5 Mistakes To Avoid When Painting Kitchen Cabinets

If you plan to paint your kitchen cabinets as a DIY project, make sure to avoid these 5 mistakes everyone makes when painting kitchen cabinets.

Before you get started on your project, we  encourage you to consider hiring a professional interior home painters to do the job for you. With the expertise and experience of a professional painter, you can avoid the pitfalls and the hassles that can often come with attempting to  paint your own kitchen cabinets. 

Keep in mind that if you want to get  the professional finish you’re likely looking for, we do recommend that you spray your cabinets and use high-quality products. Without the proper equipment, techniques and products, it can be difficult to come away with a professional finish that will last.

For a successful kitchen cabinet painting job consider how you can carve out enough time to achieve the look on your kitchen cabinets that you desire.

Common Cabinet Painting Mistakes to Avoid

Painting your cabinets can be overwhelming if you want to do it on your own.  Yet, it can be one of the easiest ways to spruce up your kitchen. 

To get the brand-new look of your kitchen cabinets that will provide you with the ambiance in your kitchen that you are aiming for, here are cabinet painting mistakes you should avoid:

1.  Skipping Proper Prep Work

For every painting job, proper prep work can make all the difference between a smooth finish and the durability of your painting work.  A home expert said, “The biggest mistake is not taking the time to properly understand what is needed to prep the cabinets for painting.”

Repainting kitchen cabinets can be an easy job for some, but to get it perfectly done, you will need to give enough time for it to be done right.  If you skip proper prep work, your painting job could look worse in just a few months.

If you are not so sure about how proper prep work is done, you should seriously consider hiring a pro.  This is the most important consideration if your kitchen cabinets have intricacies that need attention to detail and if you have high expectations for a smooth and beautiful finish.

Call our crew at Kind Home Solutions for any paint job: whether you want to paint an entire room or a cabinet door, we have got you covered!

All prep tasks are important in the cabinet painting process. One that can get overlooked is wiping down cabinet surfaces to get rid of dust, grease and other build up. Make sure that all surfaces of your kitchen cabinets are spotless so the paint has a clean surface to adhere to. 

      2. Not Removing Doors From Hinges

If you apply pain onto metal hinges it will chip and peel away over time. That’s why it is important to remove cabinet hinges before applying paint.

To create a professional finish, don’t rush the paint application. You must take the hinges off your cabinet doors, as well as handles and other types of hardware attached to your cabinets.

Remember to label everything that you remove, so you won’t panic when you need to attach them again.

      3. Keeping the Drawers and Doors in Place

When you paint cabinet doors, it is best to detach them from the main body.  This will ensure that you will be able to paint the surfaces equally and smoothly.  Take time to lay down your kitchen cabinet’s drawers and doors.

Check out our process when painting cabinets HERE. You’ll see that we hang the cabinets for the priming and painting process. 

Here are some tips on how you can paint drawers and doors successfully:

• Lay the doors and drawers flat on top of an object.  Objects that you can use to raise small objects include 2×4 planks, 5-gallon buckets, or painter pyramid stands.
• Never lay the doors and drawers vertically when painting them because they will end up unevenly coated when paint can drip
• Paint the right way by re-sanding and applying paint horizontally.
• Allow each side that you paint to dry completely before painting the other side.  The rule of thumb is to make sure the paint is dry to the touch. You should add another hour.  of dry time before you paint the other side.

      4. Not Using a Primer

It is a false economy to skip applying a primer before applying paint on your kitchen cabinets. One of the worst cabinet painting mistakes is the direct application of paint onto your cabinets. This will not help you to avoid the hustle and the cost of using a primer first. If anything it will cost you down the road. 

When you avoid using a primer for your kitchen cabinet repainting work, the knots on your cabinet doors will start to bleed through your topcoat.  Hence, it is crucial that you apply a specialist primer first. 

Primer ensures that your topcoat will adhere to your kitchen cabinet surfaces.  It will also help prevent peeling and enhance the durability of the paint. Not only that, it will protect the wood beneath your topcoat. Experts advise that you apply a second coat of primer if needed.

      5. Rushing the Painting Job

You might think that painting kitchen cabinets is an easy job that you can finish within a day or two.  Consider taking time to follow each step in the process for a successful kitchen cabinet painting work.

You must clean, sand, prime. and apply the top coat properly and thoroughly. Take your time and be keen on the details of each of these steps.  Most especially, you will need to make sure that you do not rush curing time.

Resist the urge to get the job done right away. It will be worth the wait.

Keep in mind that after re-hanging your cabinet doors and drawers, you may need to perform a few minor touch-ups.

Be Happy With the Results of Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets

Remember to take your time, especially in waiting for the paint to dry when you paint your kitchen cabinets.  Learn from these 5 mistakes when painting kitchen cabinets if you want to nail your kitchen cabinet painting project.