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At Home

5 Mistakes to Avoid While Painting Cabinets

This post and the photos within it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

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Last updated on January 19th, 2018 at 02:59 pm

Painting cabinets might be a daunting process, but you can learn to do it right the first time by avoiding these five mistakes!

Make painting your cabinets easier -- avoid these common mistakes!

We recently renovated our guest bathroom. The biggest DIY project was painting the cabinets a deep teal. The cabinets were old oak and in rough cosmetic shape (though underneath they weren’t so bad). You can see how badly the finish was worn down in the below photo. Clearly 25 years of use had taken their toll.

Teal Painted Cabinets - avoid making these five mistakes when painting cabinets!

I read a few blogs on the best way to go about painting cabinets, so I thought it would be pretty easy. But it wasn’t. And I made a handful of mistakes that I’ll share here so you don’t have to make them yourself!

I started by sanding the cabinets, which led me to my first mistake.

Not Sanding Completely

I borrowed my cousin’s palm sander, which actually worked great for the most part. Of course our cabinet doors had some places the sander couldn’t get, and that’s where things got a little hairy. I gave them a rough hand sanding, but I should have spent more time on those nooks and crannies. The paint, even with primer, had a harder time sticking, leaving me with uneven spots, and requiring more paint.

The process for preparing cabinets for painting is just as important as the process for actually painting them. Here's how we prepared ours!

Solution: spend a little more time manually sanding those tight spaces. It’ll save you paint and time in the long run.

Not Tinting Your Primer

This isn’t something I thought to do, but Ryan’s friend (who’s a painter by trade) mentioned it when he stopped by…after I’d primed the cabinets. He said to add a bit of your paint color to the primer to tint it — and you can get away with fewer coats. White is one of the hardest colors to cover, so having your primer tinted will save you time and money!

Solution: add a little paint color to your primer

I learned a lot when painting our bathroom cabinets. Avoid these mistakes when painting cabinets and you'll paint your cabinets right the first time!

Not Using the Right Paint

I made one other mistake that you’re not likely to make — my brother came over to help paint and I gave him the entirely wrong color. It was a darker teal that I had bought as a sample. Going on, it only looked a little off, so I didn’t really question it. But by the time it dried, it was clear it was a different color.

This wouldn’t have been that bad, except that the sample paint was a much lower quality than the final paint I had chosen, which was specifically formulated for cabinets. That meant that the brush and roller marks were much more visible in that layer. I ended up sanding down some of that layer to help get rid of the painting marks.

Solution: buy a high-quality paint meant for cabinets (and hide everything else!)


Getting the Hinges Mixed Up

I should have labeled. I read a dozen blogs that said to label my hinges so that they would all go back in the same places. But I figured all the hinges were the same, so why spend the time?

Huge mistake. The hinges had worn in specific ways in the last two decades and a half, so that after they were painted and I was putting the bathroom back together, none of the hinges worked quite right. I ended up sort of forcing everything into place, and while the doors work, they don’t work as well as they would have if I’d labeled them.

Make painting your cabinets easier -- avoid these common mistakes!

Solution: label the darn hinges!

Getting Your Doors Mixed Up

While you’re labeling your hinges, also label your doors. I thought I was doing a good job of keeping the doors in the right order when I was painting them, but nope. I went to re-install the doors, they didn’t fit properly. Figured out later that two of them were switched — I have no idea how that happened during the process, but it wasn’t good to have a door that sat half an inch higher than the others, and wouldn’t shut all the way.

Make painting your cabinets easier -- avoid these common mistakes!

Solution: label the darn doors!

My Biggest Takeaway

While making these mistakes was frustrating, I tried not to let them get me down. I know that these are not our “forever” cabinets — someday we’ll pull these out and put in better cabinets with higher quality hardware. Knowing that made it much easier not to be totally frustrated with the process — I kept reminding myself it’s all a learning process!

And when all was said and done, I loved how they turned out. I’m so glad I took a risk on the teal and even though they aren’t perfect, they are definitely very “me.”

Get more teal inspiration: Teal Cabinet Paint Colors

This makeover of a 1980s oak bathroom is stunning! Dark teal cabinets, modern lighting, and fun details make this bathroom makeover a showstopper.

You can also check out the full bathroom reveal, and learn how to make the DIY floating artwork and a shower curtain out of a flat sheet!

Avoid these mistakes when painting cabinets and you'll paint your cabinets right the first time!

