We recently took our outdated kitchen from this 90s gloss wood look to a fresh coat of white paint. I did a lot of research into product selection and called in my dad, a hobby carpenter, to help us out.
After several weeks of hard work, these cabinets turned out great, so I wanted to share our method, tips, and tricks, and the lessons we learned along the way in case you're planning to take on a project like this. Let's dive right in.
Strip, Sand & Prep
The first step is to get the cabinets down to a paintable surface, which means no peeling, free of dings, and also a porous or textured tooth surface that allows for good paint adherence. Our cabinets have a high gloss varnish over wood, this varnish is 30 years old, it's chipping in places, and it's not great. So, we decided the best method for us was to strip these down to bare wood.
If you're painting over existing paint or you're not sure that your doors are solid wood, you'll probably just want to do some heavy sanding here to create a really strong tooth for the next layer of paint to stick to. Whatever you decide, make sure you don't go halfway. Preparing the surfaces properly is critical for a good result.
We started with a product you might be familiar with called CitriStrip. It's not as strong as a regular stripper but it is a little more environmentally friendly and easier to work with. This did not work that well for us so we ended up upgrading to a regular Gel Stripper.
We applied the stripper with a chip brush and let it sit for quite a while before we came back to scrape it off. You can also apply some cling film or saran wrap over the stripper to keep it wet while it does its job. We then used a variety of plastic and metal scrapers as well as a wire brush to pull the varnish from all the nooks and crannies.
Because our gloss varnish was so thick, this did take a couple of rounds for us to get it all the way down to wood. There's also a product called after wash which helps remove stripper residue.
Once the varnish was off, it was time to sand with a 180-grit paper to remove any remaining residue as well as even out any scratches or blemishes in the wood.
We have a lot of trim details on our doors so we used a small flathead to scrape clean any of these grooves and make sure there was no gunk left in there. This is also the right time to apply any wood filler or Bondo if you have any major gouges that you want to fill.
This step requires time and patience. Prep is super important. How you do this step determines how well your paint is going to last throughout the years.
Primer
Primer is very important for adhesion, but it's also important for odor and stain blockage. This is a critical step for anybody but it's even more important if you are applying white paint on top of raw wood like we are. This is absolutely necessary to block bleed-through, which could ruin our white paint color.
My primer of choice is Zinsser BIN Shellac, which I consider the best of the best. Now ideally, we'd be spraying on the primer as well as the paints but because BIN is an oil-based primer it does not wash clean with soap and water, it's a bit messy to work with. So instead, we're going to be using a brush and roller to apply this.
We laid out all our cabinet doors on little painting pylons, applied the paint to one side, waited for it to dry completely (again, patience here), flipped, and then went again on the other side. Once this was dry, we sanded it with 220-grit paper to knock down any texture that came from the rolling and brushing. After we wiped everything clean, it's time to move on to painting.
Paint
The paint I am using is Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel in the color Pure White. This is one of their more expensive paints but trust me, it's worth it.
This paint is built specifically for cabinets and trim, and it's a water-based paint which means it's going to resist yellowing compared to oil-based paint. It also cures into a really hard durable finish that can withstand the wear and tear of frequently cleaned and used areas like a kitchen.
You want something high-end built specifically for cabinets. Regular wall paint, chalk paint, that kind of thing, it's just not going to hold up the same.
The other key component here is spraying your paint on, this gives an unparalleled finish. We have a really large air compressor and we combined it with a spray gun we got from Harbor Freight for under $20.
Make sure to stir your paint well, and also strain and water it down just a little bit. Then apply nice even light coats. Lighter is better to avoid drips.
Experience certainly helps here so thanks Dad, but you can also take your time to practice on cardboard or other pieces of furniture before you tackle your kitchen cabinets.
Spraying may seem intimidating but trust me once you get in the groove it's not that hard. We also took our time setting up a spray tent and plastic sheets to contain the mess. This also protects wet paint from any dust and debris that might land on it while it's drying.
If you have a lot of cabinet doors but only one painting station, you'll want to think ahead about where you're going to lay them all out to dry. We do have an empty enclosed cargo trailer that we set up with a bunch of painting pylons to lay all our doors out again. This was so that they would not be disturbed and there would be no dust or anything flying over top of them as they dried.
Once your first coat is dry, it's time to repeat and repeat and repeat. In total, we did one coat of primer and two coats of paint on the back of each door, and then one coat of primer and three coats of paint on the front of each door as well as on all of the cabinets.
Between each coat, we sanded with 400-grit sandpaper. This helps stay on top of any blemishes or drips in between coats of paint. If you want to be super extra, you can do a wet sanding with 800-grit sandpaper before your very last coat of paint.
Please ensure you have ample drying time between all of your coats as well as after for this paint to cure. I know the drying time says four to six hours but the reality is it takes up to a month for the stuff to truly harden. So make sure you protect all of your hard work, don't rush here, and give it that extra day or two to dry before reassembling everything inside.
Hardware & Reassembly
In terms of slides and hinges, I want you to take a second look at what you have and consider reusing them before you replace or buy anything new. It can be harder to replace these than you think it's going to be, especially if the parts are old or out of date. Oftentimes what you have works perfectly fine...it's just dirty and needs a little bit of love!
Our hinges were covered in varnish as well as very dusty so we soaked them in denatured alcohol in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner that I have. This helped remove all the gunk and get them back down to that clean factory metal. My husband then sprayed them with lubricant and that made these hinges glide super smooth.
Even though these hinges are straight from the '90s, they are still soft close, and reusing them like this giving them that second life was a lot easier than having to drill new holes and go through the whole process of straightening and leveling doors all over again.
In terms of handles and door pulls, however, this is the place to go wild and accessorize. I chose simple gold bar poles and we had larger sizes for the bigger doors, smaller sizes for the smaller doors. I love these but choose whatever you want. This is one of my favorite parts!
Finished!
These cabinets turned out so well! Our neighbor who is a general contractor came over and he was also really impressed. Keep in mind that you're never going to get the perfect factory finish at home but I do think this method comes pretty darn close.
I'll say it again, this project is a huge undertaking, do not underestimate it. But if you set aside the ample amount of time, a large amount of patience as well as the right tools and materials, this will pay off.
If you saw anything you thought I could have done differently or you have any comments and suggestions to improve this process, I would love to hear about them. Thanks for sticking around and I'll see you next time.