If you are going to repaint kitchen cabinets, proper cleaning is very crucial for a smooth and professional finish. Kitchen cabinets will most surely collect lots of grease, dirt, food splatters, and fingerprints on the surface, which may interfere with the paint adherence. Proper cleaning before painting will save you problems later on; it makes the paint adhere and last longer. Here's how you should clean kitchen cabinets for painting.
Why Cleaning is Important Before Painting
It's always best to start off by explaining why before defining. Kitchens are one of the high-traffic areas where your cabinets may be exposed to oils, cooking residue, and grime. If this residue isn't cleaned off properly, paint will not bond well with the surface, and you may end up peeling or chipping paint after your DIY project. Cleaning your cabinets well provides a clean, smooth surface for your primer and paint to adhere to. This is important, as you will want that professional finish.
Materials You'll Need
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To clean your cabinets in preparation for painting, you will need the following:
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Sponge or microfiber cloth
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Dish soap or degreaser (like trisodium phosphate, or TSP)
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Warm water
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Bucket
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Toothbrush (for detailing)
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Sandpaper (120-150 grit)
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Vacuum or dry cloth
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Painter's tape and drop cloths (to protect areas
You may also wish to wear gloves and have a mask handy, especially if you will be using stronger cleaners such as TSP.
Step 1: Remove Hardware and Doors
Start by taking off all the cabinet doors, fronts of the drawers, and then hardware that includes knobs, handles, and hinges. This gives you access to all of those nooks and crannies. Label the doors and drawers so you know where each goes after cleaning and painting.
Removing the hardware also keeps paint from hitting hinges or knobs, for a cleaner, polished finish.
Step 2: Prepare Your Work Area
Lay plastic sheeting or drop cloths over countertops, floors, and any nearby appliances before you start cleaning. Cleaning and sanding gets messy; you want to protect your surroundings. Mask off areas that won't get paint, such as the inside of cabinets if you're only painting the exteriors, with painter's tape.
It also helps clean up the workplace, which is very important to have both for painting and not to spread grease or dust from one place to another.
Step 3: Washing Cabinets using Dish Soap or Degreaser
Clean the cabinet now. A solution of dish soap in warm water would be just great for minor grime. Dip the sponge or microfiber cloth in soapy water and go to work wiping down every surface on the cabinet, focusing on corners, edges, and areas around handles since that's where grime had been building up.
For the really heavy buildups of grease and grime, you'll want something a little stronger, like TSP. This is an industrial-strength cleaner that cuts through many years of built-up grease and dirt quite well. Follow the mixing instructions on the TSP with water, and be sure to wear your gloves so your skin will be protected. Use a sponge to scrub cabinet surfaces-remember those high-touch areas.
Step 4: Scrub in Detail
The corners, grooves, or detailed profiles of some cabinet designs-especially those with a shaker style-cannot be cleaned right with just a sponge. Dip an old toothbrush in your cleaning solution and scrub the dirt and grime from these areas. Make sure that no debris or grime remains in crevices that later on can affect paint adhesion.
Step 5: Fresh Water Cleaning
After scrubbing, take off remaining soapy or degreaser solution. Wipe the cabinets with a clean, damp cloth or sponge to take off remaining residue of the cleaning solution. This is very important because remaining residue from the cleaning solution will interfere with the adhesion of your paint to the surface. Make sure you wipe until the surface is clean and free from soapy film.
Step 6: Let Cabinets Dry Completely
Once you have cleaned and then wiped these cabinets, let them dry out completely. This may take some hours depending on the humidity of your workplace. You can speed up this by switching on a fan if you are in a hurry. However, it is not recommended to skip this since painting over wet surfaces may create issues like peeling or bubbling of paint.
Step 7: Sand the Surfaces
Cleaning is not good enough, and it takes a little sanding to make your cabinets smooth and ready for paint. It makes the surface a bit coarse so that your primer and paint have something to adhere to. Lightly sand the entire cabinet surface with 120-150 grit sandpaper. This will take off remaining gloss from previous finishes.
Also, remember to always sand in the direction of the grain to avoid scratch lines appearing. After that, with a dry rag or vacuum cleaner, clean off the particles.
Step 8: Grease Spots Check
After sanding, take a second look over the cabinets to make sure no additional grease or grime has been left behind. This is a good time to run your hand over all the surfaces to make sure no slick spots were missed. Hit those areas again with a degreaser, or go back through the process of cleaning before moving on to the next step in priming and painting.
Step 9: Use Painter's Tape for Detailing
Next after cleaning and sanding, is the taping-off those areas you are not intending to paint. Generally, painter's tape is important for clean, crisp paint lines. Mask off countertop edges, the floors, or any part of the cabinet you are not intending to paint; this includes inside panels if you only need paint on the outside.
Step 10: Ready for Primer and Paint
Now these cabinets were scrubbed clean, dry, and sanded. They are now ready for primer and paint. Primer on your cabinet applies to a primer that is suitable for the material in question. On wood, use a bonding primer over wood so the paint would stick to it well.
By now, you are one step away from giving your kitchen cabinets an all-new look with that coat of fresh paint. Remember to apply several thin coats for a fine finish, allowing every coat layer to dry out completely before laying down another.
Conclusion: Cleaning is Key to Professional Finish
Although cleaning your kitchen cabinets before painting can be somewhat of a chore, it does make the difference in the end to have a smooth professional result. Otherwise, one will end up with poor adhesion of paint, peeling, and lesser durability.
This cleans the grease, grime, and debris off your cabinets, enabling the best possible chance for your paint to bond to the surface. It will help you make the paint job you apply last longer so that your cabinets look nice and vibrant for years to come.
Well, if you're ready to take on that kitchen cabinet makeover, don't forget that a little cleaning goes a long way!
