The Pool Noodle Hack That Makes Spray Painting Cabinet Doors A Breeze
When it comes to painting cabinetry and getting a professional-looking finish, it's generally best to remove your cabinet doors before painting and then spray-paint them. But that requires space for the doors to be painted and then dry, and that can be a challenge in itself. Hanging your cabinet doors on a clothing rack is the perfect solution, but you also want to keep them securely in place. Enter your new go-to: a pool noodle stabilizer. While hanging cabinet doors is a genius hack in itself, without a stopper of sorts between each door, you risk them knocking into each other and creating a massive mess. In addition to the possibility of the paint job being affected, there's also a chance the doors could stick together, which is a situation you definitely don't want to deal with.
Luckily, creating a stopper between doors is as simple as snipping up an old hollow pool noodle and placing the segments between each door hung from a clothing rack. Other than the pool noodle and a clothing rack, all you'll need for this hack are some 1-inch cup hooks and a few old clothing hangers you're not afraid to get paint on. If you don't have a pool noodle to upcycle, they are available at almost any dollar store or online.
Use noodles to separate each hanger on your rack
To get started with this hack, drill holes into the bottom of your cabinet doors and secure the cup hooks. From there, you can hang the cup hooks onto each hanger and place them on the clothing rack. Finally, grab your pool noodle and slice it into 5-inch pieces. Don't get too caught up on specifics, though — if you have fewer doors to paint, you can also cut larger pieces to ensure the doors are further away from each other. Base it on what you need. Use a serrated knife, one of the best tools to use when cutting a pool noodle, to cut it into appropriate-sized pieces. Then use a craft knife to create a slit on one side of each of them. Use those slits to pop them onto the clothing rack, then place one between each hanger.
Putting a noodle segment between the first and last hanger and the rack is also a good idea to ensure the doors don't knock against the frame. After all, the last thing you want to do is end up with a botched paint job after putting all the effort into preventing the doors from hitting each other. Just like that, you're ready to start painting. Of course, you'll still want to take the steps you normally would when painting. Use a drop sheet under the clothing rack, and find a well-ventilated space to do it.
Be careful with the cabinet doors, post-paint
While the pool noodles will go a long way in stabilizing your freshly painted cabinet doors, you'll still need to take some precautions to ensure nothing moves around too much. For starters, while a wheeled clothing rack option lends itself to being moved around, do so carefully. Better yet, if possible, do the paint job in the same place you plan to leave the doors to dry so you don't need to move them. YouTuber rvingdogsandwine2027, for instance, used a canopy tent to do this — though if your garage is well-ventilated or you have a well-protected patio, that could work, too.
As for how long you'll need to wait for your cabinet doors to dry, weather conditions can influence that, as can the type of paint you're using. For the best results, be sure to look at the specific instructions of the brand you have. In general, the longer, the better, so if you can leave them be for a day or so, that would be ideal. When you're confident the doors are dry, simply remove them from the hangers and secure them back into place. As for your noodle segments, you can use them for Instagram-worthy curtain pleats and to fashion a soft cover for a bucket handle. Alternatively, put them aside for the next time you need to hold something in place on your clothing rack.