HOW TO PAINT OAK CABINETS WHITE FOR A SMOOTH FINISH

Painting your kitchen cabinets can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be! I'm sharing my best tips for painting oak cabinets with white paint and how to get a perfectly smooth finish. 

MATERIALS FOR PAINTING CABINETS

MATERIALS FOR PAINTING CABINETS

– Cleaner – Painter's tape – Primer – Spackling – Small putty knife – 320 grit sandpaper – High quality paintbrush  – Small foam paint roller – A high quality paint

PAINTING OAK CABINETS WHITE STEP ONE: REMOVE THE DOORS Remove the cabinet doors and drawers. Label each door, drawer, and hinge as you remove them. You can place the hinges and hardware for each door in a labeled plastic bag.

STEP TWO: CLEAN THE CABINETS Clean your cabinet boxes, doors, and drawers well to remove any dust and grease. You can use TSP or Dawn dish soap which works just as well.

STEP THREE: APPLY A STAIN BLOCKER Paint a coat of DecoArt Stain Blocker onto all of the bare wood surfaces. This will prevent the tannins in the wood from bleeding through your fresh paint and causing yellowing. You can also use a good oil-based primer like Zinsser.

STEP FOUR: DEAL WITH THE WOOD GRAIN To smooth the heavy oak wood grain, use a putty knife to apply a very thin layer of spackle onto your cabinets. Once the spackling has dried, sand it smooth with 320 grit sandpaper. Once sanded, the spackle will only be left in the little crevices of the wood grain, leaving them smooth with the surface of the wood.

STEP FOUR: PAINT Use a foam roller to paint your cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and cabinet boxes. You can use a paintbrush to paint smaller areas the roller can't reach. You will need at least two coats of paint, possibly more if you are painting with pure white paint.

STEP FIVE: SAND SMOOTH BETWEEN COATS To get a very smooth paint finish on your cabinets, sand each flat surface with 320 grit sandpaper before painting your final coat of paint. Then brush on the final coat of paint rather than using the roller.

STEP SIX: REATTACH HARDWARE, DOORS AND DRAWERS Once your cabinets are completely dry, carefully reattach the cabinet doors, drawers, and hardware. Be extra gentle with your painted cabinets for the first few weeks until the paint is fully hardened.

Enjoy your beautiful updated kitchen cabinets!

Get the full step-by-step tutorial here.

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