How to Paint Your Cupboards White

Update your kitchen cupboards with white paint.

Dark cabinets and cupboards can date a kitchen or make the entire room appear dark and dingy. Painting cupboards white to achieve a light airy feel in the room is much easier than you might think. Painting cabinets simply requires proper preparation and high-quality brushes and rollers to prevent brush marks on the finished surface.

Things You'll Need

• Drop cloths
• Screwdriver
• Resealable bag
• Bucket
• Soap
• Sponge
• Wood putty, optional
• Sandpaper
• Tack cloth
• White primer
• Paintbrush
• Paint roller
• Paint tray
• White paint

Instructions

1. Place drop cloths over the floor and any counter areas you want to protect.

2. Remove the hinges and knobs of the cupboards with a screwdriver. Place the hardware and screws in a resealable bag and store them in a safe place.

3. Cover a flat work surface with a drop cloth and set the cupboard doors and drawers on it.

4. Wash the surface of the cupboard doors, drawers and frame with soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Allow the cupboards to dry after washing.

5. Fill the holes left by the old hardware with wood putty using your fingers if you will be replacing the handles and knobs. If the new knobs are the same size, the existing holes can be reused.

6. Sand the wood on the drawer faces, doors and cabinet frame thoroughly. Sand in any decorative crevices and grooves as much as possible.

7. Clean the sanded surfaces with a tack cloth to remove sanding dust.

8. Apply white primer to the wood surfaces with a paintbrush or paint roller. Use a paintbrush in the grooves and a paint roller on the flat surfaces. Allow the primer to dry several hours.

9. Load a clean paintbrush with white paint and spread the paint into the grooves and decorative areas of the doors and drawers. Use the paintbrush on the areas of the cabinet frame that cannot be reached with a paint roller.

10. Pour paint into a roller tray and load a paint roller with white paint. The paint should not feel tacky on the roller and should not drip when lifted from the tray. Roll paint onto the cupboard doors, drawer faces and cabinet frames. Allow the paint to dry until it is dry to the touch.

11. Apply a second coat of paint with a clean paintbrush and paint roller and allow the paint to dry for several days before reassembling the cupboards.

Tips & Warnings

• Use high-gloss or semi-gloss paint for easy cleanup.

• Paint can take up to 30 days to fully cure, so keep the doors and drawers open and use the cupboards lightly for the first few weeks to avoid marking the new paint.

References

• Young House Love: How to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets
• Stretch: How to Paint Cabinets
• That Painter Lady: How to Paint Dark Wood Cabinets