How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets for a DIY Room Refresh

Select a primer and have it tinted to the color of the top coat. This will prevent dark or stained surfaces from showing through the top coat. Be sure the cabinet paint you choose is suitable for the wood, metal, or laminate surface you're working on. Consult with the expert at your local paint store to select the appropriate primer and tint for your project.

You'll need to choose between acrylic enamel paint and alkyd paint for cabinets. Acrylic, or water-base, cabinet paints are low-fume and clean up easily with water. Alkyd, or oil-base, paints require good ventilation because the paint contains solvents that can irritate your lungs and make you feel sick. Alkyd options require mineral spirits for cleanup, but they provide a hard, durable finish. Whichever you use, buy the best-quality kitchen cupboard paint you can afford.

A self-leveling paint is one that smooths out as it dries, making it perfect for cabinets. However, this type of paint does dry quickly, which can make blending brushstrokes tricky. Make sure to work in small areas if you plan on using this type of paint.

Before you start to paint kitchen cabinets, you'll need to remove the doors and drawers from the cabinet boxes and uninstall hardware. Painting over hinges and handles affects the way the door functions. 

Make a key or use tape to label where the doors and drawers should return for easy reassembly. Use a cordless drill or screwdriver to remove hinges and hardware. Depending on the type of hinge your cabinets have, you might be able to label your cabinet doors where your hinge will be reinstalled and cover it with a small piece of painters tape. Don't forget to remove interior adjustable shelves, too!

Prepare the cabinets as you would any other surface, cleaning mildewed spots and washing the entire surface to remove dirt and grease. Repair or replace damaged wood and cover any surface you want protected.

Before painting, clean the faces of cabinet boxes and drawers and both sides of doors and shelves with a product that removes dirt, grease, and the glossy finish. A liquid deglosser ($6, The Home Depot) should do the trick for this step. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging, wearing protective goggles and rubber gloves. Apply the deglosser in sections small enough that you can paint them within an hour.

Alternatively, you can scuff-sand cabinets with 150-grit sandpaper. To get your sandpaper into all the contours of paneled doors, use a contoured sander, a small sponge wrapped with sandpaper, or a commercial sanding sponge.

On extra-glossy surfaces, sand the cabinet with 120- to 220-grit sandpaper ($3, The Home Depot) to dull and smooth the surface. A contoured sander works great for reaching the contours of paneled doors, but if you don't have that, a small sponge wrapped with sandpaper or a commercial sanding sponge will work. Use a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust after sanding.

Lay down a drop-cloth ($8, Amazon) to catch any drips and cover your walls and backsplash before painting.  Use a high-density foam roller or a paintbrush to apply a stain-blocking, oil-base bonding primer to the cabinets. Let dry according to the manufacturer's directions. If brush strokes are visible, lightly sand to smooth. 

Make sure you have kitchen cabinet paint colors you like by testing the new color on the back of a cabinet door (if in doubt, white kitchen cabinets are a classic choice.) This gives you a chance to make sure you like the look and, more importantly, that the paint finish you've chosen will adhere to the cabinetry and your prep steps will yield a smooth finish. 

Next, brush, roll, or spray your cabinets with one coat of paint. Let dry completely before applying the second coat. Most quality paints will level as they dry, so don't over brush. If your shelves are adjustable and the insides of your cabinets need a fresh coat of paint, now is the time to paint those, too.

Editor's Tip: If brushing or rolling your cabinets look like too much to tackle, a paint sprayer might be the way to go. These tools are easy to use, widely available, fairly affordable (starting at $50 on Amazon), and guarantee a smooth finish. 

While the cabinet doors dry, paint the front edge of the shelving and the cabinet frame. Always paint the longest piece of the structure last to avoid crossed brushstrokes.

Paint the sides and other open areas of the cabinets. You can speed this application with a roller, but if you do, back-brush the rolled paint to level it and make the surface consistent with the rest of the unit.

Once the kitchen cabinet paint finish has dried completely, it's time to reattach drawer pulls, screw the hinges onto the doors, and hang the doors on the cabinetry boxes. This is easy if you labeled everything accurately.  If desired, spray-paint hardware and let dry before reattaching. Be sure to clean the hardware before you begin painting. To get all sides and angles of the hardware painted, elevate each piece off your work surface. Protect with a clear sealer and let dry. Slide each drawer back in place when complete.

If you're painting the backsplash wall between the upper wall cabinets and the countertop, cut in the edges first, just as you would any other wall. While the cut-in edges are still wet, fill in the remainder of the wall. You can use a roller here without going to the trouble of back-brushing, but it might be more convenient to apply the paint with a 7-inch or smaller roller ($10, Amazon).