Paint Kitchen Cabinets Inside

How to paint kitchen cabinetsThey look pretty fresh, neat, and clean, and will give your kitchen a whole new look.  Opening the doors, however, can reveal another story.  If the inside of your kitchen cabinet is dingy, a new coat of paint can be just what it takes to complete the overall look of your kitchen, even behind closed doors.

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Empty your cabinets and tape paper or plastic to adjacent countertops, backsplashes, appliances, and floors to protect the things you can’t move out of the room that are near or under your cabinets.  If necessary, remove the cabinet doors with a screwdriver.  This makes painting the inside much easier.  Also, remove the shelves to paint them separately if possible.

Clean the inside of your kitchen cabinets.  If they are dirty, use a grease washer.  Do not use ammonia, which can turn yellow.  If necessary, use a scraper to remove the tile paint.  Then use fine 220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the inside and prepare the surface for the paint.  Rinse the cabinets well with a damp cloth and sweat frequently in clean water.  Do not apply the primer until the cabinets are completely dry.  Prime the middle areas of your cabinet sides and shelves with a 2 to 3 inch cup roller.  Apply the primer to the cabinet edges and with a medium-sized nylon-polyester brush.  Use an oil-based primer.  Note, however, that primers (and paints) that dry this slowly won’t work well on open-grain woods like oak, hickory, ash, or mahogany because they will suck too far into the grain.