When applying primer, just as you did with the sandpaper, move in the same direction as the wood grain for best results. Use a paint sprayer. The laminate must be in good condition for best results. Do Your Prep Work. Use what you love. If you’re painting wood cabinets, our ADVANCE Primer (790) has great adhesion that provides the proper foundation for any ADVANCE finish. Primer will help protect your cabinets, and it will also create a smooth base to help you get better adhesion and truer color from your paint. This way you’ll have a smooth canvas, free of grease and grime. The Best Kind of Paint Roller for Cabinets. Once you try it, I don’t think you’ll ever look back. We'll give you a basic overview of refinishing kitchen cabinets, and clues on where to start. It is hard to do any creative writing when giving a long, drawn out tutorial so let’s just get to it! To get a super smooth and professional paint finish on your unfinished cabinets, you will want to sand the surface between coats. We've all seen painting projects where the hinges and hardware are covered with paint and paint is slopped over drawer interiors. Laminate cabinets require a special bonding primer. Really, this is the most important part of the entire project. Following these 8 simple painting steps will result in nice, smooth-looking kitchen cabinets! You want a surface that’s durable and wipeable, so you won’t be painting again for at least a few years. Learn about our proven process for how to paint oak cabinets and hide the grain to achieve a completely smooth and professional finish. It has saved my kitchen cabinet renovation! A successful paint job lies in diligent prep work, and the first few steps are focused on prepping the room and cabinets for painting. I use the Behr Interior Paint & Primer in One most often and am very happy with the results. (This is the process I used when painting my kitchen cabinets a few weeks ago and they turned out amazing.) I generally start at 80 grit and end with 100 or 120 grit. Otherwise, you may well find yourself repainting the cabinets again very soon. A kitchen is the soul of a home, so updating cabinets to reflect your style is a high impact and budget friendly project with the help of Wagner tools. For first time DIY enthusiasts, the process will likely take a long time, and the result may be less than perfect—especially if the painter has not read any guide or article on the best techniques and tools to use. Learn how to paint oak cabinets with this detailed tutorial that includes tips and tricks for filling in the oak grain for a super smooth finish!. You’ve seen her paint the Qualls family’s kitchen island and the Harkins family’s bathroom cabinets with it, among many others. Many homeowners are choosing to keep some of the elements that they already have in … Wood cabinets are ideal for painting, but any surface that can be scuffed with sandpaper can be painted. Painting kitchen cabinets on your own can cost anywhere from $200 to $600 on average and can save you $400 to $800 versus professional painting. I am starting off by showing to fill wood grain and pits in these oak cabinets and get a nice smooth finish. The first step in getting a factory smooth finish is to prep your cabinets by filling any imperfections with wood putty. Painting your oak cabinets is the best, budget-friendly way to update your kitchen! How to use the HomeRight FinishMax Paint Sprayer. When painting kitchen cabinets never skip the primer. Plus, it can be sanded and levels well, ensuring a smooth finish and helping to mask minor imperfections. It is faster, and you get a much smoother finish. Finally, your kitchen cupboards are sanded, cleaned, and primed. Read on for our tips for painting kitchen cabinets. Refinishing your kitchen cabinets is a good way to liven up your living space and increase the value of your home. Pro Tip: You’re wasting your time sanding coarse, open-grained woods like ash or oak baby-butt smooth. This seems a bit silly, but it is so important! Tips on sanding grooves in cabinet and selecting a paint color. How to avoid brush strokes when painting furniture or cabinets. I have brushed and used a roller on cabinets over the years and trust me, you don’t want to tackle a whole kitchen full of cabinets without a sprayer! Tips for Painting Kitchen Cabinets. After getting mad at my sprayer for not laying down the perfect glossy coat the first time I realized I must be doing something wrong! My cabinets were also covered with a polyurethane. Above: The power of paint: Remodelista reader Danielle Arceneaux’s DIY Kitchen Remodel for Under $500 (go to the post to see the Before). 