Painting Kitchen Cabinets in Place
Nothing about a cabinet door looks dirty until the first coat of primer beads up on it. The running record painting contractor carlsbad ca la cosa preziosa holds shows that kitchen cabinet painting in Carlsbad, CA fails at the prep stage far more often than at the topcoat. A painter who skips the degreaser is repainting the same doors in two years.
Degreasing comes first
Cooking vapor leaves a film of oil on the doors beside the stove and on the frames above the range. A strong degreaser and clean rags take it off, followed by a clear water wipe. Sanding over grease just drives it into the wood grain.
Doors off, boxes in place
Doors and drawer fronts come off, get numbered on the back, and go to a spray station in the garage or a side room. The face frames and boxes stay on the wall, taped and papered. Hinges are removed and bagged by position so the doors rehang square.
Sanding and filling
A scuff sand with medium paper dulls the old finish so primer can grip. Open grain on oak, common in 1980s kitchens, shows through the topcoat unless a grain filler is skimmed on and sanded flat. Dings and old hinge holes are filled with an auto body filler or a hard spackle, not soft wall compound.
Primer and topcoat
A bonding primer goes on first, either an oil based or a waterborne product made for slick surfaces. After a light sand, two coats of cabinet enamel follow. Hybrid alkyd enamels level out brush marks and cure hard. A satin or semi gloss sheen wipes clean, while flat is too soft for a kitchen.
Spraying versus brushing
An airless sprayer or a fine finish sprayer gives a smooth film with no roller stipple. Brush and roller work is possible with a short nap foam roller, but the finish shows lap marks if the paint skins over. In the newer La Costa homes with flat slab doors, spraying is nearly always the better choice.
Cure time and living with it
Paint feels dry in hours but takes days to harden. Doors are left unhung overnight, then rehung with felt bumpers in place, and heavy use waits a few days. Coastal humidity slows the cure, so a week of gentle handling is normal.