Can You Paint Over Cabinets Without Sanding?
Skipping the sanding step is OK if you’re making a change from one newly painted surface to another, or painting raw, unvarnished wood cabinets. If your cabinets are damaged or have peeling paint or really shiny surfaces, either from the material or a shiny coating, you’ll probably need to lightly sand to help the new paint bond better. But if the doors are smooth (not slick) to the touch, you can likely skip the sanding step, as long as you do a few bits of prep first! If you don’t want to sand before you prime, use some mineral spirits and a rough sponge to clean and lightly rough up the cabinet area you’re painting. This doesn’t open up the wood cabinet material as much as sanding but does get you some additional grippy area for the primer to adhere to.
Steps for Painting Kitchen Cabinets (Without Sanding)
Follow these steps for painting your cabinets without the added step of sanding them down first.
Best Paint for Wood Cabinets
Start with the right primer. You’re going to want that great paint to really grip the surface of your cabinets. Primer helps it hold on and covers up old stains and dark colors—helpful if you’re going from dark to light shades. Make sure your primer is designed for use on cabinetry (instead of plaster walls). Look for formulas with “bonding primers” built for hard-to-tackle surfaces. The better quality paint you can buy, the better your results will be. In the kitchen, you also want a hard-working paint that can really take the heat (and moisture) of your daily culinary endeavors. Look for formulas with high percentages of titanium dioxide pigment, instead of the cheaper calcium carbonate. For kitchens, much like bathrooms, we recommend moisture and mildew-resistant paint that won’t peel, even when it’s subject to lots of steam. A satin or semigloss paint works best in the kitchen. (For paint recommendations, Read This Before You Paint.) Made especially to address for the smells of an active kitchen are new paints and varnishes that claim to absorb new odors, not just mask old ones. Some Options Include:
Zero-VOC Harmony interior latex paint, $58.99 per gallon; Sherwin-Williams.com ECOS Paints interior air-purifying varnish, $45.65 per quart; ecospaints.net
Materials Needed for This Project
You don’t always have to sand, but you should make sure that your cabinet surfaces are very clean. You wouldn’t want to go through all the trouble of painting only to have it flaking off months later!
Clean all surfaces with a good grease-cutting soap, like dish soap and water. You can also use a mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Or use straight vinegar left on for about 5 minutes, to soften any hardened grease. Get a gentle scrubber. Need to attack a bit of angled cabinet trim? You can get at those pesky grease splatters and dried spaghetti sauce with a microfiber sponge or a product like a Mr. Clean magic eraser. Choose the right paintbrush for the job. To apply your primer and paint to cabinetry, we like a 2½-inch angled brush and a small 4-6” roller.
Watch Kevin walk you through an alternative process using a kit in our video How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Without Stripping.
