The Smart Hack For Intricately Painted Dovetails On Cabinet Drawers

Dovetail joints are one of the ultimate signs of quality woodworking, but these minor elements are all too easy to miss unless you're looking for them. Wouldn't it be great if we could give them the attention they deserve? Well, with a little paint, you don't have to do much to transform your drawer joinery from discreet functional features to eye-catching design details that promote a high-end aesthetic. As you'll see, there are a few techniques to paint your cabinet drawer dovetails to make the construction pop. But if you have painter's tape, an X-acto knife, and your set of essential paintbrushes, you'll have all you need to pull this off, regardless of the method.

Painting the dovetails will be easiest if you remove the drawer first. Roller slides let you pop out the drawer easily enough, but removing ball-bearing slides can be a little more complicated, a process YouTube channel Howtowith GEO outlines. After removing the drawer, you may have to take one more prep step by removing the slides if they overlap your dovetails. In this instance, carefully unscrew the mounting hardware, and set them and the slide aside to reinstall when you're done. With the dovetails exposed, you can take your drawer to a comfortable workstation and get ready to paint.

Instagram user @ebonybasten offers one of the easiest techniques to paint cleanly defined dovetail joints, even if you don't have the surest hand. Cover the dovetail joints with a strip of painter's tape, ensuring it overlaps some of the drawer's side panel next to the joint. Press the tape to tightly seal the edges and reveal the dovetail outlines. You can now grab your X-acto or utility knife and cut around the edges of the individual dovetails.

For clean cuts, work with a sharp blade. You don't want the tape to pull as you draw your blade, or you'll likely have to start over. Use a fresh blade if you have one, or sharpen your X-acto knife to restore the edge. Carefully press the blade against the edges of the dovetails, and slice them out. Peel off the tape from the dovetail pieces on the drawer face, leaving the other tape on the side panel intact. After cutting and removing the tape, firmly press the edges of the tape still on the drawer to prevent any paint from accidentally leaking onto the drawer's side panel. With your tape prepped, simply choose the paint to match your cabinet fronts, and apply it to the exposed dovetails. When finished, be sure to remove the tape from the drawer before it dries completely. A common mistake when using painter's tape is to wait too long, which could cause the paint to pull up when you remove it and damage the look.

Cutting the dovetail outline from the painter's tape eases painting. But if you feel confident in your detailed painting skills, you can skip a few steps from the process to save time. Facebook user Rose55design shows off her method of placing a piece of painter's tape on the drawer's side, lining it up with the edge of the drawer face's dovetails. Although this leaves the side's dovetails exposed, a steady hand and the proper paint brushes will make this method a breeze.

Start painting at the dovetail's narrow end, drawing the brush towards the wide end. As you move the brush down, gradually add more and more pressure to the brush. The bristles will push out, staying aligned with the widening edge of the dovetail. The approach is easiest when the drawer face dovetails have a bit of relief from the side dovetails. The minor rise will give you a little room for error for the bristles to overlap the edge. When the dovetails are flush, though, you'll need to keep the brush tight to the dovetail edge you're painting. Give it a whirl, and if you can't get the finish you want, carefully clean away the wet paint with a hard edged tool or, if it's wet, soap and water, and try again with the tape cutout method. Practice on a corner drawer where the dovetail will be hidden when the drawer is extended. Once you start painting more exposed drawer dovetails, you should have your technique dialed in.