Updating your Toronto kitchen by painting your cabinets is exciting. It is understandable that you want to get the job done as quickly as possible, but careful preparation is necessary to ensure that you get a professional looking finish.
Protect your kitchen and appliances
Before you do anything, you need to cover the area around your cabinets with drop cloths or plastic tarps to protect your tiles, carpets and appliances. Protect the walls behind the cabinets by applying painters tape along the edges of the cabinets.
Prepping your Cabinets
If possible, remove the cabinet doors from the cabinets. This may seem like a time consuming exercise but it will make painting the cabinets and doors easier and less messy, and protect the surfaces and furniture around the cabinets from drips and splatters. It will also enable you to do a neater, more professional looking job. Label the doors, by writing their location on the back with a pencil, before you remove them so that you know where they go when you put them back.
Remove all the hardware, like handles or hinges, to make it quicker and easier to paint the cabinet doors. This will also protect your hardware if you wish to reuse it. If you can’t remove the hardware, cover it with painters tape and make sure you press the tape down securely so that paint doesn’t seep underneath it.
Cleaning your Cabinets
Your kitchen cabinets are exposed to a lot of grease and cooking grime. Before you paint, you need to clean the cabinets properly or the paint will not adhere to them. Use trisodium phosphate (TSP), xylol or a TSP substitute to remove dirt, grease and grime. Dip a cloth into the cleaning solution and rub it vigorously across the surface of the cabinets. Always wear gloves and a mask when using chemical cleaners. Wipe the cleaner off with a damp cloth and dry the cabinet with a wet towel.
Now you your cabinets are ready to prime and paint.
Visit your local Toronto cabinet painting experts for more advice on how to give your kitchen a cost effective makeover.
