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The Average DIY Girl’s Guide to Painting Cabinets

Last Updated: April 13, 2020 | By: Laura 113 Comments | Filed Under: Bathroom, DIY Projects, Paint, Popular Posts, Tools & Tips This post may contain affiliate links.

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Painting cabinets can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these simple steps without needing any professional tools and you’ll have gorgeous painted cabinets that you love!

Back when I revealed my guest bathroom makeover, I told you that I’d share all of the nitty, gritty details of painting the bathroom cabinets. I’m finally ready to share the Average DIY Girl’s Guide to Painting Cabinets. It’s so easy, no professional tools are needed! Yay!!

Painting cabinets can be overwhelming, but doesn't have to be! Follow these simple steps (without pro tools) and you'll have cabinets you love in no time!!

I’ve been wanting to paint cabinets for as long as we’ve owned this house. When we walked through this house to see it for the first time in the buying process, I noted all of the honey-oak cabinets and knew right then and there that I would paint them all.

But I have a little confession to make. I’ve been skeeeered.

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I don’t own a paint sprayer and I didn’t have the money to pay a professional. All I could see in my mind was big paint drips and long brush strokes all over my cabinets. I know people paint their cabinets all the time, but my nearly perfectionist tendency didn’t want to mess them up and then have to live with something worse than honey-oak cabinets. So, I’ve been frozen. {Let it go …. anyone? We love that movie around here.}

Until … I found a little cabinet-painting secret.

When I went to Chicago last fall to visit Ace, I met Lou Manfredini, and he told me about Ace’s amazing Cabinet, Door and Trim Paint. He explained that you can brush it on and it will level and not leave any brush strokes! I was beginning to believe that this average DIY girl could actually do this!

Painting cabinets is easy with Ace Hardware Cabinet, Door and Trim Paint!

So, for my big home project, I decided to tackle the smallest cabinets in my house first: the guest/kid bath cabinets. Baby steps, y’all.

Painting cabinets doesn't have to be overwhelming! You just need a few simple tools, patience and a little time!

Tools Needed for Painting Cabinets

  • Painter’s Tape
  • Sand paper (I LOVE this sander.)
  • Brush {I use Purdy brushes, because they’re the best and will last forever. Mine’s been around the block a time or two … and is 15 years old.}
  • Foam Roller
  • Ace Hardware’s Cabinet, Door and Trim Paint – {If you can’t find it at your local store, then ask them to special order it.}
  • Lots of waiting time. 🙂

And now … drumroll please … how to get that amazing painted finish …

9 Easy Steps for Painting Cabinets! Painting cabinets can be overwhelming, but doesn't have to be!

1. Gather your supplies.

Again, I’m your average DIY girl without all of the fancy paint equipment, so it’s simple brushes and rollers. Nothing crazy here!

2. Remove all doors and hardware.

Oh, and go ahead and remove the stuff from under the cabinets as well. I assume that’s obvious, right? 🙂

Make sure to label the hardware.

Quick tip for painting cabinets: make sure you label all of your hardware!

Trust me. If you don’t label and keep them separate, it’ll be a pain to get them all back in the right place. I know it looks like I followed my own advice, which I did. But one afternoon it was quiet and I found Miss A in the spare bedroom opening all of the baggies and making a nice little pile of hardware. I was able to resort most everything, but had to guess on a few.

Freebie tip: keep hardware out of reach of children.

3. Fill and drill hardware holes.

This is only if you’re changing out the hardware on your cabinets and drawers. In my case, I only changed the hardware on the drawers, so I just filled the one hole in the middle and drilled two new holes for the new hardware. (This is my favorite filler.)

4. Sand everything.

Painting cabinets isn't overwhelming when you break it down into these simple steps! Sanding the cabinets is so much easier with an electrical sander!

I took the cabinet doors outside and gave them a quick once-over with my finishing sander. I didn’t want to get all of the finish off, just lightly scratch them up to give the primer something to grip. And I hand-sanded the cabinet frame.

5. Tape it off.

When painting cabinets, tape off the walls and floors so you don't have to be precise! And you don't make a mess.

