Although it is not as simple as painting a room, with the right planning and prep, painting cabinets can be and an inexpensive remodel solution.

Step 1 – Remove the hardware, hinges and clean the surfaces thoroughly using a clean soft  rag or T – shirt and mineral spirits. Mineral spirits help with cleaning, de greasing and de glossing of surfaces prior to painting. They break down the gloss of oil based paints and open the pores of latex based paint providing a surface for the adhesion of subsequent layers of paint. Be sure to give the surfaces a good scrub to remove old oils, waxes and grime. This is an important step, as paint is a very forgiving material but one the one thing it refuses to abide with is a dirty, greasy surface.

Step 2 – Lightly sand the painting surfaces. If there are any imperfections like dents or groves in the surface, you may want to fill them with a good wool filler first. After sanding, repeat step 1 and clean the surface to remove any dust.

Step 3 – Prime the surface with a stain – blocking primer designed for glossy surfaces.

Step 4 – Apply at least two coats of the paint you have chosen. the the paint dry thoroughly and lightly sand between coats.

Step 5 – Put your cabinets back together after all surfaces are thoroughly dry. Be sure to keep things organised. Have a system for remembering the positioning of the doors.

Top Tips

- Chose a paint that can stand up to repeated washing and is non blocking, so it wont stick to itself when cabinets doors are closed.

- Use the premium grade when using paint from major paint manufacturers, since they tend to be thicker and have more coverage. Avoid flat finishes as theyare much harder to clean.

- Dark colors tend to show imperfections in the paint and cabinetry mush more then light colors do, and contrary to popular belief they usually highlight dirt more.