How to paint kitchen cabinets?
Yes, and it is one of the highest-value paint jobs in a house — but cabinets are the least forgiving surface in it. They get touched constantly, so adhesion and hardness matter more than colour. Use a bonding primer. Prep decides whether the finish is still attached in two years, so it is worth more of your time than the colour choice.
Short version
- Yes, and it is one of the highest-value paint jobs in a house — but cabinets are the least forgiving surface in it.
- Prepare it: take the doors off and label them. degrease everything, scuff-sand, and clean the dust off before priming.
- Prime with a bonding primer.
- Most common failure: fingerprints and chipping at handles within months, from wall paint that never cured hard enough, and grease showing through where degreasing was skipped.
How to prepare the surface
Take the doors off and label them. Degrease everything, scuff-sand, and clean the dust off before priming.
Then prime with a bonding primer. Priming is not optional on this substrate — it is the step that decides whether the finish is still attached in two years.
What to watch out for
Use a product made for cabinets and trim rather than wall paint. A waterborne alkyd enamel levels out brush marks and cures much harder than a standard wall latex.
How this job usually fails
Fingerprints and chipping at handles within months, from wall paint that never cured hard enough, and grease showing through where degreasing was skipped.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the primer because the existing surface "looks fine" — adhesion is decided by the substrate, not by appearance.
- Recoating on "dry to touch" rather than the recoat time on the product's data sheet.
- Using wall paint on a surface that gets handled or walked on.
- Sanding or scraping a pre-1978 surface without checking the lead rules first.
Related questions
Sources
- Sherwin-Williams. Product technical data sheets (accessed 2026-08-17).
- US Environmental Protection Agency. Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (accessed 2026-08-17).
- US Environmental Protection Agency. Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home (accessed 2026-08-17).
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