I didn’t want to paint the insides of my cabinets, so I taped around the insides and taped the walls and floor. I didn’t think that middle faux drawer would come out, but my mom figured out that it snapped right off. Made for much easier priming and painting!

6. Prime everything.

When painting cabinets, prime everything including the cabinet bases, doors and drawers. Use as much ventilation as possible and maybe a fan in the room, too!

I normally don’t like to prime in the house, just because of the fumes and the smell. But, it was cold outside and since I had to prime the cabinet frame inside, I just set up shop in the bathroom – with the fan on. My mom came over to keep Miss A while I locked myself in there and worked quickly. {I moved everything out to the dining room to paint once the primer was dry.}

This is my favorite primer: Zinsser Cover Stain. LOVE it!

My favorite primer for painting cabinets is Zinger's Cover Stain!

7. Sand any drips or rough spots.

I just lightly sanded any drips or rougher spots from the primer. Sand very lightly, because you don’t want to take the primer off.

8. Paint.

Ok, now that all the prep is done, it’s time to paint. This paint is pretty runny, because it’s self-leveling, which is good. So, you want to paint with very thin coats. Be sure to check back for drips frequently. So, here’s what I did.

Painting cabinets is a science. Follow these patterns in the doors and you'll have a gorgeous finished result!

You’ll want to paint as much as possible with the roller because that gives the best finish, but the brush works too in the cracks, corners and crevices.

Like I said, let the paint settle for a couple of minutes and then look back over it for paint pooled in the corners or drips underneath the edges. The paint will still be wet enough to clean up those areas and will still level and dry flat. LOVE this paint!

9. Repeat, twice.

Yes, mine needed three coats. I didn’t sand between coats, but if you see some rough spots or drips, then sand them between coats.

Allow the cabinets to settle and dry overnight when painting cabinets. This will help the paint level and give it that hard, shiny finish!

Plan on waiting 24 hours between coats and then as long as 48 hours before it’s completely dry. Believe me, this smooth, baby’s bottom finish is totally worth it!

It’s like glass, y’all!

Painting cabinets is a great way to update your builder-grade cabinets!

If you’ve been skeered, like me, then I hope this motivates you to try it. Let me know if you do!

And if you’re a cabinet painting pro, then please leave your favorite tips, tricks and tools in the comments. Girls like me need your help! 🙂

Don't let painting cabinets be overwhelming! Follow these simple steps (without pro tools) and you'll have cabinets you love in no time!!

UPDATE: It seems like I left off a very important piece of information: the paint color. Duh! People keep asking me what it is, so I thought I’d share. It’s Ominous Cloud by Clark+Kensington (Ace Hardware’s brand). Hope this helps!! 🙂

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Comments

  1. Chrissy @ Adventures in DIY says

    March 28, 2014 at 11:38 pm

    Thanks for this post. It’s very inspiring! I’ve been wanting to paint my kitchen cabinets for a couple of years, but as you said, I’ve been too scared (plus, I’m not looking forward to the mess and time it will take). Hoping to do it this year. I think I’ll give that paint a try. Pinned!

    Reply
  2. Rebecca says

    March 26, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    That is a great tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to explain every detail. While I do a lot of crafting and DIY projects painting furniture including cabinets always feels a bit intimidating.

    Reply
  3. Shannon says

    March 26, 2014 at 7:59 am

    Stopping by from the linkup! Love these tips! Definitely useful for me when my husband and I start house hunting. Thanks! xoxo

    Reply
  4. Lisa Curcio says

    March 25, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    Great tutorial! Can I just say how brilliant it is that you labeled the hinges! 🙂

    Reply
  5. tammigirl says

    March 25, 2014 at 9:24 am

    You did a lovely job! Fortunately I wont need to do this soon, but I do paint furniture with doors, drawers and hinges so I do like to learn from lots of sources. You can never learn too many tips and tricks.

    Reply
  6. Erlene says

    March 25, 2014 at 1:56 am

    Love that there isn’t any fancy equipment needed. Your cabinets turned out great!

    Reply
  7. margaret says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:25 pm

    I too have been wanting to paint my cabinets. My dilemma is what do I do with the base boards and doors and trim. Looking at doing a dark(Black perhaps) cabinet but the rest of the mentioned wood is oak. Don’t think I want to paint it all black. Suggestions??

