Why You Should Avoid Painting Your Builder-Grade Cabinets White

There are several reasons why you might be considering painting your kitchen cabinets. Maybe you moved into a new home and the existing cabinets are looking tired, or they're too dark. (If that's the case, you might have been thinking about whether painting or resurfacing the kitchen cabinets gets the best ROI.) Perhaps you've bought used kitchen cabinets for a guesthouse, and they need freshening up. Maybe it's just an efficient, low-cost way to change your kitchen style. The good news is that with modern paint technology, almost anything is doable. So why is painting builder-grade cabinets white a problem?

If you're looking to find cheap kitchen cabinets, those classified as builder-grade will usually fit the bill. They are typically ready-to-assemble units that arrive in a flat box. They are made of plywood or particle board with a laminate finish. This is the first problem: Laminate is basically plastic and difficult (although not impossible) to paint. Then there's the color itself; white shows every mark. Installing or upgrading a kitchen is a challenge, so the last thing you want to do is make things more difficult with poor choices that could be avoided. For this reason, we suggest not painting your builder-grade cabinets white.

Poor durability is often quoted as one of the major disadvantages of buying budget cabinets right off the shelf. However, while builder-grade cabinets aren't made with the same quality materials as custom cabinets, they should still last between 10 and 15 years. If you want to change the color before they need replacing, painting seems an obvious, budget-friendly approach. However, while it can certainly be done, the process is laborious, and high-quality cabinet paint can take up to two weeks to dry properly. (Curing often takes a full 30 days.) Trying to rush the job, or using the cabinets before they are dry, will likely result in a poor finish with the paint trapping grease and dirt. This dirt will look doubly worse on white cabinets because the color makes any dirt stand out.

Although painting builder-grade cabinets white can be done, your kitchen would be out of commission for weeks, not days. There's also the question of how long the paint will last. Professionally applied surfaces might be good for eight to 10 years, but any mistakes in application or choice of materials could mean the cabinets need repainting in as little as three or four years. Given how long the drying and curing process takes, this doesn't really seem worth it. A white kitchen has long been a classic look, but if you have builder-grade cabinets, you'll need to think hard about whether painting them this color is the best approach.