The trend of painted kitchen cabinets, especially white kitchens, isn’t slowing down. It’s an easy way to transform older cupboards with little investment. CIL Brand Manager Alison Goldman’s kitchen before and after illustrates the impact a lick of white paint can make on the all-important, centre of the home, hub of activity, kitchen – providing a durable finish that refreshes and impresses.
While with a bit of planning and care this is a doable DIY project, busy Alison had a professional paint her kitchen, using CIL Smart3 Furniture and Cabinet paint in Natural White 50YY 83/029 MC46.
Whether you do it yourself, or hire a painter, the process is the same, leading to beautifully simple results.
Tips & Tricks to Painting Kitchen Cupboards
- To make painting easier, remove the doors and drawer fronts. Be sure to label them to make it easier when it comes time to putting them back in place.
- Wash the doors, drawer fronts and other cabinet elements to be painted with a grease-cutting cleaner. Being a kitchen there is likely lots oily residues from cooking and general wear.
- Wipe paint thinner onto the wood to ‘rough up’ the existing varnish and give the surfaces a light sanding with fine sandpaper if needed.
- Prime with a high adhesion, water-based alkyd emulsion primer.
- Paint two topcoats with a foam roller, cutting in any corners with a 50 mm (2 1/4”) angled brush.
- No sanding is needed between coats, resulting in a smooth, factory-like finish.
Leave everything to fully dry for at least four days before putting the doors and drawer fronts back and another couple of days before putting items back into the kitchen. Wait at least three weeks until the paint is fully cured before placing items on painted shelves.
