Rather than replacing their antiquated kitchen cabinets, many new homeowners are electing to paint them. It’s far less expensive and takes a lot less time because you won’t have to worry about the expense of new cabinets. In this post, Fiestagrill.net is going to show you how long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets? And how to paint your cabinets the right way.
How long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets?
Painting your kitchen cabinets takes about 2 weeks from start to finish. However, in exceptional situations, this timetable may be extended to three weeks. When your kitchen doors need to be stripped or a clear coat removed, for example, you’ll need more time from start to finish.
It normally takes 1–2 weeks for the cabinet paint to dry. This is referred regarded as “dry to the touch.” The curing phase begins once the paint is dry to the touch, and it takes a little longer, perhaps a month or thirty days to be exact. As the paint approaches its maximum hardness, it becomes increasingly less resistant to scratching and other damage.
You can start using your cabinets before they are totally dried, but be sure to take extra precautions during the drying process until they are completely dry or finished curing. Use no chemicals to clean them, and if they get wet, make sure to dry them fast. You also don’t want to bash, slam, or be too rough with your cabinet doors.
Satin Enamel Cabinet Paint by DecoArt
If you wanted to paint cabinets or furniture in the past, you had to strip, sand, and basically torture yourself to acquire a suitable surface to paint on. You don’t have to do any of that anymore with DecoArt’s Satin Enamel paints. Simply clean the surfaces, prime if necessary (more on that later), and paint.
How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets
Besides the question of how long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets here’s the best part… You don’t need to remove everything from your cabinets because you’re not sanding. That, my friends, is the secret to having this process go more smoothly.
You don’t have to make any changes to the way your kitchen works until you’re virtually through with the project. No more removing everything from your kitchen and searching among mounds on the living room floor for the pan you need to cook dinner.
After working on the cabinets during the day, everything stays in place, and you can cook supper every night. (Wait, it doesn’t seem very appealing.) Let’s say you can prepare dinner, but you don’t tell your husband and insist on him taking you out.)
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In 7 Easy Steps, You Can Have New Cabinets!
Here’s how it’s done, step by step.
- Cabinet doors should be kept clean.
- If necessary, prime cabinet door fronts and edges.
- Cabinet door fronts should be painted.
- Cabinet doors should be removed.
Frames should be cleaned, primed, and painted. - Cabinet door edges should be painted.
- Reinstall the doors.
That concludes our discussion. Doesn’t it appear to be simple? That would make for a very short blog entry, so here’s how to do it completely. (Don’t forget to read all of the advice at the conclusion!)
Cabinet Doors Should Be Cleaned
A good degreaser, such as Krud Kutter, and a clean rag are all you’ll need for this stage. Look in the hardware shop if you can’t find Krud Kutter in your cleaning aisle. It’s a tough, non-toxic cleanser that’ll get rid of any grease buildup that’s getting in the way of your paint job.
Simply spray on and wipe off with a clean rag or paper towel that is only slightly damp. A little elbow grease may be required in some of the more difficult areas. To ensure that your paint sticks, make sure to clean every paintable surface well.
Cabinet Doors – if necessary
If you’re using DecoArt Satin Enamels, you won’t need to prime all of your cabinets before painting. Satin Enamels are designed to stick to wood, and I’ve seen this in a number of the cabinet and furniture painting projects.
It’s a good idea to prime first if your wood is old, has stains or black knots, or appears dried out (like here in the NM Desert). Primer aids adhesion and stain resistance, allowing your paint to adhere better, look better, and travel further.
For painting over wood, whether it’s cabinets, molding, or doors, I use Zinsser BIN Advanced Primer. It is the most effective stain-blocking primer I’ve ever used.
It also dries in 45 minutes, so you can get back to work on your project right away!
Full disclosure: I used DecoArt’s Stainblocker to paint these cabinets, but it’s no longer available for purchase. I’ve used the BIN primer on a few other wood projects and know it’ll work just as well here.
Cabinet Fronts Should Be Painted
“Meredith, didn’t you forget a step?” I can hear you saying now. “Who would paint their doors while they’re still hanging?” says the narrator. Sure, I’d do it. You should do the same. It saves a tremendous amount of room as well as time spent sliding doors onto work areas.
I wouldn’t recommend painting vertically if you’re using standard latex or oil paint because of the potential of drips. However, this Satin Enamel paint keeps its shape better while wet, which means it applies smoothly and dries quickly.
Drying time may appear to be an odd item to extol, but it makes a huge difference in this type of endeavor.
You’ll need a paint that dries slowly enough to even out brush strokes and remove them (this is known as self-leveling), but not so slowly that it runs and drips and can’t be touched for days.
Seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how critical this one feature is to make this project so simple. Of course, you must apply the paint evenly and keep an eye out for any corners where paint can pile up and cause drips.
Last but not least, here’s a painting tip for doors… If your doors feature inlays, like mine had, paint them first with a brush before using a mohair roller or a wide brush to paint the broad flat surfaces.
This will allow you to be meticulous in all of the nooks and crannies while still achieving a good clean paint job without having to stop in the midst and do the detailed work.
Cabinet Doors Must Be Removed
Before you remove your cabinet doors, the first thing you must do is LABEL them. This is one piece of advice you should not overlook, believe me.
You may believe that you will remember where everything goes, but you will not. However, if you clearly identify your doors, you will thank me later. The raffle ticket approach is what I use.
Now it’s time to take down the doors. You might want to enlist the assistance of a friend for this task. That is unless you have an uncanny ability to balance on one knee on the countertop while controlling a power drill with the other, all while balancing on one foot straddling a sink full of filthy dishes.
It turned out that I wasn’t exceptionally gifted in this area. Unfortunately for my knee and my dishes, this is not the case. As a result, there are no images of this stage of the procedure.
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Frames should be cleaned, primed, and painted
Once your doors are out of the way, repeat the washing, priming, and painting process as described above, but this time only on the frames. It may appear to be a large task, but it isn’t.
Because the frames are small and take up little space, they won’t take long to complete. To make your life easier, make sure you tape off any edges first.
Cabinet Door Edges Should Be Painted
You can paint around the edges of your cabinet doors while you’re working on your frames and waiting for them to dry.
Allow lots of time for this procedure to ensure that the paint on both the frame and the doors is excellent and dried so that they don’t stick to each other once the doors are reattached.
You should also pull out your drawers and paint the edges of them at this time.
Reinstall the doors
You can rehang your doors and reattach the drawers after everything is finished and completely dry. (It may appear simple, but it requires additional contortionist actions in mid-air, so enlist a partner if possible!)
Finally, some fantastic hardware knobs and pulls complete the look, and you’ve got yourself a brand new kitchen.
You’ve completed the task! Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? You didn’t have to remove a single dish from your cabinets, and everything stayed put so you could continue to use your kitchen while you worked on it.
Before changing your mixing bowls, you didn’t even have to spend an entire Saturday cleaning sawdust out of your cabinets.
The family was unconcerned with their mother’s instigation of pandemonium. Even your husband was taken aback by the fact that everything happened in the middle of a meal. Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but you get the picture.
Final Thought on How long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets
Hopefully, this post helps you answer the question: “How long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets?”. And we hope it inspired you to take on the task of painting your own kitchen cabinets. Remember to follow the tips I’ve provided here, take your time, and you’ll get amazing results while saving a lot of money! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions regarding your project or if you used this advice to accomplish your own project. Fiestagrill would love to hear from you!
