Homeowners often make a few common mistakes when spray painting their kitchen cabinets. Missteps like drips, uneven spots, peels, and leaks may occur.
To achieve a professional-grade finish, navigate the DIY exercise with precision to avoid these common mistakes. Ignoring the best practices when spray painting your kitchen cabinets leads to a less-than-ideal finish.
Preparation
Mistake 1: Neglecting Proper Cleaning
Painting over dirty cabinets leads to poor paint adhesion. It results in a discolored coat or rough spots on the surface. Cleaning surfaces helps the paint finish to withstand wear from dirt, moisture, and heat without flaking.
How To Fix
- Gather cleaning products and clear the work area. Empty your cabinets and cover your cleaning area to protect your floor and surfaces from leaks.
- Detach and inspect cabinet doors and drawers for fixes.
- Clean and degrease using the right products. Spray a Trisodium Phosphate(TSP) cleaner diluted with water on a soft cloth. A mixture of warm water and mild soap works as well.
- Don’t apply cleaners directly on the cabinet to prevent excess liquid from seeping into wood surfaces.
- To degrease and remove stains, use a paste made of one part baking soda, a lemon, and two parts water.
- Spray it on your stain and leave it to work for 5 minutes, then clean it with a soft, damp cloth.
- Wear heavy-duty gloves to protect yourself from the harshness of cleaning products and splinters.
- Dampen a lint-free cloth with clean water and wipe all areas to remove residues. Allow the cabinets to dry completely before sanding.
Mistake 2: Skipping Sanding
Spray paint adheres better to a roughened surface than a smooth one. Sanding dulls the glossy finish of wood, so primers and paint stick better. Light sanding between coats also smoothens bubbles and excess paint. It increases the appeal and longevity of your paint job.
Here’s how to create a flat canvas for your paint when sanding your cabinets:
- Choose the right grit: A medium to fine grit(100-220) sandpaper roughens your surfaces and removes any previous top coating.
- Fold the sandpaper to sand corners and the details on doors and drawers.
- Sand evenly in the direction of the wood grain. It creates a smoother finish and flattens uneven spots and excess wood filler.
- Wipe down cabinets after sanding to remove dust and debris. Use a clean, damp, or tack cloth and let all surfaces dry.
Mistake 3: Not Removing Cabinet Hardware and Doors
Without knobs, handles, and hinges installed, you clean and paint all areas creating a uniform finish. You also protect the functionality and appearance of reusable kitchen hardware.
Spray painting without doors grants better access to the whole cabinet surface. It prevents drips from forming when accessing the cabinet edges.
Number each door or hardware as you detach and put it in a small bag. Repeat this for all doors, drawers, and their respective hardware. It makes things swifter during re-installation.
Surface and Environment
Mistake 4: Poor Surface Protection
Overspray makes the surfaces and countertops look speckled and undesirable, ruining your kitchen’s aesthetic. Cleaning dry overspray requires specialized cleaning methods or hiring professionals, which increases the project’s total cost.
Cut costs by covering your floors and countertops using drop cloths, rosin paper, or newspaper to contain overspray. Secure the edges using masking or painter’s tape to ensure total protection.
Move all portable items and tape poly sheeting over fixed appliances, windows, backsplash, and walls.
Mistake 5: Poor Ventilation
Fumes from spray paints contain Volatile Organic Compounds that cause headaches, mild asthma, nausea, and sensory irritation.
Open your windows or turn on your AC for fresh air to flow and dissipate the fumes. Wear personal protective gear like respirators or masks, gloves, and safety glasses when painting.
Choose low-VOC or no-VOC paint to protect yourself from harmful fumes. Take regular air breaks when priming and painting to reduce your exposure time to the fumes.
Painting Techniques
Mistake 6: Ignoring Priming
Priming creates a bonding layer that makes paint stick better to your cabinet surface. Primers also fill in blemishes and cover previous colors or stains, creating a flat surface to paint on.
Oil-based primers are the best for sealing kitchen cabinets with stains or discoloration. They produce a strong smell and take longer to dry.
Water-based types have less odor and are perfect for cabinets in good condition. Shellac primers are suitable for cabinets exposed to odors or smoke because they adhere easily and dry fast.
Mistake 7: Overloading with Paint
Using excess paint on your cabinets may cause color variations and uneven surfaces. When the paint is too thick or thin, it takes longer to dry. Three coats, one adhesion primer, and two of your paint color will achieve that flawless finish.
Doors and drawers take the longest to paint, so start with them. Paint one coat on the inside and dry for one day. Paint the next coat and air-dry for another 24 hours.
Repeat this for the front-facing sides. Use the drying periods to paint other cabinet surfaces, leaving each coat to fully dry.
Mistake 8: Inconsistent Spray Patterns
Factors like pressure, tip size, wire mesh blockage, solvent amount, and number of spray lines determine spray patterns. Spray your paint under high, constant pressure to prevent the orange peel effect and irregular paint bursts.
When spray painting, do it from a distance. Move fast, keep your hand still and your finger on the trigger always to eliminate runs and drips. For starters, practice on a board to perfect your technique before spraying your kitchen cabinets.
Drying and Finishing
Mistake 9: Rushing the Drying Process
Paint needs atleast 24- 48 hours to dry before re-attaching your doors and hardware. Interfering before it dries causes nicks and marks in your finish. To test if the paint is dry, lightly press the back of your hand or a fingernail on a small surface.
If the paint is sticky or forms a dent, it’s not cured yet. Dried paint feels solid and doesn’t leave a residue when touched. Let a previous coat completely dry first before applying the subsequent one. It ensures adhesion between layers is strong, preventing bubbles and peeling.
Avoid slamming or scratching the cabinet doors during the first week after painting to minimize scrapes.
Mistake 10:Skipping the Clear Coat
A clear coat provides an extra protection layer for the underlying paint against constant wear from daily use. It increases the longevity of your paint and makes cabinets easier to clean.
Clear coats offer a smooth and satin, matte, or glossy finish, enhancing the final paint job appearance. Apply the clear coat when your paint is dry and surfaces are clean of dust and dirt.
Use quality brushes and applicators to prevent drips and sagging, and apply in thin layers. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the number of coats to use and the drying time between each.
Clear coats for kitchen cabinets are either water-based(polyurethane) or oil-based(wax). The water-based coat provides better protection than the oil-based but can’t top its aesthetic appeal. You can use both, but only use the wax as a last coat.
The post 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Spray Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets appeared first on Homedit.
0 Commentaires