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:22 pm

      If the doors, trim and base boards are all oak, I would paint them white. And then paint the cabinets whatever color you want! Sky’s the limit! 🙂

      Reply
  8. bobbie says

    March 24, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    this is JUST what I needed!! thank you so very much for the awesome tutorial ~

    Reply
  9. Courtney Killpack says

    March 24, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    Great tutorial! Pinned this.

    Reply
  10. Gina Alfani says

    March 24, 2014 at 6:05 am

    Awesome and informative post! Pinned it 🙂 Visiting from Craft-O-Matic Linky Party . . . have a great week . . . Gina

    Reply
  11. Shirley says

    March 23, 2014 at 9:03 pm

    I love the finish on these cabinets. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Jayne says

    March 23, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    Thanks for this tutorial. I am getting ready to paint our bathroom and kitchen and wasn’t looking forward to it because of all the expense of all the professional tools I thought I would need. Your cabinets look great! Question…did you get your primer at Ace as well?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:16 pm

      I honestly don’t remember where I got it, because I’ve had it for a while. Every Ace is independently owned and operated, so I’m not sure if all Ace’s carry it. But it’s worth a shot to check. I think most probably will.

      Reply
      • Cathy says

        April 20, 2014 at 9:44 am

        I know Home Depot carries Zinzer primer… I just bought a huge 5 gal bucket (don’t think its oil based though) to cover Americana red! AMAZING primer!!

        Reply
  13. [email protected] says

    March 23, 2014 at 11:40 am

    These look awesome! My issue is the opposite – I wasn’t scared, did it, and didn’t do it right (didn’t know about bonding primer yet!) and now my kitchen really kind of needs to be redone properly.

    Reply
  14. Summer says

    March 19, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    This looks great and I love the tutorial. I would love to know the paint color you used! Did I miss it in the post? Great job!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:07 pm

      Hi Summer, the color of the cabinets is Ominous Cloud by Clark+Kensington {Ace brand paint}. I should probably put that in the post, huh? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!

      Reply
      • Pearsongrl says

        July 14, 2014 at 3:05 pm

        Thanks! I was wondering about the paint color shade too! I love it, thanks for sharing!

        Reply
      • Susan says

        July 15, 2014 at 10:34 pm

        Thanks for the name of the paint color from me too!

        Reply
  15. Susan says

    March 19, 2014 at 7:59 am

    Would this work with vinyl cabinets? Yes, I have one of those OLD cabinets, maybe I should say formica. but with the zinser (which I love too) I would think it would I’ve just always wanted to know before I tried it.
    Great job and you are right, I don’t see a streak anywhere. I have a night stand I’ve been wanting to paint so I will definately try this on that as well.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:02 pm

      I think it would work on vinyl cabinets, as long as you can get the primer to stick!

      Reply
  16. Emily @ Two Purple Couches says

    March 18, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    Your cabinets turned out beautifully! I’m scared to try painting my kitchen table for the same reason – I’m worried about drips and I don’t have a paint sprayer. I wonder if this paint would work??

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:01 pm

      I think this paint would work beautifully! I painted a couple of end tables with some other paint made for this kind of thing and there are brush strokes all over it. But I think this Ace paint would definitely work. I’ll be using it on any future furniture painting, for sure!

      Reply
  17. Ashley @ 3littlegreenwoods says

    March 18, 2014 at 4:21 pm

    Girl! I’m skeert too! But your tutorial is so awesome I am going to paint my teeny tiny bathroom cabinets this summer!

    Reply
  18. Selene Galindo says

    March 17, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    Those are some great tips!!! And they look like a professional did the job! Seamless!

    Reply
  19. Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG says

    March 17, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    I have been wanting to paint my cabinets for a long time now, but was skeeeered as you said!! LOL – I will be bookmarking this and making a trip across the border into Michigan to find this paint!! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 1, 2014 at 10:59 pm

      This paint is so worth it!!

      Reply
    • Lisa says

      July 30, 2014 at 6:44 am

      I’ve been looking for a tutorial on how to paint bathroom cabinets!
      Great help! Ready to get started!!

      Thanks!

      Reply
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