Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets Properly
When deciding to paint your kitchen cabinets, there are many different things to worry about: what color you want your cabinets to be so they will go with your kitchen, when you will have time to paint them, and of course, the cost. While focusing on the seemingly obvious details that go along with painting your kitchen cabinets, it is easy to forget about the minor details that could prove to be counter-productive towards your task if not tended to. Following are five common mistakes to avoid when painting your kitchen cabinets.
1. Not Using the Right Paint
When you hear “wrong type of paint” the first thing that may come to mind is that the paint is a different color than you thought, and now it does not match your kitchen. While that is true, there are other ways the paint you’re using could be the wrong type of paint that don’t have anything to do with color. When painting ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets, or any other type of kitchen cabinets, it’s important to buy high-quality paint that is meant for cabinets. If you buy lower quality paint, brush marks and marks from a roller will be visible when the paint dries. In addition, the wrong paint could be one that requires several coats in order to achieve the desired look; this will end up costing you more time and money than it would have if you had used a high-quality paint that only requires one coat.
2. Getting Your Doors Mixed Up
It is always frustrating when, after you’ve finished painting and are trying to put your cabinets back together, the door to one of your cabinets does not fit. It is even more frustrating when you come to the realization that it was switched, and it is stuck on a different cabinet. This mistake happens often and to avoid it, you can label the door to keep track of which cabinet it goes to; you can also mark if it belongs on a left or right side of a cabinet, if needed.
3. Not Sanding Completely
Many people use only palm sanders when sanding their cabinets. The mistake here is not using a hand sander after the palm sander. The hand sander allows you to sand nooks and crannies better so that everything is even and smooth. Spending more time using a hand sander can help the paint stick easier, and it reduces the number of uneven spots left behind.
4. Mixing Up the Hinges
After years and years, hinges will get worn in specific ways that make them fit only in the location they have been in. If you mix up the hinges, you’ll find that you may have to force them into place in order for them to fit. This can not only damage the hinges themselves, but it can damage the paint. Just like with your cabinet doors, it is important to label the hinges with tape to avoid mixing up the hinges and potentially damaging the paint you just applied.
5. Not Tinting Your Primer
Not adding your paint color to the primer can cost you both time and money. You will have to go over the cabinets multiple times and use more coats of paint, which in turn means you will have to buy more paint. Adding a little bit of your paint color to the primer will reduce the number of coats you use.
Knowing the common mistakes people make when painting kitchen cabinets and what you can do to avoid making them will greatly improve your experience and save you time and money. Visit our website today to find out more information about painting your RTA cabinets. Let us know how we can help with your project!