How to Paint Cabinets (The Right Way)

Written By Christina Pitcher

Our complete guide to painting cabinets: prep, prime, and finish coats, with the exact products we use.

Painting is the easy part, but it’s also where most people go wrong…including many pro painters. Prep is the whole job, and the finish coat is where practice shows.

Follow this process and your cabinets will look like they came from a shop without the need for a big fancy sprayer.

Everything We Used

Prep

Fill and Prime

Finish

Part 1: Prep and Prime

Step 1: Use the right paint

Do not use house paint or trim paint on cabinets. If I had a nickel everytime a “pro” painter wanted to charge big bucks to use a big name brand’s trim paint. While this paint may look great on your baseboards or door casing, it’s not going to last on your cabinets.

This is the single most common reason painted cabinets fail. It may look good for 18 months but we’re looking for longevity here. You need a paint that is formulated to level smooth and cure hard enough to handle daily use. Think about the amount of times you touch your kitchen cabinets versus the trim on your house.

I know a lot of people don’t like using oil based paint but it’s really the best option. While water based primers are getting a lot better, I would recommend at least using oil primer before switching to a water based top coat.

Step 2: Take it apart

Remove every door, drawer front, and piece of hardware. Label everything so it goes back where it came from. You cannot get a pro-level finish painting around hinges.

If brushing, you can label your doors on the void where the hinges lie. I would detach the fronts from the drawer bases as well if possible.

Step 3: Degrease everything

Spray every surface with degreaser and scrub it down. A drill brush attachment makes fast work of it. Kitchens collect years of cooking grease you cannot see, and paint will not stick to grease.

Your cabinets may look clean but you’ll be surprised (and grossed out) how much comes off on your rag. Clean every piece like the paint job depends on it, because it does.

Step 4: Sand in progression

Sand every surface starting at 120 grit, then 180, then finish at 240. This is the process I followed on the vanities shown, but your current finish may dictate something different.

My rule of thumb though is never go up more than 50% on the next grit. For example, you would never want to jump from 120 to 220.

Each pass removes the scratches from the last one. You are not trying to strip the wood bare, just giving the primer something to grip.

Step 5: Fill old hardware holes

If you are changing hardware, drill out the old holes, glue in dowels, cut them flush, and sand smooth. Filler alone in a hardware hole may shrink.

Best course of action here is to buy a size bigger than you need and drill out the holes to match. Most cabinet holes are 3/16” so buy a ¼ dowel and drill bit for this and everything should fit super snug.

Step 6: Clean again

Wipe down every piece so it is completely clean and dust-free. A final wipe with mineral spirits picks up what the rag misses. This is a big part of the process so don’t skip this.

I use a sander with dust extraction and still vacuum the whole piece one time, wipe with a dry cloth, and then wipe with mineral spirits. You are going to want to let this dry out as the mineral spirits will off-gas. Many people say wait an hour but I’ve never had a problem with 20 minutes.

Step 7: Prime

Roll on a thin coat of primer, then tip it off with a brush: one light pass over the rolled surface to smooth it out. Thin coats are the whole game here. This is not the step to lay it on thick.

If you’re new to this style of painting, or using oil paint in general, here are a couple tips on application.

  • Don’t try and make it perfect.

  • Do not go back over a finished area unless fixing a drip. Unless you catch it super fast, you’re going to leave a brush stroke.

  • I’d rather fix a brush stroke though on my next sand than a drip.

Step 8: Let it dry, then sand again

Give the primer a full 16 hours (or whatever the manufacturer recommends) to dry. Then sand it again until the surface feels powdery smooth. You do not need heavy sandpaper for this pass, you are just knocking down texture. If your sandpaper gums up, you probably sanded too soon.

Part 2: Finish Coats

A note on spraying: I get asked why I don’t use a paint sprayer for cabinets. Honestly, I don’t enjoy the prep or clean up that spraying demands, and I like brushing. I guess I’m old school.

The honest truth is that if your prep is not great, spraying will not magically fix it. The finish is only as good as what is underneath.

Step 9: Choose your finish paint

For this project we used Fine Paints of Europe Hollandlac in satin, a traditional oil-based enamel that levels beautifully when brushed.

I pair this with the Fine Paints of Europe mineral spirits and thin my coats with this product. Whatever you choose, use a paint made for cabinets, not wall or trim paint. You may have a paint shop in your area that carries industrial coatings. Centurion is another brand to try.

Step 10: Roll on, tip off

Roll the paint on, then tip it off with a brush: one light, smooth pass to even it out. This is where skill and practice come in. You do not have much working time, so tip off and leave it alone. Resist the urge to keep messing with it.

Hot tip here: make sure your paint is warm enough and it will perform much better. I have an old crock pot I heat my paint in, which does wonders for application.

Step 11: Let it level

The paint will level out and do its thing. Going back over a mistake will show up in your finish, so once you have tipped off, walk away. The one exception is a drip: fix drips right away.

Tip it off once, then leave it alone.

Step 12: Mind your conditions

How the paint behaves comes down to generally four things:

  • Your paint product

  • The temperature of your paint

  • The temperature of your surface

  • How much thinner you are working with.

I thin as I go and refresh every few minutes instead of thinning everything at once in the beginning.

If you have a large project, your thinner will start to evaporate before you finish and your paint may start to drag.

Step 13: Sand between coats

After the first finish coat dries, sand it back and fix any imperfections. Then, get every bit of dust off the piece before the next coat. Dust in the finish is the difference between good and great.

Step 14: Lay down the final coat

Same process as before: roll on, tip off, leave it alone. Do not rush this coat. It is the one everyone will see.

Hot tip for this one: mist your floors (and walls if you can) where you are working to minimize airborne dust.

Step 15: Cure, then reinstall

Let everything cure as long as you possibly can before reinstalling doors and hardware. Then stand back and see how she looks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I spray or brush my cabinets?

Brushing works beautifully if your prep is right. Spraying does not fix bad prep, it just applies paint faster. I brush because I enjoy it and the results speak for themselves.

What is the best paint for cabinets?

Use a paint made for cabinets, never wall paint. We used Fine Paints of Europe Hollandlac in satin for this project, a traditional oil-based enamel that levels exceptionally well when brushed.

How long should primer dry before sanding?

Give it a full 16-ish hours for an oil based coating if thinned, more if not. Then sand until the surface feels powdery smooth before your finish coats.

Do I really need to sand between coats?

Yes. Sand back the first finish coat with 220 grit or similar, remove every bit of dust, then lay down the final coat. This is what separates a good finish from a great one.

How long should cabinets cure before use?

As long as you can manage. Oil-based enamels keep hardening for days after they feel dry. Give it every day you can spare before reinstalling hardware and putting doors back to work.

Learn More

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Christina Pitcher https://christinapitcher.com
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