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7 Things To Consider Before Painting Your Cabinets

7 Things To Consider Before Painting Your Cabinets

Ready to give your cabinets a major facelift? Painting your cabinets helps transform your kitchen and breathes new life into faded cabinets.

As with most projects, it’s not quite as simple as just grabbing some paint and a brush. If you want the finished cabinets to look amazing, there are some important things to consider.

A little preparation before you start painting ensures your cabinets look as great or even better than you imagined.

1. How Long The Project Takes

Even with quick drying paint, you’re still looking at least a full weekend when it comes to painting your cabinets. For most, set aside three days to a week to complete the project. This gives you time to prepare the cabinets, paint them, let them dry, and reassemble everything.

In the meantime, make arrangements for where you’ll store everything that’s in your cabinets and how or if you’ll use the kitchen during the process. This might be a great week for just eating out.

2. Take Everything Apart

The next thing to do is take everything apart. You might want to hurry things along and just paint over the hinges or try to tape over them. However, it’s much easier to just take the doors off of the cabinets. Remove all hardware. Painting over hinges just leads to flaking and stuck hinges.

To make life easier, label everything so you know where it goes. You can work on painting your cabinets one section at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed. This is also a great time to declutter your kitchen.

3.Clean Cabinets Thoroughly

A common reason paint doesn’t stick well to cabinets is they’re not clean when you start. This can lead to discolored spots, fading, chipping and other annoying issues. It’s always best to start with a clean slate to remove any grease, dirt and lint that might be on your cabinets. Take time to thoroughly clean your cabinets.

If there’s a layer of paint already there, you’ll need to strip the paint. Make sure you remove all the paint before repainting. Otherwise, the old paint can flake, taking your new paint with it.

4. Smooth Out Rough Spots

While you might not even be able to see it, your cabinets likely have some rough spots. It could be a small scratch on the bottom of a door or a rough area at the edge of the door where you open and close it. Paint needs a smooth surface to apply and dry evenly.

Sand your cabinets lightly to remove rough spots. For scratches and chips, use wood filler to smooth them out. This prevents darker areas on your cabinets when you paint.

5. Priming The Wood For Paint

When painting your cabinets, you’ll need to start by priming the wood first. Custom cabinets typically use real wood, especially for the doors. Pre-fabricated cabinets might use particle board or something similar. Pick a primer that’s made for your type of cabinet.

Primer creates a better surface for the paint, making it last much longer. You can save time and money by choosing a paint that has primer built-in. Pay attention to any special instructions when applying primer or using a primer/paint mix.

6. Choose A Quality Paint

The single most important thing to consider when painting your cabinets is choosing a quality paint. Don’t just grab the cheapest bucket you can find. Talk with a paint expert at your local hardware or paint supply store. See what they recommend and what customers like best. You can also research brands online first to see what brands and types hold up the longest.

Choosing a cheap, low-quality paint means you’ll need repaint sooner rather than later. You’re also more likely to end up with streaks. Cheaper paints might also have a stronger odor, making it more difficult to paint your cabinets.

7. Avoiding Brush Strokes

Typically, you’d just grab a brush, dip in the paint and start painting. But, if you don’t use the right type of brush, you could end up with noticeable brush strokes. This just ruins all your hard work. Instead, opt for an angular brush and foam roller. Fusion Mineral Paint and Pro Paint Corner both have great guides to avoid brush strokes.

Want custom cabinets that are already painted and ready to install? Contact Edgewood Cabinetry today to get your cabinet project started. 

Image: Roselyn Tirado

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Kitchen Cabinet Cleaning Tips For Longer Lasting Cabinets

Kitchen Cabinet Cleaning Tips For Longer Lasting Cabinets

You probably know you need to clean your kitchen cabinets, but it’s daunting, especially in hard to reach areas. The right kitchen cabinet cleaning tips make the job easier.

Don’t worry if you don’t love cleaning. You don’t have to tackle all your cabinets at once. In fact, you could do a section at a time. Or, do one major cleaning, followed by smaller cleaning sessions later on.

Regular cleaning makes your cabinets look amazing. It can also increase the life of your cabinets by reducing dirt and grime that can seep in, ruining your cabinets over time.

Gathering Your Supplies

First off, gather your supplies. You’ll need several rags or towels. You’ll want to keep a dry one on hand at all times for a finishing shine and to remove any lingering streaks, especially on glass.

Next, decide if you want to go with traditional cleaners or a DIY option. The former will have chemicals that don’t always mesh with your cabinets’ finish. They may also have stronger odors, so ensure you can open a window. For traditional cleaners, make sure they’ll cut grease and disinfect.

For DIY cleaners, you’ll just need to check your pantry. Even with something you make with natural ingredients, check a small area of your cabinet, such as the backside of a door, to ensure you’re not damaging the finish at all. Good Housekeeping and DIY Joy list DIY recipes for your entire home. Common ingredients include vinegar, lemons and baking soda. Some also call for dish liquid for extra grease busting powers.

