How to paint my bathroom cabinets like a pro?

by delavin home
Sources SVG
Sources
How to paint your bathroom cabinets - Rust-oleum
rustoleumcolours.co.uk favicon
rustoleumcolours.co.uk
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1
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity Cabinet
lovegrowswild.com favicon
lovegrowswild.com
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2
How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity - Tutorial | Benjamin Moore
www.benjaminmoore.com favicon
www.benjaminmoore.com
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3
How to Paint Bathroom Cabinets - The Spruce
www.thespruce.com favicon
www.thespruce.com
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4
Sources SVG
Answer
To paint your bathroom cabinets like a pro, follow these steps:
  1. Prepare the Area:
    • Remove all items from the cabinets and cover the surrounding area with a drop cloth to protect it from sanding dust and paint.
    • Remove all hardware, including hinges, knobs, and pulls, and label the back of each door and drawer for reassembly23.
  2. Clean and Degrease:
    • Clean the cabinets and drawers with a degreaser to remove dirt, dust, and stains. Ensure the surface is dry before painting123.
  3. Sand and Patch:
    • Fill any holes or scratches with wood putty or wood filler and allow it to dry.
    • Sand all surfaces with 150-grit sandpaper to remove the clear coat and any uneven paint. Switch to 220-grit sandpaper for a smooth finish23.
  4. Prime:
    • Apply painter's tape to the surrounding walls, floor, and underside of the vanity top to keep edges clean.
    • Use a high-quality primer, such as shellac or oil-based, to ensure good adhesion and a durable finish23.
  5. Paint:
    • Choose a paint specifically designed for bathroom cabinets, such as acrylic enamel or alkyd paint, which can withstand moisture and wear.
    • Apply the paint in even coats, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. Use a brush for intricate areas and a roller for larger surfaces123.
  6. Finish and Reassemble:
    • Once the paint is fully dry, reattach the hardware and replace the doors and drawers in their correct locations.
    • Stand back and admire your newly painted bathroom cabinets123.
By following these steps, you can achieve a professional-looking finish for your bathroom cabinets.

References

1. How to paint your bathroom cabinets - Rust-oleum2. Step-by-Step Guide: How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity Cabinet3. How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity - Tutorial | Benjamin Moore4. How to Paint Bathroom Cabinets - The Spruce5. How to Paint Bathroom Cabinets: A DIY Guide - Final Draft Cabinetry



Author: Lovely Etc.