Everything You Need to Know About Painting:

  • Skip the traditional nursery and create bold, bright feature wall! Here's how to paint a geometric wall in your nursery, with three colors of paint and wooden initial letters. It's easy and creates a fun look that everyone will love.
    How to Paint a Geometric Wall in your Nursery
  • Get a perfect finish on your cabinets by taking the time to paint them right! Here's everything you need to know about painting your solid wood cabinets.
    How to Paint Cabinets using Latex Paint and a Paint Sprayer
  • How to Prep Solid Oak Cabinets for Painting
  • This one trick will save you both time and money when painting!
    The Painting Tip that will Save you Time and Money
  • Painting cabinets in your house? Here are great before and afters, as well as cabinet painting tips and tricks to help make sure you get it right the first time!
    16 Cabinet Painting Tips and Tricks
  • Make painting your cabinets easier -- avoid these common mistakes!
    5 Mistakes to Avoid While Painting Cabinets
  • Make paint touch-ups around your home a lot easier with this super simple trick!
    Make Paint Touch-Ups Easier!

More from Our Home:

  • Here is the process we used to install our butcher block countertops, as well as our tips and tricks for making them look as perfect as possible!
    How to Install Butcher Block Countertops
  • We totally transformed our dated 1980's kitchen with bright painted cabinets, new lighting, and gorgeous butcher block countertops. A gorgeous budget kitchen renovation!
    Bright and Happy DIY Kitchen Renovation on a Budget
  • All it takes to make this gorgeous flower wall mural is paint, FrogTape, and patience! A stunning addition to any space.
    Painted Flower Wall Mural Artwork
  • Have a small entryway? From dated country to modern and a little industrial, it's easy to make big changes even if you have a tiny foyer!
    A Modern Entryway Makeover
  • Lacking storage space? Build some chunky floating shelves -- both beautiful and practical!
    Create Dining Room Storage with Floating Shelves
  • Make painting your cabinets easier -- avoid these common mistakes!
    5 Mistakes to Avoid While Painting Cabinets
  • This makeover of a 1980s oak bathroom is stunning! Dark teal cabinets, modern lighting, and fun details make this bathroom makeover a showstopper.
    Guest Bathroom Makeover Reveal!
  • Need a storage table but short on space? You can hack together this IKEA console table for just $22!
    Simple IKEA Hack: Narrow Console Table
  • Peg board organization is a great way to clear off your desk and organize your sewing and crafting tools. Outline all your tools so you know exactly where they go.
    DIY Sewing and Craft Room Peg Board Organization
  • Our budget bedroom makeover was a combination of DIY projects, thrifting, and savvy shopping. This is a total transformation for less than $200!
    Guest Bedroom Makeover for Just $200!
  • Hanging curtains doesn't have to be a pain! Learn how to hang them straight -- and keep the curtain rod from coming out of the wall!
    How to Hang Curtains - A Quick Tutorial
  • You'll find it much easier to survive a kitchen renovation by setting up an easy-to-use temporary kitchen!
    Set Up a Temporary Kitchen During a Renovation
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27 Comments

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Comments

  1. Sami says

    January 8, 2015 at 6:36 am

    I was seriously almost panicking at the color as I was reading the post, but it looks amazing! I love that deep teal with the gray walls. And the mirrors are gorgeous with the curves on the top. Where did you get those?

    Reply
  2. Meg says

    January 8, 2015 at 7:06 am

    Absolutely love the way the bathroom turned out, and definitely grateful for the tips! While our master bathroom was in good shape when we got the house, the other bathrooms in our home are something of a mess. The cabinets in our guest bathroom upstairs are very worn and the color is not our taste at all . . . we’ve been talking about painting/staining them, but I’ve been nervous. Will have to chat with the handy husband and see what he thinks about tackling this job pre-baby!

    Reply
  3. Erica says

    January 8, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Thanks for these tips! I’m thinking about redoing the cabinets in both our bathroom and our kitchen, so I’m glad I read this first! Your end result is fabulous, even if it took a bit of trouble!

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    January 13, 2015 at 9:58 am

    Thanks for the tips! I’ve been meaning to paint my kids bathroom this winter. I think I’ll take the plunge soon. Your advice is perfectly timed! And I love the color. It turned out so great!

    Reply
  5. khadija says

    January 15, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    Your cabinets look very lovely! Cabinets are so hard to paint, thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  6. Michelle James says

    January 23, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    I love these! The teal is unexpected and it really turned out great. Thanks for the cabinet painting tips! I am having fun looking around your blog. I have never been here before but will definitely be back!

