I can't believe I finally took the plunge and did this project! The results were way better than I had expected! It's something I have been thinking about since I bought this house 4 years ago. I was terrified that if I did it badly, it would ruin my home's value. It's safe to say I have been watching tutorials on YouTube for the entire 4 years I have been waiting haha. The key to this DIY makeover is proper prep, patience for paint to dry and using thin coats. With that, you will have guaranteed great results! This kitchen project cost me only $257 total, INSANE! And a grand total of $443 including my kitchen, master bathroom, guest bathroom and living room cabinetry.
After
Before
Prep
Prep is the most important step because it saves you way more time in the end having to go back and correct your mistakes
Remove cabinet hardware
Remove cabinet doors - I didn't take off the drawers but you are welcome to if its easy
Remove contents of the cabinets/drawers (I just left things in and taped tarp over it all because my place is tiny and I wouldn't have anywhere to put my things)
Clean all surfaces with water and soap to remove grease and oil
If your wood cabinets have rough surfaces, you will want to fill holes with wood filler first before sanding.
Sand down all surfaces that you plan on painting. The shinier your current sheen the more you will have to sand. If you skip this step your paint might peel/bubble.
Wipe all surfaces with a damp cloth or tact cloth to remove the dust from sanding
Tape all corners where you need a clean line and want to avoid drip - walls, ceiling, appliances. Make sure the tape is as straight as possible and as flush to the edges as you can. I would argue this is the MOST important step. If you get this right, you can be messier when you start painting. Take your time doing this.
Tarp everything and tape it down - this will prevent drips, splatter and footprints on the floors and counter tops. If you are spray painting you want to tarp the walls and prepare for accidental sprays all over the floor.
Use a large box to store all of your supplies and keep things organized so you don't waste time searching for things and don't see more of a mess than your kitchen
Painting Key Tips
These are applicable to all painted surfaces
Paint a thin layer of primer first *try to always avoid globs and visible brush strokes.
Paint multiple thin payers of your cabinet paint color until you can no longer see the color underneath (2-4 coats recommended) *try to always avoid globs and visible brush strokes. if you've already waiting a while between coats and its not yet try don't trying painting again or touching up because the paint will smudge off and bring up multiple layers below it.
Wait at least 1 hour between coats that are painted with a brush, wait 24 hours between coats that are painted with a spray gun because it is much thicker (yes, seriously). The longer the wait the better. The thicker your coat, the longer you have to wait. I like to test the paint my touching it to see if it feels dry and no longer chilly to the touch.
Remove tape and tarp only after paint has dried (1-3 hours).
Wash your brushes, rollers and spray paint gun after every coat. Doing this helps you save the from becoming stiff, flaking on the next coat or becoming clogged.
Painting Cabinet Frames
I like to do this first because its the most boring, time consuming and when you get this out of the way you technically you'll have a functional kitchen already without the doors!
Do 1 thin primer coat
Use a small foam brush or trim brush to paint the areas where the cabinets touch the walls and all the hard to reach edges
Use a roller brush to get all larger surfaces. Try to roll over any brush painted areas to get the sheen to be similar if you can.
Wait 1-3 hours between coats.
Repeat steps 2-4 for each paint coat. Recommend 2-4 additional coats depending on your cabinets.
Spray Paint Gun Tips
Dilute the paint with 10-20% water.
Do tests sprays on a piece of cardboard before every coat to make sure the paint's consistency is to your liking.
Wash the gun between every layer. If you don't the gun will clog with paint.
Use large single direction sweeping motions, not circular motions since you would be repainting areas over and over again.
Keep layers thin!
Do not go over places twice unless you missed a spit or the paint will pool. Better safe then sorry, just get it the next coat or touch up afterwards.
If I do too much, I wipe it off with a brush so it doesn't dry with weird textures.
Wait 24 hours between coats for optimal results and to prevent bubbling. No, seriously just wait.
Warning that paint micro particles will be suspended in the air in the entire room that you are spraying in. Those particles will eventually settle on all surfaces. So TARP IT ALL. EVERYTHING and keep your doors closed during and after you paint. Unless you want to be scrubbing everything for the rest of eternity.
Painting Cabinet Doors
If you have the space you could do this at the same time as your frames. You just need to have a large enough place to be able to tarp everything down.
Paint the backs of the cabinet first, 1 primer coat and 1-2 paint coats each.
Use triangle raisers or plastic solo cups to hold up the cabinets so that paint drips doesn't cling to bottom surfaces and tear off when it dries
I always paint the edges of the cabinet first with a foam brush before each coat. I found that paint it first helps you avoid ruining the spray paint sheen on the tops/bottom. You can always touch this up afterwards.
Use a roller or spray gun to paint the back surface. Keep the layers thin. Wait 1+ hours for brush/roller coats and 24 hours for spray paint coats.
I will always use a small foam brush or trim brush to get the moulding edges and smooth out any bubbles and cracks. Make sure when you do this you use light sweeping motions so your brush strokes aren't visible.
When you're done with the backs and they have dried enough to the touch, flip it over to paint the front.
Do the same for the front side as steps 1-5 using 1 primer coat and 2 paint coats. You want to be a meticulous as you can be for the front since this is what you will be staring at everyday.
If you see tiny gaps where you missed paint, don't worry about them. You can touch them in the next step.
Finishing Up
After the doors have dried you can reinstall them. This is a good time to see where you might have missed spots.
Touch up any missed parts with a foam brush or trim brush. I like to smooth it over with my finger so I don't see any brush strokes.
Touch up walls and ceilings - its helpful to have the wall and ceiling paint on hand. If you don't have it you just need to scrape off a quarter size of paint and take it to a hardware store to have it matched and made!
Wait for the paint to fully cure for 1-2 weeks, then you can use a fine sanding block to sand down any textures you dislike that formed in the process of painting like brush strokes and paint drips. If the paint hasn't fully dried/cured, you risk peeling off paint.
Have fun and good luck!! Let me know if you have any questions!
Supplies