How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets In Just One Day

Giving your kitchen cabinets a facelift with a coat of paint is a relatively quick way to update your house, whether it is for your enjoyment, to help it sell faster, or to increase the resale value of your home. Despite the assurance of DIY tutorials that this is an easy project, it can have multiple steps and needs to be done right to stand the test of time.

Still, painting your cabinets does not need to take weeks. With the right tools and a few simple tips, you can speed up this process and stay up to date with the latest kitchen trends. For instance, when you remove your cabinet doors, label them with painters' tape so you can quickly find the right spot when it's time to rehang them. And if time is of the essence, a paint sprayer may just be your best friend and the key to getting the job done in just one day.

Prep is a critical part of any good paint job, and the steps you'll need to take depend on the cabinets you're starting with. Whatever surface you're working with, start by cleaning it to ensure all kitchen grease and residue is gone. If you have any holes or chips to fill, use wood filler to do so now. As wood filler takes time to dry and will need to be sanded, go ahead and get a jumpstart on the next steps on any doors or frames that are in better shape so you can keep progress moving.

Homeowners with wood cabinets will need to sand the wood — or, if they are already painted but in bad shape, strip the paint from the wood — before they prime. Remember to clean off all the dust when you're done — a microfiber cloth can make quick work of this task. If you are painting laminate cabinets, invest in a good-quality bonding primer to ensure your paint adheres to the surface and lasts for the long term. In fact, no matter the surface you're working with, a good primer makes painting your cabinets easier. This step may seem time-consuming but ultimately reduces the number of coats of paint needed to get good coverage.

Choosing an oil-based paint can also help move the job along quickly. The self-leveling nature of oil-based paints makes it easier for amateurs to get a good finish without too much fuss.

Having the right tools can make painting your cabinets much easier. If there's one tool that can help you speed up the painting process, it's a paint sprayer. You can rent a sprayer for about $100 per day or buy a less expensive model for under $50, such as the Dewalt cordless paint sprayer on Amazon. Investing in a sprayer not only speeds up the process but often results in a more even finish.

If you choose not use a sprayer, either because it's too expensive or you just want a different look, you will still need to invest in the right tools for the job. A simple paintbrush and foam roller should help you get the job done; however, it's important to pick the right size. You don't want to wrestle with a roller that's too big for the surface you're working on, so consider getting a mini roller. Use the roller to cover large, flat areas and a brush to get into corners or even paint the front frames of the cabinet.

If you want to speed up this process, work as a team — after one person finishes rolling a surface, the other moves in with a brush. If you want to get the job done quickly, teamwork will be critical to ensuring you can move through the many steps necessary to get a professional look on your cabinets.