#How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets - The Frugal Girl

Last summer, I tackled the project of painting my worn, outdated kitchen cabinets. I m super happy with the results, but oof.В  It was a big project, and I m glad I won t have to do this again soon!

I don t have a huge kitchen, but it still was a really time consuming project, and having my kitchen taken apart was a little bit inconvenient.

But hello! They look so, so, so much better now.

My cabinets are made of real wood, and aside from the worn finish, they were in pretty good shape, so it made a lot of sense to paint them rather than replace them.

The Cost

I spent $50 for a gallon of Benjamin Moore Advance paint, $35 for a gallon of primer, $15 for tack cloth and brushes, and $35 on new hinges (I kept the old handles.)

So I managed to rejuvenate my cabinets for less than $150 (plus lots of labor hours!)

The gallon of paint was more than enough to cover the fronts and backs of all my doors and drawers with multiple coats, so I ve got plenty left for touch-ups.

The Time

I wish I d kept a more detailed log of the hours I spent on this, but it s difficult to calculate.В  I did it in bits and pieces while still cooking and doing laundry and grocery shopping and serving at church, so the hours of painting and sanding and such were inextricably mixed in with other activities.

If I d been able to work on it undistracted, nonstop, I think I could have gotten it done in five days.В  As it was, the process spread over a 3-4 week time frame.

If pressed, I d say it took about 40 hours of labor.

The Paint

I opted to use an oil-based primer and a latex paint.В  The oil-based primer helps the paint to stick better, but I read that oil-based white paint sometimes yellows with time. Plus, oil-based paint is reallyВ  just a pain to work with, so I wanted to avoid that if possible.

I used Benjamin Moore Advance paint, which is designed for painting cabinets, and after a year of using my newly painted cabinets, I m pretty pleased with how it s holding up.В  There are a few spots where someone has dinged up a door, but I can touch those up pretty easily, and I think that type of thing can happen no matter what finish you use.

Brushing vs. Spraying

I know that spraying cabinets is the very best way to get a smooth, professional finish, but I did not want to take my cabinet frames off of the wall, and I also wasn t at all interested in enclosing my whole kitchen in paint-proof plastic drop cloths so I could spray inside.

If I d had to face that prospect, I d never have gotten this project done, so I decided to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good and opted for brushing.

If you use good paint and carefully do thin coats of a self-leveling paint like the Benjamin Moore Advance, you can get a pretty darn smooth finish without the headache of spraying.

I m totally happy with my decision and wouldn t change a thing.

Here are the basic steps I used.