Painting Formica Kitchen Cabinets

If you are thinking about painting Formica kitchen cabinets, be sure to understand that Formica is not a material to which it is easy to apply a coat of paint to. Formica happens to be non-porous and it is also very smooth which in turn make it hard for the paint to adhere to the surface. Fortunately, it is possible to paint Formica kitchen cabinets although the task will take some time to complete.

Things you need

• Screwdriver
• Electric sander
• Primer
• paint

Here is a look at how you can go about painting Formica kitchen cabinets.

1. Remove cabinet doors and hardware

Start off by removing the cabinet doors and also take out all hardware as this makes the task of painting Formica kitchen cabinets that much easier. In case some of the hardware is to be replaced or changed, be sure to fill the holes with spackle. Next, take each door and clean it thoroughly with a mixture involving a cup of ammonia and a gallon of warm water. This mixture will help in removing all traces of grease and build up. Allow the cabinet doors to dry before proceeding further.

2. Use an electric sander

With an electric sander, sand the doors with some fine grit sandpaper. If an electric sander is not available, you will need to do the sanding manually. Each part of the surface of the door should be sanded including its edges. Be sure to sand in an even and uniform manner and wait till the surface states to feel a bit rough as well as grainy.

After sanding the doors, it is time to wipe the cabinet with a rag. Be sure to remove all traces of dirt and dust and if any part of the cabinet is to be left unpainted, be sure to cover those areas with some painter’s tape. Now, it is time to apply the primer.

3. Apply two or three coats of primer

Apply between two or three coats of primer. A thick primer is recommended and it should be applied to every part of the surface that is to be painted. While priming, be sure to check whether the primer is being accepted. If some spots are not accepting the primer it shows that the sanding was not done properly on those areas. To fix this problem, remove the primer from the spot(s) and sand those parts once more. Clean the dust from the sanding before applying the primer once again.

After each coat of primer has been applied, allow some time for the primer to dry up completely. The final coat of primer should be allowed to dry for between twelve and twenty-four hours. After that, it is time to apply the paint to the Formica kitchen cabinet.

It normally takes about two coats of paint to get desired results. The first coat and the subsequent coat will be soaked into the primer and if you have used high quality paint the results will be pleasing. Allow the first coat of paint to dry and then apply the next coat. This is all that it takes to paint your Formica kitchen cabinet. Of course, after the paint has dried there is still needed to replace the hardware and to reattach the cabinet doors.

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