The Most Important Step You Don't Want To Forget Before Painting Cabinets

Painting your cabinets is a great way to easily refresh your kitchen. This budget-friendly DIY allows you to completely change the style of your space, and anyone with a paintbrush and a few additional tools can do it. However, there's a key step that many people overlook: cleaning the kitchen cabinets first. By skipping cleaning and degreasing, you're just painting over the grime, resulting in an uneven coat that may not last as long as you'd like.

Luckily, preparing your cabinets before you paint is fairly simple and pretty quick, depending on how many cabinets you have. To remove the dirt, dust, and easily lifted grime, try a DIY cleaning solution of one part water and one part vinegar, or one part mild dish soap to two parts water. Both are equally effective at removing dust and dirt. Mix your choice in a bowl, dip a clean towel in, and wipe down your cabinets in the direction of the wood's grain. Gentle pressure should be enough to lift away any dirt. Next, dip a towel into clean water, wipe the same space again to rinse, then thoroughly dry. Always work from the top down to prevent having to reclean areas. For those little nooks and crannies, grab a toothbrush to help clean and scrub away.

While cleaning, you might have found a little (or a lot) of grease on your cabinets. Most, if not all, kitchens do. There are a few different ways to degrease dirty kitchen cabinets before you start your paint project. For mild grease, mix two parts baking soda and one part water into a paste. Dip a towel into the mixture and gently scrub the grease away. If you need more cleaning power, mix equal parts salt and vinegar and apply. Scrub with caution because vinegar's acidic nature and salt's grittiness can scratch, so use very light pressure. Once you've got the grease removed, make sure to rinse and dry the cabinets. 

For a stronger cleaner, turn to the power of citrus. Citrus-based oil cleaners, like ZEP Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser, cut through tough grease. Read the label carefully to make sure the product is safe to use on your kitchen cabinets. If the grease still isn't budging, it may be time to call for help, either with a commercial heavy-duty degreaser or a cleaning professional. If you choose to go with the former, make sure you've got plenty of airflow and wear protection while you're cleaning. Once your cabinets are fully cleaned and degreased, you're ready to sand, prime, and paint!