The short answer
You can paint kitchen cabinets and have them look great for years, but almost all of the work is in the prep, not the painting. Cabinets that peel or chip a few months later were almost always painted over grease, glossy finish or bare wood with no primer. Clean, scuff-sand, prime with the right primer, then use a paint made for cabinets. Skip any of those and the paint has nothing to hold on to.
Is it worth painting them?
If the boxes are solid and the doors still close properly, painting is usually the cheapest way to change how a kitchen looks. If the cabinets are water-damaged, sagging or coming apart, paint will not fix that. Fix or replace those first.
What you'll need
- Degreaser and clean rags
- Screwdriver or drill, plus bags and masking tape for hardware
- Sandpaper or sanding sponges (fine grit), and a tack cloth or damp rag
- Wood filler for old screw holes and dings
- A bonding primer (a stain-blocking one if the wood is dark, knotty or stained)
- A cabinet-grade enamel, which is built to harden and take wear
- A good brush and a small foam or fine-nap roller, or a sprayer if you have experience with one
- Painter's tape, drop cloths and good light
Step by step
- Remove the doors, drawers and hardware. Number each door and its opening with tape so everything goes back where it came from. Painting them flat on a table gives a smoother finish than painting them hanging.
- Clean them properly. Kitchen cabinets carry cooking grease, even where it looks clean. Wash with a degreaser, rinse, and let them dry fully. Paint will not stick to grease.
- Fill and repair. Fill old hardware holes and dents, let the filler dry, and sand it flush.
- Scuff-sand everything. You're not stripping the finish, just dulling it so the primer can grip. Wipe off all the dust afterwards.
- Prime. Use a bonding primer. If the cabinets are oak, you will still see the grain through the paint unless you fill it; decide up front whether you want that look.
- Paint in thin coats. Two thin coats look better and hold up better than one thick one. Sand lightly between coats if the label says to.
- Let it cure. Dry to the touch is not the same as cured. Follow the can for how long to wait before you hang the doors and before you put anything heavy or wet against them.
Why paint peels or chips
- Grease or soap film left on the surface
- Painting over a glossy finish without sanding or a bonding primer
- Wall paint instead of a paint made for cabinets
- Thick coats that never harden properly
- Putting the doors back on before the paint has cured
Before you start: old paint
If your house was built before 1978, the paint on the cabinets may contain lead. Sanding it makes dust. Test it first (hardware stores sell test kits) and follow the EPA's lead-safe practices, or have someone qualified do it.
Should you do it yourself?
Painting cabinets is doable for a patient homeowner. It's slow, it takes over the kitchen for a while, and the result depends on the care taken at each step. If you don't have a spot to lay doors flat while they dry, or you want a sprayed finish, hiring it out is worth a look.
DRAFT NOTE for the owner: if you do cabinet painting in Idaho and Washington, say so here in your own words, and add anything you'd want people to know about how you prep and finish them. I did not state that you offer it because the source I was given doesn't say.
What to do next
If you'd like someone to look at your cabinets and tell you honestly whether paint will work, request a consultation and tell me what the cabinets are made of and what shape they're in.