How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

With Benjamin Moore’s Advance^® paint, a DIY kitchen cabinet refresh can be more affordable than replacing the cabinets outright—and done in less time than you think.

By following a few key steps when painting your kitchen cabinets, you can transform your kitchen without replacing a thing.

Step 1: Create Flat Surfaces and Set Up a Work Area

Flat painting surfaces are the key to repainting kitchen cabinets.

Before you start your project, remove all drawers and doors, and don’t forget to remove the hardware. Then find an area that gives you enough room to work—and enough space to let everything dry for an extended period of time.

Step 2: Prep Your Kitchen Cabinets for Painting

The first rule of cabinet repainting: Make sure the cabinets and doors are clean and dry. Use a gentle grease remover and a damp sponge to wipe them clean and let dry thoroughly.

After cleaning, it’s time to roughen things up! Most cabinet finishes are too smooth or glossy to reprime and repaint, so use a medium-grit sandpaper (we like 100- to 150-grit) to sand down your surfaces a little—not enough to sand away the current finish entirely, but enough to give the primer a little more grit to stick to. Wipe away dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.

Step 3: Protect Your Surroundings

Make sure to tape a drop cloth or another protector over the countertops and the surrounding work area while painting.

Step 4: Apply Cabinet Primer

A high-quality primer lays the foundation for a successful paint job. Fresh Start^® High-Hiding All-Purpose Primer is a favourite of professional painters. This acrylic primer offers maximum hide, seals and suppresses stains, and has excellent adhesion to wood and other surfaces. And if your kitchen cabinets are a darker colour, you’re in luck: Fresh Start is the go-to primer for drastic paint colour changes.

Do not use a lacquer-based primer, as it can impede how Advance adheres to the surface of the cabinets.

After priming, take a break. The primer must dry for at least 1 hour before you move on to Step 5.

Step 5: Sand Your Cabinets Again

Once the primer is completely dry (give it at least 1 hour in a well-ventilated area), it’s time to sand again. Using a fine, 220-grit sandpaper or sanding block, sand all surfaces lightly, making sure not to remove the coat of primer. Focus especially on areas that may have drips or pools (e.g., inside corners and anywhere two flat areas meet).

Make sure the surface is as even as possible; this ensures your paint will go on smoothly. Wipe away dust with a slightly damp cloth, then let dry.

Step 6: Paint Kitchen Cabinets for a Fresh Look

Using a premium Benjamin Moore nylon/polyester brush, apply the first coat of Advance paint.

A paint roller (preferably microfibre) should be used to paint the flat parts of your kitchen cabinets, while a brush should be used to tackle the inside and outside edges. As with the primer, let your first coat of paint dry completely before moving on.

Step 7: Repeat Step 5

Sand a third and final time with 220-grit sandpaper. Sand away any imperfections but be sure not to remove the first coat of kitchen cabinet paint.

Step 8: Repeat Step 6

A second coat of Advance will give you complete coverage and allow the finish to cure evenly. We love the look of Blueberry Hill 812 and the pop of colour it brings to formerly white cabinets.

Step 9: Let It Dry!

The longer the paint dries, the more durable its finish will be and the less likely it will stick during reinstallation. At minimum, let the cabinets dry in a well-ventilated area for at least 24 hours. However, two or three days is even better. If you want to spruce up the interior of your cabinets, we’ve got you covered.

Once the kitchen cabinet paint dries, you can begin replacing the hardware on your repainted cabinets and returning the doors and drawers to your newly refreshed kitchen. Looking for another project? Try painting your bathroom cabinets next.