NEW KITCHEN WITH JUST A COAT OF PAINT!!! WHY NOT?

Painted cabinets are ruling Pinterest these days, since  DIYers love the idea of updating their kitchens with only a few coats of a new color. It seems like a no-brainer project, but this undertaking actually has many potential pitfalls. Avoid these blunders to end up with cabinets you can’t wait to show off:

1. You have unrealistic expectations.

Painted cabinets look lovely, but they aren’t going to look totally smooth. If the cabinets have a visible open grain, the grooves are going to show through the paint. Even if it wasn’t super obvious when the wood was just stained, it’s going to be more evident once the paint dries. You can fill the grain with putty, but that can be time-intensive and challenging to get just right.

  2. You don’t allow yourself enough time.

This isn’t a quick fix project. Some people think it’s going to be done easily and quickly.  But the process can take up to an entire week to complete.

3. You don’t clean the wood.

No matter how clean you think your kitchen is, you need to wipe everything down with a grease remover. Otherwise, when you add a water-based paint to an oil-covered door, the paint won’t stick. We recommends a paint-prep de-greaser called TSP. This can be found at Lowes or Home Depot.

4. You don’t remove the doors off and drawers.

This is a crucial first step: Take all the doors off, pull the drawers out and remove the hardware knobs and hinges. Some people try to save time by painting everything — hinges and all — while they’re still in place, but it’s not a long-term fix. Your cabinets and hardware will start to chip and show wear and tear.  Once the paint on the hinges starts to crack, all you can do is sand everything down and soak the hardware to remove the paint, so save yourself the aggravation.

5. You SKIP labeling where your doors, drawers, and hardware go.

Because what once was hung up will need to go back in the same way.  It’s worth using numbered labels to help you remember where everything goes. A piece of masking tape stuck to the back of each piece will do just fine.

6. You SKIP sanding.

MOST IMPORTANT!  Even if your cabinets are in near perfect condition, you still have to sand them so the paint will stick. Use sandpaper in the middle of the spectrum (150 or 200 grit is good) and just give all of the surfaces a quick buffing.

7. You don’t prime.

It’s a tempting step to skip, but consider this: Your finished kitchen could look amazing then, three weeks or three months later, knots in the wood can start to bleed through your paint. Use a stain-blocking primer, and you won’t get surprise blotches as the paint cures.

8. You pick the wrong color.

There’s no right or wrong color for your own kitchen. But for cabinets, it’s important you get it right the first time: This project is easy but it’s not the kind of job you’re going to want to redo any time soon if you don’t like the color.  She suggests painting a big poster board with a tester can in the color you’re considering (you can usually get a small one for just $5).  Hang it up next to your backsplash and your appliances and make sure that it’s what you envisioned.

9. cheap paint.

Of course you going to want to make this project affordable.  But, cheap paint is not the area you want to save a few bucks on.  Investing in high quality paint will give your finished product the look you are going for.  Buying cheap paint can sometimes lead to a disaster, wasting your time and money.

10. You rush to put cabinets back on.

Yes, it’s super annoying to wait days for paint to cure. But if you accidentally smudge the paint, you have to sand the door and repaint it (a hard truth any woman who’s painted her nails and didn’t wait long enough understands). It is worth it to wait and give the doors much needed time to dry.

If going out and buying new cabinetry isn’t in the budget, don’t let that stop you from having an updated kitchen.  If you think this project might be a little too much to handle, call HiCaliber and we can do it for you. 435-674-9338, find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HiCaliber