Interior Painting Residential Painting

4 Mistakes to Avoid when Painting Cabinets

Posted on March 1, 2022

Painting cabinets can add visual interest to an otherwise plain surface. Repainting cabinets can also add life to them by preventing moisture from penetrating the surface and damaging them. However, there are a few common mistakes beginners tend to make, so today we will discuss how to avoid them.

Don’t Use a Thick Nap Roller

Rolling paint with a nap roller is fast, but it can leave a rough surface. Rollers come in all textures, materials, and do a great job. However, unless great care is taken in selecting the correct roller for the cabinets, chances are good the project will be unrewarding. Although the desired color may be achieved, a raking light will show every scratch and defect on the surface.

Budget cabinets are typically made from melamine and covered with a plastic veneer to resemble wood. This veneer will actually resist the paint, so it must be primed first for good adhesion. The best results will come from spraying, but if rolling is the only option, choose a foam roller as it will not leave roller marks on the surface.

Spray Paint If Possible

Spraying cabinets is the preferred method for speed and texture. Often, spraying is only practical when the cabinets are uninstalled or the home is being remodeled. This is due to the overspray and general mess painting causes. However, when spraying is appropriate it will result in the smoothest finish and can be applied quickly. In some instances, spraying saves so much time that the cabinets can actually be removed, painted, and re-installed faster than taping everything off.

Don’t Skip the Primer

As mentioned earlier, priming the surface is critical to successful painting. Especially when the cabinets are not made from solid wood, the paint may struggle to adhere. Priming (or sealing) creates a chemical bond with the paint and greatly improves the paint’s ability to stick. Skipping the priming stage often results in peeling paint or multiple coats to achieve coverage and avoid bleed through.

Don’t Remove the Cabinets

As mentioned earlier, sometimes it is efficient to remove the cabinets for painting, but this is more the exception than the rule. Since the cabinets will not be sprayed in most instances, removing them may cause more problems than it solves.

This is because plumbing and electrical wires commonly run through cabinets (like a gas line under a stovetop or electrical wire powering a range top microwave oven), so removing them is very difficult. In most instances, taping off and careful brush work is preferred.