DIY Tips To Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets
Remodeling your kitchen is one of the best ways to update your home. Though you might be compelled to tackle many of the tasks on your own, it is always best to review the best and most efficient way to tackle the many tasks involved with a kitchen re-do. Rushing into any decisions is the easiest way to make costly errors. One of the quickest ways to update your kitchen is to paint your cabinets or replace the doors. If your cabinets are in good shape (which 98% of cabinets are) AND you like the style of your cabinets, the most cost-effective and beautiful ways to update them is to paint them.
Painting cabinets is a great idea, but only when you allot the proper amount of time to clean and sand the surfaces. If this step is skipped or shorted in any way, cabinet painting becomes a very bad idea. If you hire a contractor, be sure to understand their entire process, particularly the prep, clean and sand phase of their operation. Many cabinet painters bid jobs low and to complete the job for the price they bid, they take shortcuts in these critical steps. Regrettably, the homeowner is none the wiser as they are not aware how critical this cleaning and sanding phase is — until their paint begins to chip or slide off, just months later.
When you’re dealing with wooden cabinets, you have to follow the right process in order to avoid ruining the material. Use these tips to create the perfect strategy for your project.
Remove the Door Hinges & The Hardware
Though this should seem obvious, your first step is to remove the cabinet doors from their hinges. Attempting to do any work to the doors while they are still mounted on their hinges is a critical error that will prove messy and inefficient. Carefully take the doors off and place all hardware in plastic bags to guarantee you don’t lose tiny screws or other essential bits. Put a number on the bag of hardware that matches a number that you put in the matching panel’s hinge hole so that you can easily match them during the installation phase of the project.
Clean & Sand The Panels
TSP is the proper cleaner to remove grease and grime. After this phase wash cabinets with light soap and water, then sand.
Sanding is a process you always want to go easy with, but you will spend extra time sanding the areas – on both sides – around the handles that are commonly touched by greasy hands in the kitchen. Being too rough for too long while working on a door can completely strip the material. For tiny scratches and nicks, Elmer’s wood filler can prove invaluable towards achieving a smooth finish.
Weigh the Options
There is no one-size-fits-all method of cabinet painting. In fact, you should take a bit of time to think over all of your options before you commit to a finalized plan. Overall, cabinet painting vs. staining tends to be the preferred choice and truly updates kitchens.
Work With the Pros
In the digital age, most people feel that they can take on any project without assistance. Truthfully, you’ll be better off in the long run by consulting with professionals in advance. Experts with experience can offer insight into the right tools, best paint, and most appropriate tactics for your project goals. When your main objective is cabinet painting, be sure to give yourself the proper preparation time before diving into the work.
If you look around your kitchen and feel it could use a fresh look, now is a great time to check out what Cabinet Painting Guru has to offer.
If you’d like to see what it would cost to complete your kitchen cabinet painting project by a professional, reach out to the professional painters at Cabinet Painting Guru for your complimentary quote at (215) 982-0131.