1. Yes, it’s possible to get a silky, smooth finish on all of your cabinets without spraying them. Even when you paint oak cabinets or furniture, the wood grain still shows. How to Get a Smooth Paint Finish on Wood. And there you have it! Use an ultra-fine sand paper (I love these sanding sponges (Amazon link) ) and give the entire surface a light sanding. Supplies: Sandpaper, multiple grits from medium to ultra fine; Paint I don’t believe there is one paint that is the end-all-be-all for the best results. There are so MANY great tutorials for Painting and Waxing Kitchen Cabinets and I’ve benefited greatly from them myself. It is vital to have all the materials ready and consult with your hardware or paint stores. How To Get A Smooth Finish When Painting Kitchen Cabinets. Be sure to check out our How To Paint Furniture page for more great painting ideas, tips and techniques.. Are you tired of your dated orange oak cabinets? While you can glaze over this, it isn’t a chalky finish. Start by emptying the cabinets, clearing off the counters, and removing any freestanding appliances. Matte paint on kitchen cabinets is impractical; I wouldn’t even use eggshell finish. After staring at this wall of honey oak cabinets for years, they were due for an update. Brushing is time-consuming, he warns, and could take up to a couple of weeks to complete. They … How to paint your kitchen cabinets white, how to select a paint color, and how to paint your kitchen cabinets easily and quickly. Don’t forget to remove any soap residue with a damp cloth and wait for them to dry before the next step. A coat of paint will only be as good as the prep work. Whether using a brush or a roller, when I want an extremely smooth finish, I like to lightly sand the surface with 320 grit sandpaper and then very lightly paint one last coat with a brush. Matte and eggshell paint won’t work well on kitchen cabinets. Many people won’t use a paint primer which is okay and the cabinets will still look good in the end. If you’re new to painting or staining, don’t worry. 2. Tips and tricks to paint your kitchen cabinets to get a perfectly smooth painted finish. Special cabinet paints are available that provide a smooth finish, but any high-quality paint should work. I love the Finish Max Super. When it’s time to prime cabinets before painting, knowing your surface can go a long way. Lacquer provides a smooth finish when used alone, but if you sand everything with high-grit abrasives, you get a smoother finish. And there are many parts of the kitchen that you can make some changes to that can impact the overlook of the space. One of the parts of the kitchen that you can change is the color of your cabinets. 1. When you are painting kitchen cabinets, it’s vital that you think about the finish of the paint. But Chelsea knows not everyone has access to a paint sprayer, which is why she’s happy to guide DIYers on how to get a sprayer-smooth finish with a paint roller. Once the cabinets are prepared you’re ready to prime and paint. I use the green spray tip for a super smooth finish. But the result is a durable, glass-smooth finish that's the equal of anything from a spray gun. I was able to give this kitchen a completely new look and achieve an amazingly smooth finish with my HomeRight Finish Max Pro. PAINTING CABINETS – when painting kitchen or bathroom cabinets, we suggest that you use a lint free roller to paint the flat surface areas on the cabinets. Planning and updating kitchen cabinets can produce a remarkable kitchen makeover in a few days over a long weekend. But the primer helps the paint adhere to the cabinet surface better and the paint will look smoother. While the steps to finishing the best kitchen cabinets are quite simple, there are other things that influence the smoothness of the project. Relocate tables and other furniture to another room. Now on to the painting and finishing! Sanding through all the grits to 220 grit won’t improve the finish one bit. There are three options for painting: 1) If you want to paint with a brush you can pick up a cabinet painting kit at a hardware store for a reasonable price. Just sand enough to reduce the deep wood grain, but you don’t want a totally smooth finish. There are lots of things you can do to update and upgrade your kitchen. Most homeowners prefer a perfectly smooth finish on their cabinets, but it's not easy to achieve a high-gloss sheen with an ordinary paint roller. CAUTION: This may be the most boring post I’ve ever written! 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