How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets: 10 Steps and What Pros Charge

To paint kitchen cabinets, remove the doors and hardware, degrease every surface, scuff sand or degloss, prime with a bonding primer, and apply two thin coats of a cabinet-grade enamel, then let the finish cure before heavy use. The steps in order:

1. Remove the doors, drawers and hardware, and label everything.
2. Degrease every surface.
3. Repair dents, holes and loose joints.
4. Scuff sand, or degloss if you want to skip sanding.
5. Remove every trace of dust.
6. Prime with a bonding primer.
7. Caulk the gaps on the boxes.
8. Apply the first thin coat of cabinet enamel.
9. Apply the second coat and let it cure.
10. Rehang the doors and reinstall the hardware carefully.

Cost: published national ranges vary widely, from about $425 to $1,466 (Angi) to $2,000 to $6,500 (HomeGuide) for a typical professional job, or roughly $30 to $70 per linear foot.

• What you need
• 1. Remove the doors and hardware
• 2. Degrease every surface
• 3. Repair dents, holes and joints
• 4. Scuff sand, or skip sanding
• 5. Remove every trace of dust
• 6. Prime with a bonding primer
• 7. Caulk the gaps
• 8. Apply the first coat
• 9. Second coat and cure
• 10. Rehang the doors
• Interesting facts about painting cabinets
• How much to paint kitchen cabinets
• Finished cabinet projects
• DIY or hire a crew?
• Frequently asked questions

• Cleaning: a degreaser or TSP substitute, clean rags and clean water.
• Surface prep: wood filler, fine sandpaper (about 220 grit) or a sanding sponge, and optionally a liquid deglosser.
• Priming: a bonding primer, plus a stain-blocking primer for knots and stains.
• Painting: a cabinet-grade enamel, a quality brush and a fine foam roller, or a sprayer.
• Extras: paintable caulk, painter's tape, labeled bags, a vacuum, a tack cloth or damp microfiber, and bumper pads.

Take every door and drawer front off, remove the hinges, knobs and pulls, and label each piece and its matching spot on the cabinet box with painter's tape. Lay the doors flat on a work surface, and keep the hardware in labeled bags so everything goes back exactly where it came from.

Painting doors flat gives a smoother finish than painting them hanging, and it keeps paint off the hinges. If you plan to replace the hardware, check that the new pulls match the existing hole spacing, or plan to fill and redrill the holes.

Clean the doors, drawer fronts and boxes with a degreaser or TSP substitute, paying extra attention near the stove and around the pulls. Rinse with clean water and let everything dry fully. Cooking grease and hand oil prevent primer and paint from adhering, so this step protects every step after it.

A TSP substitute or a dedicated cabinet degreaser both work. Keep cleaning until a rag comes away without residue, and let the surfaces dry completely before you sand or degloss.

Fill dents, scratches and old hardware holes with wood filler, let it dry fully, and sand it flush. Re-glue any loose edges or trim, and tighten hinge screws that have worked loose. Paint, especially in satin or semi-gloss, shows flaws that a stain might hide, so repairs matter.

A few minutes per door here is the difference between a finish that looks factory-made and one that looks painted over.

Lightly scuff sand every surface with fine sandpaper, about 220 grit, or a sanding sponge to dull the gloss. How to paint kitchen cabinets without sanding is possible when the existing finish is sound: wipe on a liquid deglosser, then use a bonding primer, which gives the paint something to grip.

Can you paint kitchen cabinets without sanding?

Often, yes. Angi notes you can skip sanding as long as the surface is in good, stable condition, using a liquid deglosser and a bonding primer. Follow the product directions, and treat peeling or damaged finishes differently: those need to be scraped or sanded first.

Vacuum the surfaces, then wipe them with a damp microfiber cloth or a tack cloth and let them dry. Sanding dust trapped under primer shows up as a gritty texture that topcoats cannot hide. Clean the work area too, because dust that settles on wet paint can leave a rough finish.

Close vents and doors while you work if you can, so less dust moves around the room.

Apply a bonding primer made for slick surfaces in one thin, even coat; two thin coats beat one thick coat. Use a stain-blocking primer on knots, tannin bleed or water stains. Let the primer dry fully, then lightly sand with fine grit and wipe off the dust before painting.

An extra coat of bonding primer can keep wood color from leaking into the paint, and on open-grain woods such as oak a grain filler helps hide the grain pattern.

Run a thin bead of paintable caulk along seams where face frames meet walls or panels, then smooth it with a damp finger and let it cure before painting. Keep caulk off the doors themselves, because door gaps need to stay open so the doors can move.

Caulked seams make painted cabinets look intentional and built-in. Check the caulk's label for its cure time before you paint over it.

Use a cabinet-grade enamel, such as a waterborne alkyd or urethane, and apply a thin, even coat with a foam roller on the flat areas and a quality brush on the details, or spray it. Thin coats level smoother and cure harder than one thick coat.

Wall paint is not designed for the constant touching and cleaning that cabinets get, which is why cabinet enamels exist. In satin or semi-gloss they also wipe clean more easily than a flat finish.

Let the first coat dry for the time on the can, sand lightly with 220 grit, wipe off the dust, and apply a second thin coat. Paint can feel dry within hours but keeps hardening for much longer, so follow the label's cure time and handle the doors gently until then.

Keep the doors flat while they dry, and out of dust and foot traffic.

Once the finish is hard enough to handle, reinstall the hardware and rehang the doors in their labeled positions. Adjust the hinges so the gaps are even and every door closes without rubbing, and add soft bumper pads so painted surfaces do not stick to the boxes while the finish cures.

Be gentle while the finish continues to harden: avoid harsh cleaners and do not hang damp towels on the doors.

How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets? Published national ranges vary widely: Angi reports typical professional jobs of about $425 to $1,466, while HomeGuide reports $2,000 to $6,500 for an average kitchen. Both put pros at roughly $30 to $70 per linear foot, so your total depends on how many cabinets you have.

These are national ranges from Angi’s painting guide, Angi’s resurfacing guide, HomeGuide and Fixr. The guides disagree, so treat them as starting points rather than local prices.

How much does it cost to repaint kitchen cabinets?

Pros price a repaint the same way as a first paint job, by the linear foot or per door, so the ranges above apply. What changes is the prep: well-bonded old paint needs a light scuff or deglosser, while peeling paint has to be removed first. HomeGuide lists about $30 to $70 per linear foot and $70 to $125 per door, and Angi lists $30 to $60 per linear foot and $100 to $250 per door.

Cabinet refinishing cost

Cabinet refinishing keeps the wood grain with a new stain or clear coat, and Angi lists it at $2,000 to $7,000. The price depends on how much stripping or sanding the old finish needs.

DIY works if you have time, a clean space to lay doors flat and patience for thin coats, and the result depends almost entirely on prep. Hire a crew when you want a sprayed, factory-smooth finish, have many doors, or would rather not spend days on prep and drying.

A professional kitchen cabinet painting crew brings spray equipment, a controlled drying space and a system for getting doors back without scuffs, and a sprayed finish can look smoother than a brushed one. If the project is turning into more than paint, our kitchen remodeling team handles jobs that go past cabinets.

Painted cabinets are often part of a wider refresh, and our interior painting crew can do the walls and trim in the same visit. If you are choosing a color, our look at kitchen cabinet color trends is a good starting point. You can see finished work on our work page, or get a free quote for your kitchen.