You may also want cleaners for different areas. For instance, you’ll want a wood-safe cleaner for wood cabinets. An oil-based cleaner, like Murphy’s Oil Soap, helps condition the wood while cleaning. But, you’d use an all-purpose cleaner for your countertops.

Cleaning Different Finishes

The next step is to consider the differences in finishes. For painted cabinets, you don’t want to use anything too abrasive to clean or you might chip the paint. You definitely don’t want to discolor the cabinets either.

For wood and painted cabinets, let your cleaner sit on the stain for a few minutes before gently rubbing it away. With laminate finishes, you can scrub a little. With the other finishes, the stain may have soaked in deeper, hence the wait.

Dampen a cloth to use your cleaner or spray a light amount. When it comes to kitchen cabinet cleaning, less is definitely more. Use a small amount of cleaner, clean the area and then follow up with a dry towel as a finish. This creates a nice shine and doesn’t leave your cabinets wet, which can damage the finish.

Kitchen Cabinet Cleaning Schedule

One of the most important cleaning tips is to create a schedule. As a general rule, spot clean immediately when you notice a problem. This means wiping off the underside of the cabinets around your stove where grease splatters, drying areas after washing dishes, wiping down countertops after preparing food and so on.

Spot cleaning makes your job much easier later on. Of course, dust and grime build up everywhere. You might not even realize it until you clean a spot and notice the difference.

Every week, lightly spray the outsides of your cabinets with your chosen cleaner and wipe them off. This prevents thick grime buildup. Also, wipe over all cabinet hardware too. For metal, too much buildup may actually cause rust.

Depending on how heavily you use your kitchen, you may want to do a deep clean on your cabinets twice a year or more. This involves cleaning everything inside and out. Taking a section a day for a week makes this process less daunting.

Cleaning Out The Cabinets

Kitchen cabinet cleaning isn’t just for the outside surfaces. Food, cleaners and even water can leak inside your cabinets. A busted can or jar in the back of your cabinet can soak through, ruining the cabinets.

When cleaning, look inside for any issues. During your deep clean, take everything out of the cabinets, clean the insides and declutter a little. This helps you get more room and keeps the insides of your cabinets just as clean as the outside.

Ready for a kitchen remodel? Contact us today to start creating your dream kitchen, which you’ll love so much you may not mind regular cleaning.

Image: Crema Joe

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cabinet care-edgewood cabinetry

Keeping it Clean: Caring for Your Cabinets

You’ve invested time, effort, and money in picking out the perfect cabinets for your kitchen and bath.

Now you want to keep your quality wood cabinetry looking like new. Unfortunately, with so many other places in those rooms that need regular cleaning, it’s easy to overlook the cabinetry. After all, it’s just sitting there – quietly collecting dust, dirt, grease, splatters, crumbs, and other messes.

What should you use to clean your cabinets so they don’t get in such a state?

  • dusting cloth
  • soft sponge
  • cleaning rags
  • grease-cutting dish soap
  • baking soda
  • soft toothbrush (a great use for all those old toothbrushes!)
  • old, clean towel

It’s important to only use mild, non-abrasive cleaners. Also, use sponges, cloths, and towels that are dedicated to your beautiful cabinetry and not used for anything else.

The first step is to use a clean, soft, dry cloth to brush away dust and crumbs while they’re still dry. Next, mix 3 tablespoons of a grease-cutting dish soap in half a sinkful of warm water. This solution is strong enough to remove smudges, smears, splatters, and a mild build-up of grease. Yet, it’s gentle enough to not damage your beautiful cabinetry.

When you’re wiping down your cabinetry, don’t forget the edges and the sides. Also open all of the doors and drawers so you can clean the frames. Rinse out the sponge frequently as you go. Use the soapy toothbrush to get in around the hinges and handles to get them really clean. It’s also handy for that beautifully detailed trim. Because it’s so small, you’ll have to rinse and dip it frequently.

After your cabinetry is all nice and clean, go back over everything with a clean cloth and fresh water to rinse off the soap. Finally, you’ll need to dry it all off with that old clean towel. Water left on the cabinets can leave nasty water spots and possibly damage the finish.

If you have some really tough spots, use the toothbrush and a paste of baking soda and water. Baking soda is mildly abrasive and also an effective grease cutter; just don’t scrub too hard. Oil soap is another option for degreasing wood and is mild enough to not do any damage. Always test it in an inconspicuous spot and follow the manufacturer’s directions. You can make a homemade version by mixing a paste of baking soda and clean cooking oil, instead of water. Just wash it off with the soapy water afterwards, then rinse and dry as normal.

Once you have your cabinetry nice and clean, treat the wood to a rubdown with lemon-oil. It conditions the wood and helps keep grease from sticking. As always, test in an inconspicuous spot and follow the manufacturer’s directions.

If you haven’t upgraded your cabinets yet, and your current cupboards are looking old and tired, contact us for a beautiful new set. We’ll be happy to help you design a roomful of cabinetry you’ll enjoy cleaning!

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