There’s nothing like an updated kitchen to lift your spirits and change your entire outlook. Your kitchen is the busiest room in your home, and it may be time to renovate and repurpose it, especially as your family grows. New paint colors, new floors, new countertops, new cabinets … they can all revamp your kitchen’s style and feel. But sometimes starting from scratch and buying everything new just isn’t an option, especially in today’s economy. If you’re saying yes to a renovated kitchen, but your bank account is still saying no, painting those old kitchen cabinets may be the answer. Painting old cabinets is a fairly easy interior painting project. It’s a low-cost way to get a whole new kitchen without rocketing to the poor house. Sure, you’re thinking it sounds hard. You’re thinking it sounds time-consuming. The truth is, though, that it doesn’t have to be either of these. There are a couple ways you can paint your kitchen cabinets, either with traditional paint and paint brushes or with spray paint, and either method can be effective and attractive as long as you know what you’re doing.
1) First, you need to choose the right kind of paint and paint color (or colors). High-gloss acrylic enamel paints are excellent for wooden cabinets. Additionally, high-gloss paints work well in a kitchen because they resist the moisture that can sometimes build up in a kitchen from steam.
2) The first thing to do when starting this interior painting project is to remove the cabinet doors from the hinges. You’ll probably need a screwdriver, either traditional or Phillips head for this part. Remove the hinges and store them safely so you know where you left them. Then remove any metal fixtures.
3) If your cabinets are wood, sand them over at least enough to remove any old paint or to smooth out uneven spots.
4) Tape off the sides of the cabinets with painter’s tape to ensure you don’t get paint on your kitchen walls. Be sure to remove all tape when you’re finished painting and before your cabinets start to dry. If you remove the tape after the paint dries, paint will come off with the tape, and you’ll be starting your paint project all over again.
5) Priming is an important step in painting. Although there are some paints out there that tout paint and prime ‘all in one,’ many house painters in Morristown recommend opting for separate paint and primer because using these, rather than the all-in-one paint and primers, provides better coverage. When choosing primer, use a color that’s slightly lighter than the color you’re painting the cabinets. Primer is a step you should perform whether you’re using regular paint or spray paint.
6) Now you’re ready to paint your cabinets and cabinet doors. Before you paint the cabinet doors, be sure to lay down drop cloths or plastic tarps so as not to get paint all over your nice floors. For extra protection against getting paint on floors, paint the doors in the basement or, better yet, outside if possible. Clean up drips while the paint is still wet, repaint the dripped area, and smooth it out. If you’re using spray paint, be sure to shake the can well before starting. Hold it about a foot away from the cabinet or cabinet doors and just start spraying. Spay from left to right (or right to left, if that feels more comfortable) in order to keep strokes even.
7) Allow paint to dry for at least 24 hours before putting on a second coat. It’s even better to wait 48 hours, to ensure you won’t be messing up any areas you can’t see well that may still be a little moist.
8) Now you’re ready to reaffix the handles to the doors and the doors to the cabinets. Do this step in this order because it will be harder to get the handles back on the doors after you get the doors re-hung. For an even bigger transformation in your kitchen, opt for new handles on cabinets. Home improvement stores are often rich resources for different styles of door handles that will give your kitchen a whole new look and feel.
If you’ve decided that it’s finally time to update your kitchen, but your budget isn’t quite up to the task, opting to paint kitchen cabinets is an excellent way to minimize costs while still creating a whole new look and feel in your kitchen. If you’re not confident in your own painting skills, you should consider contacting a residential painter Morristown, either for the entire project or just to help you over the rough spots. The simple fact is that a fresh coat of paint on kitchen cabinets, no matter what their age, can transform your kitchen almost as much as buying all new cabinets. Best of all, your bank account will never know!