How to Paint & Glaze Cabinets

I'm in the last stages of this Lipstick Kitchen rennovation.  I can't wait to show you more changes, but until then, how about a tutorial?

I have been getting many compliments on my cabinets since I repurposed them a few weeks ago.  So I thought I would share how I painted and glazed my honey oak kitchen cabinets. 

This is my first tutorial, if you will, so bear with me.  I'll try and keep my ADD in check.  I don't have pics of the paint process, but I do have pics of the glazing process.  And my nature is to tell you the 'quick and dirty', so if you're left hanging for more details, just leave a comment, and I will expound.

What you will need/What I used:

Cleaner: I used this dollar store Orange Cleaner/Degreaser.  409 works good, too.  Soap and water works.  If you're hardcore, you can use TSP. 

Sanding Sponges:
3M 100 grit for bare surfaces for initial roughing

Then 3M 220 grit for in-between coats

Deglosser:  Klean-Strip Easy Liquid Sander De-glosser

Paint: Valspar Homestead Resort Cream semi-gloss

Glaze: American Tradition (from Lowe's) Faux Antiquing Glaze--Asphaltum.  I went through 2 bottles.

Plastic gloves: I didn't use gloves.  Learn from me.

Drill: for taking the cabinets down and removing hardware.  Used for putting everything back together.  You could use a screwdriver, but then you would really want drink a Screwdriver 10 minutes into it.  Just sayin.

Sheets: To protect my rear from the garage floor.  Don't you love these that came with our camper?  And something to elevate doors off ground: These tubs are from the dollar store.  I had many on-hand from my spa consultant days.  Foot soak anyone?

2 good paint brushes: One brush for the painting of the inside edges, one brush for the glaze.  But if you have a lot of cabinets, I would think about investing in a paint sprayer if your space allows.  Our space didn't.

1 foam paint roller: for the surface area of the cabs.  4" or 6"

Lots of lint-free towels/rags: These are for the glaze removal.  I bought a bag from from Lowe's.  They are a t-shirt material.  I used one for cleaning, one for deglossing, and the LOTS for the glazing process. 

Tackcloth: for removing particles/dust after sanding

Fan: Helped the drying time for the paint. 

Plastic bowl: for the glaze

Radio: After a full weekend in the garage, you will know the playlist by heart.

Babysitter or Hubby: Hubby entertained the kiddos.  Couldn't have done this without him. 

Set of paint clothes:  I am the world's worst about just jumping into painting, without regard to my clothes or what I have on.  I always think, oh, I'll be careful!  Whatever.  Go throw on an old sorority shirt and some shorts and designate them as your paint clothes. 

PATIENCE: You will need it.  When you run low, step away from the cabinets.  Take sip of Screwdriver.  Breathe.  Sip.  Breathe.  Sip.  Ok, continue.

Gladiators Ready?  Contenders Ready?

Here we go.

Step 1:
We can have lots of fun! Oh wait, sorry--random NKOTB moment.
Remove doors and cabinet hardware

Step 2, 3, 4--Prep

Clean, sand, degloss door fronts and door backs.  Don't forget the cabinet bases.  And don't forget the drawer fronts. 

My cabinets are in 3 sections.  Due to space, I worked one section at a time.  Or you could tackle top cabs first, then work the bottom, or vice versa..whatever you wanna do.  Since I was working in sections, I didn't have to label my doors, because I knew where they belonged.  But if you are tackling all doors at once, then you might want to label them.

I cleaned all of them, then sanded all of them, then deglossed.  Like an assembly line. 

Have you figured out something that may be missing from the list?  Primer.  That's right.  I didn't prime.  gasp.  Call it taking a short-cut, taking a risk, whatever.  I didn't prime.  The deglosser label said priming wasn't needed.  You can prime if you want.  Or maybe use some paint/primer in one.  Nester doesn't always prime.  And Nester sometimes doesn't even take her cabinets down.  So just find what works for you.

Step 5: Time to paint.
I started with the backs of the doors first.  That way I would end up painting the door fronts last.  Make sense?

Use the brush for the inside crevices/inset edges. Then use the roller for the bigger surface area.

You do NOT have to paint the backs of your doors.  It took a lot of extra time to paint the inside of the doors, but to me, it gave it more of a custom look.  And PLUS, when it came to glazing, I mastered my technique on the back of the door, not the front of the door. 

Step 6:
After 1st coat dries, sand with the 220 grit sponge.  Use the tack cloth to remove particles.

Step 7:
Paint 2nd coat.

Step 8:
After 2nd coat dries, sand again with the 220.  Use the tack cloth to remove particles. 

(Sometimes I didn't sand in-between coats...Most of the time I forgot.  But I tried to remember because since I was going to be glazing, I wanted as much wood grain to come through as possible.  So don't freak out if you forgot.)

NOW...On to the glazing process!

Step 9:
Pour your glaze into a bowl. 

Step 10:

Use paint brush to apply glaze to door. 

Step 11:
Have panic attack.  Breathe.  Sip Screwdriver.

The bottle says there is a 15 minute window after you apply the glaze.  I tried to get the look I wanted within 5 minutes.  And make sure your fan isn't blowing during your glazing process as to not dry out the glaze sooner than later.

Stpe 12:
Dampen your lint free cloth, then start wiping the door.  If it's not wiping off as much as you would like, get the cloth a little more wet.  If you take off more than you wanted, apply more glaze, then wipe off till you get the look you want.


I wiped the outside edge first.

Then wiped the inside panel.

Then after a few more minutes of wiping, I get the look I want.

Once I got the look I wanted, I made sure the other doors matched up to each other....so one wasn't darker or lighter than the other. 

Some door insets were different than others...meaning the wood grain looked different from each other, or the wood took the glaze different.  See...Talk about frustrating.  But these doors are on either side of the stove, so it's not as noticable as in these pics.

It was frustrating, but remember it's NOT going to be perfect.  And that is the whole idea of glazing...to give it a weathered, antiqued look.  If you are OCD, you might want to invest in some chill pills before taking this project on :)

I know I've used the words 'panic attack' and 'frustrating'...but it really is an easy process.  Yes, it was hard physically--up and down, and moving around a lot.  But it is so worth the time and the money saved. 

Speaking of money saved....

I had a painter come and give a quote on painting the cabinets.  $1300.  Doubt it, mister.

1 gallon of paint = $30

2 things of glaze = $16

Beadboard Wallpaper = $25/roll.  (A fraction of the roll was used for the cabinet ends...I'll post more on that later.)

Most of the other supplies we had on-hand.  I haven't bought the new trim yet.  And I bought the hardware a couple of years ago. 

So right now, I'll just round up to $100. 

$100 vs. $1300 for a major impact.

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EDITED TO ADD:

I did put a coat of Poly on these! 

I would also like to say thank you to Michelle. When scouring google for how to paint kitchen cabinets, I came across her website that she made with detailed step-by-step instructions. It is really a great tutorial!

And thank you to Jenny at Anything Pretty. Her paint and glaze tutorials are awesome, too!

Edited to Add:
Click here to fast forward to full Lipstick Kitchen Reveal!

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Thanks for stopping by! 

I hope this encourages and gives confindence to someone to start that project you've been putting off!

You can do it!

Feel free to share your comments, and ask any questions! 

Linking up to:

White Wednesday at Faded Charm