This story is a part of Residence Suggestions, CNET’s assortment of sensible recommendation for getting probably the most out of your house, inside and outside.
In case your cupboards are trying drab, dingy or outdated, probably the greatest methods to present them a facelift is so as to add a recent coat of paint. Portray your cupboards will completely remodel the look of your kitchen, and it’s miles extra budget-friendly than putting in a brand new set altogether. So far as house enhancements go, it is fairly easy — and you do not should be a professional painter or carpenter to get it carried out.
That stated, there’s a greatest solution to paint your kitchen cupboards, and in order for you optimum outcomes, we propose not skipping any steps. Right here I’ve outlined easy methods to paint your kitchen cupboards and provides the center of the house a recent look and a little bit of razzle-dazzle. (You may as well take a look at our recommendations on easy methods to construct DIY pipe cabinets and easy methods to make customized poster hangers for simply $1.)
Is it costly to color your kitchen cupboards?
The excellent news is you may paint these cupboards your self and do it for little or no cash. You will solely want paint, primer and some further small instruments that should not quantity to greater than $20. In actual fact, you may most likely get all the job carried out for below $50 whenever you add all of it up, although the ultimate price will fluctuate based mostly on the kind of paint you select and the way a lot floor space you must cowl.
Is portray your cupboards laborious?
Portray your kitchen cupboards does not require any particular abilities, particularly in the event you comply with these easy steps. Should you can work a screwdriver and wield a paintbrush or foam curler, you have obtained what it takes to tug this off. You’ll have to put in some labor and consider a while for each the primer and paint to dry. Aside from that, portray your kitchen cupboards is as simple as one, two, three.
OK, there are a number of extra steps than three, however you have completely obtained this.
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Step 1: Choose a paint kind and colour
Acrylic latex paint is a well-liked alternative because it’s hearty and simple to wipe clear. Semi-gloss, gloss and satin finishes have a tendency to indicate fewer smudges over time. Keep away from matte, flat and tremendous shiny finishes that are harder to wash.
Semi-gloss paint is a well-liked alternative for kitchen cupboards.
Behr
You will additionally need to purchase and apply a binding primer to the cupboards earlier than you paint, so decide some up whilst you’re on the retailer.
Step 3: Strip cupboards if painted, or wash them if not
If the cupboards are already painted, you may should strip them. It is a tedious and labor-intensive step, so in the event you’re on the fence about changing or portray, realizing that it will add a great chunk of labor may allow you to resolve.
If they are not painted, merely wipe them down with an all-purpose cleaner reminiscent of TSP cleaner. Make sure to get them as clear as doable together with any oil or grease stains as they’ll have an effect on the ultimate consequence.
Step 4: Take away all doorways and {hardware}
Unscrew and take away all cupboard doorways and pull out any drawers to put aside. You may empty the cabinets if you wish to however, until you are portray the within or wanting to present the world a great cleansing, you will get away with simply eradicating objects within the entrance so they do not get splattered with paint. Another choice is to cowl them with a small drop material.
Useful tip: Maintain all of your {hardware} organized in a means that you will know which cupboard it belongs to since some hinges and fixtures are particular to sure cupboards.
Fastidiously take away all doorways, drawers and {hardware} utilizing a guide screwdriver.
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Step 5: Fill any holes
Use a wooden filler and smoothing knife to fill any holes or massive chips to get the smoothest doable surfaces to color on. Don’t be concerned in regards to the within the cupboards as you seemingly will not be portray these panels.
Useful tip: Watch out to not fill your screw holes or it’ll make attaching the {hardware} very tough.
Gorilla
Step 6: Sand the surfaces
Utilizing a sandpaper block, sand the varnish or laminate off the cupboard surfaces together with the frames, doorways and drawers. Sand together with the grain as a lot as doable. Take away as a lot of the end as you may however watch out to not sand too laborious otherwise you’ll injury the wooden beneath.
Sand off as a lot of the end as doable with out damaging the wooden beneath.
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Step 7: Tape the perimeters
Use masking tape to guard any edges the place you don’t need paint. This contains the within panels the place it meets the body and any partitions that the cupboards butt up in opposition to.
Step 8: Prime the cupboard frames and doorways
Utilizing a small brush or mini foam curler, cowl the floor space with primer, however do not lay it on too thick. It is high quality if there’s nonetheless some faint wooden displaying via from this skinny layer of primer. Once more, paint with the grain as a lot as doable.
These $6 portray tripods will make priming and portray the doorways and drawers simpler and fewer messy.
Lowe’s
For the unattached doorways, you need to use portray tripods or lifters to raise them so that you’re in a position to paint the edges simply and keep away from a giant paint mess. Give the doorways a skinny layer of primer identical to the frames and paint with the grain.
Look forward to the primary facet to completely dry earlier than flipping them to color the opposite facet.
Step 9: Paint
In an identical method to making use of primer, paint every cupboard body, door and drawer, going with the grain. Use smaller brushes to color particulars, nooks and crannies or elaborations if the cupboards have them. A small foam curler is greatest for the broadsides since it’s going to provide the neatest and most uniform outcomes. Plus, it is quicker.
Use a foam curler for extra even outcomes.
Johner Photos/Getty Photos
Step 10: Let the paint dry and reattach the cupboards
You could be tempted to screw these stunning new cupboard doorways again into the frames as quickly as issues appear dry, however letting your paint totally dry will guarantee you do not by accident dent or smudge the floor. You may add a layer of polyurethane for added safety, however it should not be essential in the event you’ve chosen high quality paint.
As soon as the whole lot is dry, you may merely reattach all the cupboard drawers and cupboard doorways utilizing the identical matching {hardware}. Think about using a guide screwdriver to keep away from undesirable stripping.
For extra, take a look at which colour you must paint your entrance door to lift the worth of your home, and how to decide on the fitting colour paint to your house workplace.
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