll be painting the base cabinets.  Cover counters, appliances, floors, whatever is at risk for getting paint on it.  I recommend listening to your favorite podcast during this time.  I listened to The Bobby Bones Show on iHeartRadio.

Step 8 - Prime everything.  Don't get discouraged - this step may take several days.  You have to prime the base cabinets on the walls and then one side of the doors and then probably wait to flip the doors and prime the other side.  (At this point you may be thinking - maybe outside or my garage would be the best place for all this mess.  It's not.  I carried all these cabinets out to my garage and primed one side...and they never dried.  You need it cool and low humidity.  Since it was a rainy, hot August in Kansas, I brought them in and cranked down the AC.)  To me - this is really important - buy primer that is stain blocking.  I think that's what happened in the two years since my house was flipped, whatever was underneath the white paint started to bleed through.

I read about and found these paint pyramids and they were great, except to keep costs down I only bought two packs and it would have been nice (and would have kept the project moving faster) if I had enough to put all the cabinets doors on.

[💡TIP] When you're done for the day, you can cover your paint tray with foil and you can dip your roller and brushes in paint (to keep them moist) and then wrap them in foil.  I have also read that if you store the foil wrapped brushes in the fridge, they'll last even longer.

Step 7 - Paint everything.  At this point you really start to feel good, you can see progress and the end in sight!  After quite a bit of research, I decided to use Benjamin Moore advance.  It's expensive, but here are the reasons it's good:  

• self leveling ability…the open time is longer – so it helps eliminate any brush marks or that ‘painted-at-home’ look.
• easy clean up
• it’s an alkyd meaning it has the hardening ability of an oil based paint but it is waterborne
• low VOC

Step 8 - After at least 16 hours, paint a second coat on everything.  IF there are any noticeable drips, use a fine grit sandpaper to remove them and then wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. Drying times are 4-6 hours to touch, 16 hours to re-coat, 3-5 days before use, and up to 30 days to optimum hardness and sheen.

[💡TIP] Are you wondering what the soap is doing on the counter with my tools? 😂  The drawers are wood and prone to sticking (rather than easily gliding open) so I rubbed soap on the drawer slide and it really helped!  Also I am crazy about this soap!  #ilovehoneysuckle

 

Step 9 - Regarding the hinges - I really wanted to replace mine and wanted them to be all on the interior, but after researching it a ton, I determined I couldn't mentally handle one more thing.  So I decided to spray paint the hinges white and then spray a top coat on them.

Step 10 - Remove painters tape, reattach handles and hinges and then rehang cabinet doors.  One of the benefits of using Benjamin Moore Advance is that it dries like an oil paint (hard and wipeable) and eliminates the need for a topcoat/poly.

Now that the painting work is done - I LOVE my kitchen - it makes me so happy to see it every day.  That is worth everything.