How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Without Sanding or Priming(5 Easy Steps)

Last Updated on June 27, 2022

A well-decorated and unique-looking kitchen cabinet adds to the overall aesthetics of your kitchen. However, achieving such an extreme look and eye-pleasing paint isn’t so easy. In fact, painting the kitchen cabinets is one of the most daunting tasks you could ever face. Especially when the dust and mess start coming from the sanding and priming.

Thus, you may be interested to know how to paint kitchen cabinets without sanding or priming. Well, we have fixed a great solution for you regarding the issue. You can quickly use a deglosser instead of sanding the cabinet doors and surface.

The process is a great hack if you want to upgrade and repaint your kitchen cabinets quickly without any dusty mess. We recommended HVLP kitchen cabinets paint sprayers for repainting overnight.

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Without Sanding or Priming

When you start preparing the kitchen cabinet for painting, the chances are high that you will be overwhelmed with the number of tasks. From priming to sanding and from removing drawers to getting the right paint, everything seems a massive workload on your shoulder.

Also, sanding brings dust and messiness with it. One way of easing out your kitchen cabinet painting is to avoid the sanding and priming, too, if possible. 

You will need-

  • An enamel paint
  • Roller and paintbrush
  • Degreaser and deglosser liquid
  • A clean piece of cloth
  • Sponge for scrubbing
  • Screwdriver

Step 1: Selecting and Preparing the Workspace

You should make no mistake that a kitchen cabinet is a heavyweight furniture. You may not be able to move it too far without anyone’s help. Hence, you should be prepared to paint the cabinet right where it is. Fortunately, you can remove the drawers and doors to paint them outside.

You should use a wrapper to spread it over the kitchen floor and underneath the cabinet. It will allow you to keep the floor clean and avoid mess. Also, select a well-ventilated space to paint the cabinet drawers and doors. Also, spread them properly over plastic or a piece of old rag. It permits you to print them without dipping paint on the floor.

Step 2: Remove the Drawers and Doors

Pull the drawers and check inside accurately. If there’s anything inside the drawers, arrange them safely in your kitchen. Then, keep the drawer outside where you want to paint them. At times you have to lift the drawer slightly to remove it from the tracks.

Use a drill machine to remove the hinge from the cabinet door. It allows you to remove the door and get easy access to the shelves. However, you may find removing and reattaching the door hinge and screws a daunting task.

So, you may leave it and continue the paint job. If you don’t want to remove the doors, simply keep them open by a heavyweight. It will restrict the door from coming in towards the shelf. You may also want to remove the shelves to paint them to match the cabinet exterior. If the shelves aren’t connected using screws instead of tracks, you can remove them at ease.

Step 3: Clean the Cabinet Parts

Since we will not use sandpaper or primer during the cabinet painting process, we have to find an alternative to clean the parts of it. Sanding prepares the cabinet surface by removing the dust and unevenness to ensure a smooth finish.

You can achieve the same by cleaning the cabinet with a degreaser or cleaning agent. Apply the degreaser to the drawers, shelves, and inside the cabinet. Also, use it on the upper and lower surface of the kitchen cabinet.

Now, use a sponge to scrub off the grime, debris, and dust from the drawers, doors, shelves, and other sections of the cabinet. You should rub the sponge with optimal pressure to remove debris as much as possible.

We recommend you repeat the cleaning process at least twice. It ensures that all the gunk and grime are wiped out of the cabinet effectively. Also, don’t scrub the sponge on a specific area for too long with too much pressure. It may damage the wood or lamination.

Finally, rinse off the water using a dry and clean piece of cloth.

Also, you have to wait to dry the cabinet entirely. You should never apply paint on a wet surface. If you are in a hurry, you may use a fan to speed up the drying process.

Step 4: Use Deglosser On the Drawers and Doors

You should get the deglossing liquid easily from the home improvement or paint stores. Pour some liquid on a clean piece of cloth. Now, gently rub it over the drawers and doors of the kitchen cabinet in an even direction.

The use of a deglosser will remove the excess dust and debris from the kitchen drawers and doors as they are more prone to grime.

Step 5: Panting the Entire Cabinet

You will need both a paintbrush and roller for painting the cabinet. Start by applying paint over the backside of the cabinet. Dip the roller in the paint and roll it smoothly over the surface. Since the backside is smooth and has the least crevices, you should get a smooth finish.

Finish the backside paint with a fine bristled brush. It restricts the paint from creating bubbles. Once the backside is dried, you can paint the front side.

In the meantime, use the roller brush to paint the cabinet door and drawers outside. Also, paint the shelves if you have taken them out of the cabinet. Once you have coated them with the roller brush, use a finer paintbrush to finish off the coating.

When the backside is dried, use the paintbrush to paint the front of the cabinet. Make sure you reach every corner.

After the 1st coat dries, apply a second coat of enamel paint on each part of the cabinet following the same directions. Lastly, you may wax the doors and surface to protect the paint better. But it is an optional advantage.

Once the 2nd coat dries, reassemble the cabinet shelves, drawers, and doors. Make sure you don’t damage the paint, especially around the edges.

Conclusion

You may choose a glossy or matte finish to paint the kitchen cabinets. The key is to match it with the kitchen interior. The steps described here on how to paint kitchen cabinets without sanding or priming are applicable to all types of paint material.

Also, painting the kitchen cabinets without sanding helps you get rid of the unnecessary mess. However, you have to be cautious during the cleaning step with deglosser and degreasing liquids since it will work as an alternative to sanding. Make sure you have removed the debris appropriately and didn’t hurt the wooden structure.