How to Paint Kitchen Cupboard Doors and Cabinets

Before painting kitchen cupboard doors or cabinets in the home, it’s vital to properly prepare the area ahead of completing your paintwork. Usually, this is the stage where we clear all furniture for the room and lay a Seriously Good Dust Sheet, however for this particular DIY task, we need to take a different approach. First, open all the cupboards you would like to paint. Using a screwdriver, remove the cupboard doors from their cabinets then all cupboard handles or knobs.

Find an open space such as a floor in your home, large table or outside space if the weather is nice! Lay a Seriously Good Dust Sheet to catch all dust and prevent any spilt paint from ruining your floor. For extra security, tape the dust sheet in place using some Essentials Masking Tape. If you are creating your masterpiece outdoors, use a tarpaulin to suitably protect the cupboard doors.

When it comes to how to paint kitchen cabinets there are typically two types of cupboard door; classic wooden doors and plastic/acrylic/laminated doors. To prepare plastic doors, you will need to take some Ultimate Fine Aluminium Oxide Paper and lightly sand the door down in circular motions. Sanding provides a key; which in industry terms means a surface perfect for the primer to stick to, so it’s essential to include this step as part of your project.

If you have wooden cupboard doors on the other hand, sanding often creates a lot of dust. Even if you are outdoors, we recommend wearing a Seriously Good Dust Mask to protect yourself.

Once the sanding is complete, it’s time to clean the cupboard doors use some sugar soap and a Seriously Good Microfibre Cloth. Using the sugar soap first then the microfibre cloth, remove any greasy marks, stains or dust to ensure a clean and even surface ready for your primer. When the doors are gleaming and free from imperfections, it’s time to move on to step four and apply your primer!

An optional step when painting kitchen cupboard doors and cabinets is to help you achieve a professional-looking finish is to give your primer coat one final light sanding using some Ultimate Fine Sand Paper. This will remove any brush marks left behind by the primer and create an enviably smooth surface. When you have finished this step, clean away any dust or debris using a Seriously Good Microfibre Cloth.

It’s now time to pick up your freshly cleaned brushes and get ready to apply gloss, eggshell or satin paint. Applying in the same way as step four, paint detail areas using the Ultimate Woodwork Gloss Angled 0.75-inch Paint Brush and larger, flat areas with the Ultimate Gloss 4-inch Roller or an Ultimate Flat Gloss Brush. When you have almost finished, load the triangular brush or flat brush with a small amount of paint and using very light pressure, paint a final top coat of the gloss. With a bit of practice, this will give you a very fine glass-like finish you’ll love!