6 Surface Preparation Steps Your Exterior Painters Should Not Skip
July 24, 2019
Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Your Next Painting Company
August 24, 2019
The bathroom cabinets, like kitchen cabinets and other cabinets around your home, can benefit from a well-deserved refurbishment. If they’re looking worn and flaky, you don’t have to spend a fortune replacing them. A quick repaint job can help cover up a few surface flaws and protect your cabinets from further surface wear and tear.
While hiring an experienced painting contractor like Serious Business Painting is the best option, some homeowners prefer taking the challenge in their own hands by trying out DIY cabinet painting. But that often requires that you have some basic training, painting experience and the right tools. Having said that, here are bathroom cabinet painting tips to help you save time and money, and paint more efficiently.
Take Down the Doors and Drawers
Many DIY painters tend to take shortcuts in order to reduce the amount of labor needed. And this might include attempting to paint over everything in place. Well, that might work, but it will probably be a messy paint job with paint all over the hinges, handles, screws, and knobs.
Additionally, you will strain while painting some of the edges and corners that aren’t easily accessible while everything is still in place. So before you begin, take down all the doors and drawers, and remove hardware.
Clean Your Cabinets
The cabinet surfaces might look clean, but in reality, they have a thin, nearly invisible oily layer of grime and dirt. Paint won’t be able to adhere to such a surface and your results will be less admirable. Clean all the visible parts of the cabinets using a wet rug dipped into mineral spirits or soapy water, and then rinse with plenty of clean, plain water.
Don’t Skip the Primer
Before you start painting, it’s key to select a primer that’s recommended for the type of bathroom cabinet surface you have (wood, metal, or laminate), and have it tinted to the color of the topcoat. The primer improves the paint adhesion to the surface and as well as paint coverage. Tinting the primer helps to block any underlying dark colors of the previous finish so that they don’t show through your new coat.
Choosing the Paint
When choosing the paint for bathroom cabinets, painters have an option to choose between acrylic enamel paint and alkyd paint. Working with alkyd paints require sufficient ventilation, but they tend to provide a hard, durable paint finish. Acrylic, or water-based paints, on the other hand, are low-fumed and clean up easily with water. You might also want to choose semi-gloss or gloss paints which typically resist high moisture levels better than the flat or matte paints.
Sand Cabinets
You need to remove any loose old paint from the surface before painting can begin. Without this, your paint job might start failing prematurely. Using an orbital sander, scrape off as much paint as you can to leave behind an even, smooth surface. Once finished, clean all the surfaces to be painted using a damp cloth to get rid of sanding debris.
Don’t Paint on Wet Surfaces
After the initial cleaning, give the cabinets enough time to dry before applying the primer. Similarly, allow the primer as well as the subsequent paint layers to dry before applying another coat. Painting over wet surfaces generally reduces the paint adherence and will most likely create a colorful mess.
The Bottom Line
If your bathroom cabinets are still in great physical shape but are looking a little worn out, you don’t have to replace them. A quick paint job could easily restore its aesthetic appeal and value.
If you don’t have the time, skill or tools to repaint your bathroom cabinets, Serious Business Painting can help. We are currently serving the areas of Louisville, Shelby County, Oldham County, Anchorage, Prospect, and Jefferson Town, Kentucky. Simply book a FREE estimate below or call us 502-641-7969 if you need any more information.
