Easiest Way To Paint Bathroom Cabinets – If you’re staring a bathroom remodeling budget in the face, you can Google “how to paint bathroom cabinets.” I have done many remodels and rearranging bathroom cabinets is a definite win in my book! Through my many bathroom renovations, I’ve perfected how to paint bathroom cabinets without sanding in these 8 essential steps!
Sanding cabinets is very messy, labor intensive and time consuming. If I can avoid grinding into a project, I will!
Easiest Way To Paint Bathroom Cabinets
If you are interested, you can learn how I painted all my furniture without sanding in this article!
How To Paint Bathroom Cabinets Without Sanding (8 Vital Steps)
The key to painting shelves without sanding is to replace the sanding step with another option (ie step 5 in my process!). If you ignore it completely, your color will not last.
Sanding gives the paint grip and tang to the cabinet. Painting on an unprepared smooth surface can cause chipping and cracking.
If you don’t sand or use an alternative method to prepare the box, your paint job won’t last long.
In my humble opinion, there is nothing worse than skipping a step to save time in order to spend more hours working on repairs.
Our Master Bathroom Vanity Makeover
The best paint for bathroom cabinets is an oil-based paint or enamel paint. These are the two most stable options for high traffic areas.
Of course, you can avoid basic latex paint or interior alkyd paint with proper preparation and sealing. Each type of paint has its pros and cons, which I’ve explained in this post!
Choosing paint colors for bathroom cabinets is largely influenced by personal preference and whether it will be a high-traffic area.
If you want to learn more about choosing colors for different projects below, you can get my free color guide!
Modern Bathroom Cabinet Vanity Makeover Ideas
In general, stability ranges from worst to best. Colors are least durable with flat gloss and most durable with glossy finish.
Results may vary slightly with each paint brand, but basic glosses range from most durable to least durable:
In a high-traffic area, you’ll want to stick with a more durable gloss. I personally wouldn’t go below a satin finish, but my first choice would be semi-gloss.
If you want a high-end or modern look, you should choose high gloss! Be careful, glossy finish, more fingerprints and smudges will appear.
How To Paint Bathroom Cabinets The Easy Way
Painting unpainted wood cabinets is a slightly different process than repainting previously painted cabinets. However, both can be done without sanding!
If you have a painted bathroom, you need to make sure what kind of paint was used before. Applying latex paint over previous oil-based paint without a primer will not allow them to bond properly.
If you don’t know what type of paint was previously used, be safe and use a high adhesion primer, which I recommend whether your cabinets were previously painted or not.
I hope these questions help you as you plan your bathroom cabinet makeover! Now let’s see how to paint bathroom cabinets without sanding in 8 easy steps.
Before & After: My Pretty Painted Bathroom Vanity
The first step to getting a professional finish on your bathroom cabinets is to prepare them for a smooth surface.
If your vanity is painted, use a plastic putty knife to remove any scratches or peeling paint. Be careful not to damage the remaining finish.
If your vanity is painted, check it to make sure the paint hasn’t chipped anywhere. Stir it lightly if necessary.
Once the wood putty is dry you will need to sand the damaged areas to create a smooth surface for your paint.
Painting A Bathroom Vanity (without Sanding!)
If you skip steps 1-2, your bathroom cabinet will show these defects after painting. These are the most important first steps that many overlook to ultimately achieve a professional result.
If you give your vanity a fresh coat of paint, chances are you’ll change your wardrobe.
Before proceeding, make sure your new hardware fits into the existing holes. If it isn’t, you can easily patch the old holes and make new ones.
Before you prime and paint, take the time to do this step immediately so your final finish is flawless.
Painting Bathroom Cabinets: A Beginner’s Guide
Clean your bathroom cabinets thoroughly with DSP. It is a powerful degreasing cleaner that removes all visible film, dirt and grime. It is important to give your paint a clean surface.
The paint should bond to a clean surface by applying a deglosser to remove the shiny, cracked surface. Along with the other steps described here, the paint will come off easily and prevent sticking.
Deglazing is very easy. Using a clean white cloth (I always use my husband’s old white t-shirt), wipe the revealer over the entire surface of your vanity according to the product instructions. Then wipe with a clean damp cloth.
It’s as easy as cleaning the cabinet with water, but it takes a lot of work to keep it from rotting!
How To Paint A Bathroom Cabinet In A Weekend
Priming your bathroom cabinets is essential to give your bathroom cabinets a professional and durable finish.
Whether you are painting wood cabinets or painted cabinets, a high bond primer is your best choice.
Before priming, be sure to run a cloth over the entire surface of your cabinet to remove all dust and debris.
If you only have a paintbrush, learn how to avoid brush strokes while painting in this article.
Paint Your Bathroom Cabinet For A Cheap And Easy Diy! $100 Room Challenge, Week 3!
Use any of the three methods in the basics section and try your best to get a result.
Some say it’s unnecessary if quality paint is used. Others say it’s your best bet for lasting results.
Use your best judgment. If you decide to ditch the sealer and it’s not on the road, repair, repaint, clean, and apply the sealer to the clean van.
The disadvantage of using top coat is that it will yellow over time. This is especially important if you are using white paint. The two most popular choices of cabinet seals are:
How To Paint Bathroom Cabinets For An Easy Vanity Upgrade
If you choose a satin finish, your sealer should be satin. Otherwise it will change the look of the finish without the top coat.
Painting is one of my most popular blog topics, so check out all the resources below.
Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Don’t forget to subscribe to get my bounty notes delivered straight to your inbox and access all my insider offers. You can follow daily on Instagram and weekly on YouTube! The power of color! I like to use color to change almost everything. It’s a really easy way to freshen up a space. There are many things to consider when choosing a color solution. What are you painting? What kind of preparatory work is this? What is the drying time? What is the healing period? Do I need a top coat?
These are all questions that you should consider in your painting project, and to be honest, there is usually more than one answer. Rustoleum asked if I wanted to try their cabinet transformation kit and I’m so excited to share the results! This is the most rewarding project I’ve ever done in one place, and it only took a few hours of work. If you have some old boxes in your house, this post is for you!
The Best Paint For Bathroom Cabinets
I picked up a Rust-Oleum cabinet replacement kit at Home Depot and stained it on the painter’s table. The kit comes in a light and dark base shade, and then you can paint the kit in one of Home Depot’s 48 colors! I of course chose black, and after a few days this is how it looked!
Amazing before and after, needs some more painting, new hardware… and a little more weekend work. You may also notice the painted floor in the previous photo (yes, that’s painted tile!). You can read all about the project here.
What I like about this kit is that it is beginner-friendly with step-by-step instructions. Comes with (almost) everything you need to complete a project from start to finish…and detailed instructions!
The first thing I did was remove all the doors from my vanity and remove all the hardware and hinges. I used the provided degreaser to clean each cabinet door and both sides of the vanity. Deglosser is the magic solution that removes gloss from cabinets or doors without sanding!
Painted Bathroom Cabinets: How To Get The Look
This step is important and allows the color to be applied correctly to the entire surface. To apply it, I grabbed a scoring pad (included) and rubbed the door in the direction.