Key insights

  • Before painting, it's important to start with prep to ensure the paint job looks good and doesn't peel off within weeks.
  • The simple trick to getting rid of wood grain on cabinets is using spackling instead of wood filler, and then sanding it smooth for a perfect finish.
  • Knowing when to sand and use primer when painting cabinets can be confusing, but it's crucial for a long-lasting paint job.
  • Using primer can prevent wood tannins from bleeding through and making your white paint yellow, especially on dark wood cabinets.
  • You can achieve a smooth paint finish on cabinets without using a paint sprayer, just high quality paint brushes and good rollers.
  • Sealing bathroom cabinets may take more time and money, but it's worth it for long-lasting results.
  • General finishes top coat is easy to apply and gives a smooth finish, making it a great choice for bathroom cabinets.
  • The right paint color can make a huge difference in transforming your bathroom cabinets.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Learn how to prep and paint your bathroom vanity for a smooth finish, including removing doors, cleaning, and using the right paint.
  • 01:24 Smooth out wood grain on oak cabinets, fill in with spackling, sand smooth, and fill old hardware holes with wood filler before painting for a fresh, smooth finish.
  • 04:04 Prepping cabinets for paint depends on the type and condition of the cabinets, as well as the type of paint being used.
  • 05:06 Use primer if your cabinets are super slick or dark wood, but if using general finishes milk paint on oak cabinets, you can skip the primer.
  • 06:33 Prep and clean cabinets, use high quality paint brushes and foam rollers for a smooth finish without sanding or a paint sprayer.
  • 08:11 Two coats of general finishes milk paint were enough for the vanity, but it's recommended to seal it with general finishes high performance top coat for durability.
  • 09:30 Use general finishes sealer for a smooth and durable finish on bathroom cabinets, applying it with a sponge for best results.
  • 11:02 Drill holes for new hardware, paint bathroom vanity, and subscribe for DIY projects and home ideas.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 Hi it's carrie from lovely etc. And today I'm going to show you how to paint your bathroom vanity. Painting a bathroom vanity is such an easy inexpensive way to completely change the way your bathroom looks. I'm going to be showing you step by step how to do it, what's the best paint to use and also sharing my trick for getting perfectly. Smooth paint finish even on oak cabinets with a heavy wood grain. So let's get started. So as much fun as it would be to dive in and just start rolling on the paint that is never a good idea. Before you paint anything you have to start with prep. That's what keeps your paint job looking good and not peeling off within weeks. So the first thing I'm going to do is remove these doors and all the hardware and give the whole thing a good cleaning. Cleaning is always the first step to painting anything whether it's furniture cabinets. Floors even walls if they're a mess. So you need to make sure that all the dust dirt grease is off so that the paint has somewhere to stick. I am using this Krud cutter pre-paint cleaner. I really like this but I also have had great luck using dawn dish soap in a spray bottle just mixed with water. You just spray it on. I like to just use paper towels. You can also use old rags. Clean it really well and then rinse it with some clean water. Okay once it's all clean.
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  • 01:24 Then you're ready to move to the next step. We're not painting yet. So my cabinet is oak and if you've ever felt or looked really closely at oak cabinets. Then you know that they have a really pronounced wood grain. It's so pronounced that even after you paint it you can still see lots of tiny little grooves and cracks where the wood grain is showing through. So when I painted my kitchen cabinets a few years ago. I learned a really great trick for smoothing out the wood grain so that your cabinets look like fresh smooth perfectly painted cabinets instead of old oak cabinets that have been painted. There's nothing wrong with oak cabinets that have been painted. Obviously I'm sitting here painting an oak cabinet. But when you take some extra time to smooth out the wood grain before you paint, it just gives it a really nice finish when you're done and it's really smooth and just looks a lot better in my opinion. So the simple trick to getting rid of the wood grain is spackling. Not wood filler which is what I had originally thought would probably make sense since its wood you know. Spackling which is the same stuff that you use to fill in little nail holes on your walls. So all you do is you get some spackling. This is the kind that starts out pink and then once it's dry it's white. Which is always nice just to know for sure yep definitely dry. So get a small plastic putty knife and some spackling and just smooth it over the surface of your cabinets pushing in a little bit so that the spackling fills in all those little tiny cracks that give that wood grain appearance. Okay now that the spackling is dry. It is time to sand it smooth using 220 grit sandpaper. Once all the extra spackling is sanded off you'll just see a very light layer really just filling in all of that wood grain. Then you can just wipe off any excess dust with a dry paper towel. Okay so these are my cabinet doors and I am going to be replacing the hardware with different hardware. So before I paint I'm going to fill in these old holes for the cabinet door knobs, for the cabinet pulls, with wood filler. And then I will simply sand it smooth so that I can drill the new holes for the new hardware.
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  • 04:04 Okay so let's talk about prepping your cabinets for paint for just a minute. This is where I think a lot of people get confused and everybody wants to do the right thing but a lot of times it's hard to know what is the right thing. How do you know when you need to sand? How do you know when you need to use primer and when you can skip it? Because nobody wants to be doing extra work that they don't really need to. But at the same time we want to make sure we do everything right so that our paint job lasts. So the kind of prep you need to do for your cabinets depends on two main things. One what kind of cabinets you're painting and what kind of condition they're in and two what kind of paint you're using to paint them. Are your cabinets super super shiny and slick? Then you probably do need to give them a light sanding before you can paint. Are your cabinets really rough to the touch and they've seen better days? Again a light sanding might be good to smooth them out. If you have standard builder basic cabinets you really don't need to sand them before you can paint. They're ready to go.
