When trying to a beautiful finished cabinet painting project, there’s some things that the do it yourself homeowner needs to take into consideration and properly sanding your cabinets and doors is a must to get right in the beginning. Cabinet painting is a very detailed system. Homeowners that want to take on these types of projects, will need to take the information in this article to be prepared for what it takes to turn out beautifully finished cabinets.
Painting your kitchen cabinets isn’t like painting walls or doors in your home. You must follow a system. The first part of that system is to remove any hardware. Next is to properly clean your cabinets then fill any holes or grains that will show up in your finish product. The worst thing that can happen is doing everything right, and not filling holes or grain then you must start all over again.
This article is about achieving a smooth finish, and that starts with sanding your cabinets. Depending on the cabinets you have whether oak or redwood, you need to pick out the correct sandpaper grit. The two different grits that homeowners need to have handy are 150 grit and 220 grit sandpaper.
Going with a more coarse grit than 150, will start to dig into your wood and those scratches will appear when you paint your cabinets and the scratches are really bad, then you will need to fill them and start the process over again. Never go below 150 grit sandpaper. Some people will suggest 120 grit sandpaper, but that is incorrect and should never be considered for your cabinet painting project.
You will start out sanding first with 150 grit sandpaper, because that’s what’s going to penetrate the sealer or other paint that are on your cabinets to give your primer something to bond too. When painting your cabinets, you don’t need to take your sanding down to the wood. Sanding down to the wood is only needed if you are staining your cabinets with a new color or for a fresh look.
Most people think that you need to sand your cabinets down to the wood to paint your cabinets but that’s not true. Also, the purpose of sanding your cabinets is to remove the glossy sealer that are on your cabinets now. The glossy sealer is made to repel or create poor adhesion for grease, oil, dirt as well as paint. Make sure after you are done sanding your cabinets that they are very dull, and free of scratches.
After you have sanded the first level of protection from your cabinets, you are now ready to remove the dust that is leftover. If there’s any dust that’s not removed, the dust once primed will give it’s own sandpaper feel and your finish will not be smooth. It’s best to wipe down your cabinets with a damp rag once you think you have removed all the sanding dust. Let the cabinets dry for a few minutes and repeat the process of wiping down your cabinets with a damp rag or towel.
Now you are ready to prime your cabinets. After your primer has dried properly usually 4-24 hours depending on the primer you used and the manufactures recommendation. This is when you put away the 150-grit sandpaper, you don’t need it anymore. Once your cabinets are primed, you will need to use your 220-grit sandpaper or finer. Sand the cabinets smooth because primer usually has a texture of its own. You are going to lightly sand the primer. You aren’t trying to sand the cabinets hard, because you don’t want to sand away the primer and have to re-prime your cabinets spotted areas.
Repeat the dust extraction process. Use microfiber cloths to remove any dust, after that use damp rags or towels to remove any remaining dust. The next step is to paint your cabinets with the first coat of premium paint. Let the paint dry and sand your cabinets again between each coat of paint. You want to apply a minimum of 2 coats of paint.