Giving your kitchen a makeover often starts with the kitchen cabinets. Some homeowners choose to replace the cabinets altogether, but others enjoy the project of painting and refinishing the old cabinets. As exciting as it is to paint your kitchen cabinets, the whole process can bring up quite a few questions once you get started. After all, there is a lot more to painting kitchen cabinets than choosing the right color! Below are a few of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to painting kitchen cabinets along with detailed answers so that you can start your home renovation project with a plan in mind and the confidence to get started right away.
The answer to this question really depends on how big of a project you are willing to take on, how handy you are and how many cabinets you need to paint, as well as the physical condition of your cabinets before you get started. If painting is something you have done before and had good success with, then it makes sense that you would feel comfortable painting your cabinets on your own. However, if this is your first-time painting anything in your home, then you need to be aware of the fact that the job will require more tools, time and effort than you would originally expect. Also, people who are seeking a professional looking finished product are best to leave the work to the professionals, since kitchen cabinets are actually quite tricky to paint and can look very shabby when the work is completed by an amateur. For an enjoyable painting experience, leave it to the professionals!
There is no easy way to answer this question. A homeowner will tend to paint over the hinges, where a professional will remove all hardware; hinges, pulls and knobs and reinstall after the cabinet boxes, doors and drawers are painted. This not only helps the cabinets to function better but it looks better. If you want the best looking job, the doors have to come off. If there are already a few coats of paint on the cabinets, it can be really difficult to get the screws out and back in without causing damage to the door or the cabinet itself. A bit of gentle sandpaper can help you reach the screws more easily. However, be aware that paint won’t hide any deep scratches or imperfections in the surface of your cabinets. To fix this, professionals would use fillers and primers to create the perfect surface for a new coat of paint. Not only does this make the final job look amazing, but it also helps the paint stick to your cabinets so that the final paint job can withstand the harsh environment of a hot kitchen.
If your cabinets are made of wood, then excess humidity is a concern if you are trying to paint during a rainy season. It is best to have your wood cabinets painted when it is hot outside and the humidity is low. This way, moisture is less likely to get trapped underneath the paint and you won’t have to worry about nasty bubbles forming under your paint that will definitely destroy your nice paintjob. However, if you are hiring a professional, they will be able to take every precaution to make sure that dampness isn’t a problem during the painting process and you will be able to enjoy your new cabinets for years to come!
Kitchens are hot, greasy and generally messy parts of any house due to all the cooking that goes on each and every day. Even if your cabinets look clean, painting right on top of old paint that hasn’t been washed is a recipe for disaster. Oils and greases will prevent your paints from bonding to the cabinet properly. When this happens, the paint is nearly guaranteed to flake, peel or crack in a short period of time. Professionals will clean with degreasers, sand then prime to prepare a cabinet before they start painting, but people who decide to do the job themselves often struggle with preparing the surface properly and end up wasting their time and supplies.
Overall, painting kitchen cabinets is no small undertaking, but it has a great number of rewards. Your kitchen can look fresh and modern and also becomes easier to keep clean. Hiring a professional can solve nearly any problem if painting the cabinets yourself seems like too big of a job or if the overall process simply has too many unanswered questions. Taking off the doors, preparing the surface and deciding on what materials to use are only the first steps, but it is always worth it in the end.
We offer free kitchen cabinet painting estimates! To get your free estimate, contact us here or call us directly at 239.600.1418.
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