How To Paint Laminate Cabinets Without Sanding | Shanetta DIY Life

 How To Paint Laminate Cabinets Without Sanding

Simply put, Painting laminate cabinets is not hard at all. I know it may seem intimidating, but you got this!

The number one thing you want to always remember is that you will need primer. I get it from many people and many products that you do not need primer. 

You may want to save a couple of bucks, but if you also searched on YouTube and see how many people have done their cabinets without primer, they now have issues, need to take everything off and start from scratch, or decided to just live with the outcome.

I did this, and I was so tired from all the steps, but the finish results make it all worth it.

Here is a step-by-step video

Things you will need to purchase

1. Paint

2. Primer

3. Paintbrush/roller

4. Paint sprayer 

5. Painters tape

6. Plastic protective film

7. Acetone or paint remover

8. Stir sticks - free at Home Depot or Lowe's

9. Liquid sandpaper - optional

10. Music to help you get through this project

Here are the general steps to paint laminate cabinets without sanding.

1. Take the doors off of the cabinets. TIP: use a piece of tape to put on the cabinet and where it came from to know which door goes where.

2. Clean off the doors with an excellent cleaner to remove dirt and grease, and then apply some liquid sandpaper if you choose. I did this to ensure I was getting the best surface for everything else about to be used on these cabinets. But totally optional!

Protect your area: use the plastic protective film to cover all areas you do not want paint on when using your spray gun for your base cabinet or even your cabinet doors. 

Making sure the areas are indeed taken down by the wind from the spray gun will indeed make the plastic fly all about.

3. Now, you will put two coats of primer, allowing them to fully dry in between each coat.

4. Once the primer is dry, you will apply your topcoat two coats or more, depending on your preference.

5. Once the topcoat is dry, you will put the hardware back onto each cabinet door and hang it back up.

Paintbrush vs. paint roller vs. spray gun

When painting cabinets using your paintbrush would be perfect for applying primer only. It will look ugly, but this will all be covered by your topcoat. The goal is to cover all the surfaces with the primer to allow the topcoat to adhere and be durable.

You may not be able to use your paint roller on certain surfaces because it may be too small, and this is where the spray gun comes into play.

I use a combination of all three When painting these cabinets. You can watch it here.

For the base cabinets, I strictly use the spray gun so that it can get every nook and cranny without me worrying about going over it multiple times with a roller or paintbrush. You would use your plastic film to cover the holes to avoid paint on anything inside your cabinet.

I know it may seem intimidating, and trust me, this is a very long, tedious process, but making your home how you want takes a little bit of effort, and you will love the results.