Painting Metal Cabinets

Painting metal cabinets is often a lot better than buying a new metal cabinet. A new coat of paint can do wonders for your metal cabinet. Here is a look at some of the steps that you need to complete in order to get the job done:

Prepare the cabinet
Select a paint
Take out the drawers from your cabinet
Put the cabinet outside
Apply the primer
Apply top coat of paint
Let the paint dry out completely

1. Prepare the cabinet

The first step is to prepare the cabinet so that it is ready to receive new coats of paint. First of all, take out all the items from the drawers in the cabinet. Next, clean the cabinet thoroughly with a damp cloth and then let the cabinet dry. With some fine sandpaper, sand the cabinet and remove all traces of loose paint as well as rust from the surface. A good sanding will help ensure that the paint will adhere properly when applied.

2. Select a paint color

Now, it is time to pick a suitable paint color. Spray paint is a good idea as it works well with metal. Also, go out and buy some primer for metals. This primer helps in preventing rust. To know how much paint is required to paint your metal cabinet, check the label on the paint as it will show you how much you need to purchase.

3. Remove drawers

After obtaining suitable primer and paint, it is time to remove the drawers from the metal cabinet. The drawers can be painted separately. Some people prefer painting only the front of the drawers. It is up to you to decide on how much of the drawer you want to paint. If the handles are not to be painted, then remove these with the help of a screwdriver or you can cover them with painter’s tape.

4. Paint cabinet separately

The cabinet should be painted separately from the other parts of the cabinet. Place something beneath the cabinet and then take the spray paint can and the primer and shake them up before applying them. The paint should be shaken a few times while applying the paint.

5. Use color coordinating primer

Use a color coordinating primer to prime the cabinet and apply a single coat of primer. After applying the primer, you have to wait patiently for it to dry and then after the primer has dried out completely you should apply the top coat of paint.
To apply the top coat of paint, you should spray the cabinet from a few inches distance. When spraying the top coat of paint on the cabinet makes sure that you use proper back and forth motions and also ensure that you spray light coats of paint. There is no sense in applying a thick coat of paint as you will be applying a second coat of paint later on.

Check the label on the paint can to find out how much time you need to wait for the coat of paint to dry up completely. After the paint has dried up you can then move the cabinet back to where it was installed prior to the painting work.