Painting Cabinets
This is part of the cheap bathroom redo that we are doing to the downstairs bathroom.
First thing we did was remove the drawers and doors from the cabinet carcass.
Drawers Are Removed For Preparation
As you can see, the drawers were unfinished inside with contact paper liners.
Drawers With Unfinished Insides
After everything was disassembled, including taking the faces off the drawers, the surfaces were ruffed up with 180 grit sandpaper. This is so the paint has something to adhere to.
Step 1 – Sanding the Surfaces
Truthfully, I tried to paint a piece of the cabinet without priming it first, and it took three coats of paint. What I found works best is to prime as many of the surfaces with a spray can of primer. This was exponentially faster than priming with a brush and roller. Of course this wasn’t possible on the cabinet carcass.
Step 2 – Priming the Surfaces
Next was to paint the surfaces with brush and roller. I used a 1 inch brush to get into the detailed areas first then used a small smooth foam roller to cover the flat areas. Using the roller last removed any brush strokes on the flat areas put there by the brush.
Step 3 – Painting the Surfaces and Letting Dry
For the drawers, in addition to painting the facing I primed and sprayed the rest of the drawer with an enamel semi-gloss white paint. The unfinished wood was too unsightly.
Finished Drawers
Once everything dried for 24 hours it was reinstalled.
Everything Reinstalled and Finished
Note: To create a clean edge between the newly painted cabinets and the wall, use caulk to create the new transition.