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  • 05:06 Primer. How do you know when you need to use it? It can be really confusing. Again if your cabinets are super slick primer's gonna help paint stick to them. If your cabinets are certain really dark woods and you're painting them white, primer is a great idea to make sure wood. Tannins aren't going to be bleeding through and making your white paint yellow. If you are using a paint that requires primer which includes any kind of latex paint then you need to start with a primer. So again it depends on what kind of cabinets you're painting and what kind of paint you're using. And I know it can be really confusing to figure all of that out for your specific situation. So I put together a free guide that walks you through the process of figuring out. Exactly what you need to do to prep your specific bathroom or kitchen cabinets for paint. And I'll put a link to that down in the description. And it's just a checklist and when you answer the questions it will help make it really clear what you need to do and what you can get by with skipping. For my cabinets I am using general finishes milk paint which is one of my favorite furniture painting paints. It's also really good for cabinets and because of that and because I have these oak builder basic cabinets. I can get away with skipping the primer. The paint that I'm using doesn't require primer and there's nothing about my cabinets that has a need for primer.
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  • 06:33 I can also go without sanding because they're not super shiny or slick or anything. So the only prep that you always have to do is cleaning. Even if it's brand new you should still clean it because who knows what got on there from the factory. Always clean and then for my specific cabinet. I also have decided to do this speckle technique to get rid of the wood grain. But that's totally optional. Okay so. I'm going to finish this and then we can finally get ready for the paint. I know a lot of people want to know if you can get a really smooth paint finish on cabinets without using a paint sprayer and you definitely can. I do have a paint sprayer and I've used it to paint various furniture. But I paint most of the things that I paint including my kitchen cabinets just using high quality paint brushes and good rollers. And that's what I'm going to be doing in here too. So I really like Purdy paintbrushes. I've also had good luck with these little small paint brushes from americana decor. They just give a really smooth finish. When it comes to paint rollers I usually use small foam paint rollers similar to this. These are usually labeled as being for cabinets and doors sometimes for trim and they will usually say they are for smooth surfaces. This is not any particular special brand. It's just off the shelf at the local store and really so far. I haven't found a lot of difference between the different brands.
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  • 08:11 Okay my vanity is all painted. I did two coats of general finishes milk paint and it covered really well so two coats was plenty. And now I am ready to do the sealer. I really consider just skipping the sealer because this paint technically doesn't have to be sealed. You can leave it with just the paint finish and it's durable. It's not like chalk paint but general finishes recommends that you only leave it unsealed if you are painting something that isn't a high use or high traffic surface. I think that probably we're going to be opening and closing these drawers and cabinets pretty much every day so to be safe. I think sealing is the right thing to do. It's going to take a little bit more time, a little bit more money. But I'd much rather put in a little bit more work now and get results that last for years than start having chips in a few months and really wish that. I had just gone one more step. So I'm using general finishes high performance top coat. This is my favorite sealer.
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  • 09:30 I use it on furniture all the time. It's really durable and the thing I love about it is. It's really easy to apply. A lot of furniture top coats are not that easy to apply. They're either drippy or they look milky or they yellow or they just don't go on smooth. And general finishes. I always have good luck with no matter. How I apply it without having to be super super finicky about it. So you can put it on with a high quality paint brush. You can use a foam brush. You can wipe it on with a rag which I do a lot of times. Today I am putting it on with this blue sponge. This is made by dixie bell paint company or I guess it's made by them. It's definitely sold by them and it is my new favorite tool for applying top coats to furniture just because it gives a perfectly smooth finish and also it's really easy to use. So I am going to put a coat of sealer on my vanity actually. I'm going to do two coats. I'll do one coat and then let it completely dry into a second coat and then put on the hardware and it'll be done. Just get a little bit here on your sponge and wipe it on. It's usually best to try to go in one direction if possible and to keep a wet edge. If you've heard people say that and never really understood what they're talking about, what they mean is wherever you stop brushing that's the wet edge. So you don't want this to dry before you continue to the edge. Okay I've done two coats of paint. It looks really good and it's been drying awhile so now.
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  • 11:02 I am just drilling the holes for my new hardware and I have already marked exactly where to drill. All right. I am so happy with how my bathroom vanity turned out and I love the paint color. If you haven't I would love for you to subscribe to me here at lovely etc. I share lots of inexpensive diy projects and ideas for creating a home you love and if you haven't seen it make sure you check out my full review of my 100 bathroom makeover. It is absolutely crazy how big a difference you can make with just a hundred dollars.
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