    Reply
    • Cori George says

      January 27, 2015 at 9:11 am

      Thanks Michelle! Hope you enjoy what you find here. :)

      Reply
  7. Jill Tees says

    January 29, 2015 at 3:12 am

    What a good idea to label hinges and doors. I’ve painted cupboards before but only worked with one at a time and often thought that I’d be quicker doing them all at once, but I’d never have thought of the hinges! Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  8. Jane says

    February 2, 2015 at 1:33 am

    You made a terrific job…love the colour scheme- you obviously have a good eye for colour. Thanks for the tips…my thought processes would have made exactly the same “mistakes” as you

    Reply
  9. Sue Flaherty says

    April 27, 2015 at 8:54 am

    Beautiful job. I’ve done a kitchen. Beige over dark brown and they did have a tendency to chip a bit. I was so glad I did it though as it lightened up the whole area and made it look so much bigger. Just keep a little jar of your original color around for necessary repairs that won’t take a minute. Love the teal!

    Reply
  10. Sonia says

    September 4, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Thank you só much! We are thinking of pairing ours so this was very helpful!

    Reply
    • Cori George says

      September 18, 2015 at 4:50 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  11. Emme says

    September 8, 2015 at 4:30 am

    Love the color of the cabinets! Did you consider using chalk paint? We are remodeling a farmhouse and every cabinet is damaged. If you use chalk paint there is no need for sanding, especially primer or mixing. Paint it on and done or finish with a coat of wax if you prefer.

    Reply
  12. Matt says

    October 5, 2015 at 3:26 am

    How could you cover such beautiful timber with paint!!!

    Reply
  13. Ahmed says

    March 15, 2016 at 12:30 am

    Thanks for the tips! but its really hard to do painting by yourself. Its better ask someone to paint it for you, but keep an eye on the mistakes you mention above :)

    Reply
  14. Emma says

    May 10, 2016 at 6:23 am

    Thanks for these great tips. I really need to do spring cleaning but I’m waiting till hubby has time to help me!

    Reply
  15. Lizza says

    August 23, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Great post.

    Reply
  16. Laura says

    August 23, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    Good post. It is a great idea to paint bathroom cabinets to refresh and update your bathroom. So all mistakes should be avoided when painting bathroom cabinets.

    Reply
  17. Kaitlyn says

    November 18, 2016 at 11:49 am

    Wow! Your blue cabinets turned out great!

    Thanks for laying out some mistakes to avoid. I made the mistake of not sanding enough once and it just ending up being more work!

    Reply
    • Cori George says

      November 29, 2016 at 8:40 am

      So much work! Better to sand more and paint less :)

      Reply
  18. Tracy says

    February 18, 2017 at 10:30 am

    Thank you so much for this helpful information. I am about to paint my kitchen cabinets. I am totally going to label the hardware as well as the doors!! Never would of thought of that!!! Also I was at a home improvement store and a representative turned me onto a primer paint for any wood surface you are not staining but painting. It does not require any sanding! It’s a bonding primer and she says this paint is a best seller especially for people that paint and sell furniture because it bonds even to Formica with no peeling! I’m going to start my project within the next two weeks! It’ll finally represent “me” in our kitchen!!

    Reply
    • Cori George says

      February 20, 2017 at 9:32 am

      Let me know how the primer goes! I decided to sand and scrub mine because they were FILTHY. I don’t think any primer would have bonded to all the gunk on our cabinets! But I’m curious how it goes — I am doing to do our master bath cabinets soon and those are in much better shape than our kitchen cabinets were. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Eliane says

        March 6, 2018 at 4:17 am

        Use simple green, it will wash all the dirty away before doing any prep work for painting. It’s amaizng than you prime and paint

  19. Ivy Baker says

    June 30, 2017 at 7:59 pm

    This is some really good information painting your cabinets. I liked that you talked about how it would be best to sand down the cabinets. It does seem like a good thing to be aware of when you want to do this yourself.

    Reply
  20. Margaret says

    July 25, 2017 at 8:13 am

    So, what did you do to make it right after not labeling the hinges? I labeled my doors and hinges, but when we stripped the paint off the hinges, they all got mixed up. The two doors that were in the center were hitting each other, and the two doors in my cabinet to the left had a 1/4 gap. So then, we traded two of the doors. That didn’t work because the latches now don’t work. Egad! Do we need to redo the hinges?

    Reply
    • Cori George says

      July 26, 2017 at 11:39 am

      I played around with hinges and doors for hours until I got it as close as I could. They still aren’t perfect. New hinges are a good option!

      Reply
  21. Ivy Baker says

    September 5, 2017 at 7:11 pm

    This is some really good information about what to not do when you are painting your cabinets. I liked that you pointed out that you shouldn’t mix up the doors. I wonder how professional cabinet makers keep the doors straight. I know that I would have for the doors to be put on wrong.

    Reply

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I'm Cori and I'm so glad you've decided to stop by and make stuff with me. My blog is full of things to help you create a life you love: crafts, sewing projects, DIY home and decor ideas, recipes, and so much more. I live in Northern California with my husband, our twin toddler boys, and our big fluffy Bernese mountain dog.

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