# Prepping Kitchen Cabinets for Paint - Deglosser if sanding?



## personalt (Mar 10, 2008)

I am prepping some kitchen cabinet doors for painting. Most information I had read have you just using degreaser/deglosser/liquid-sandpaper before primer

* If I am sanding do i need to use any of these products? What grit should i be sanding to before primer? I assume i dont need to strip it down to bare wood if painting? *

Background - My cabinets are basically shaker style but they had some rope trim around the edges which my wife doesn't like. They must have used a small amount of glue to hold in the rope. So I know I really need to sand the doors a bit to remove the glue. Other then the glue under the rope, the existing surface it is very good shape. The current finish is some sort of varnish over stain.

I was looking at BM's Fresh Start Or maybe ZINSSER bin or 123. I checked all their technical data sheets and the only reference to sanding was on the Zinsser and just mentioned that weathered surfaces should be sanded to 80 to 100. 

Thanks in advance..


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The very first step should be to clean the cabinets. The cabinets will be covered with cooking and hand oils and sanding it will just spread it around. These oils will prevent the adhesion of the finish and needs to come off. Still the finish will be too slick for most finishes to bond to so sanding is also necessary. The only exception would be if the old finish was shellac and you were putting shellac over it or lacquer over lacquer. These finishes will melt into the old finish where other finishes like polyurethane and enamel need a mechanical bond. To clean cabinets I like using a product called Krud Kutter Gloss Off sold by Sherwin Williams. Frequently change rags also when you are doing this so you are removing the Krud. As far as sanding I would use 220 grit paper. The primers you have listed should work however I think it works better if you coat the cabinets with a coat of zinsser sealcoat first.


----------



## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

Prep. Fill small cracks, holes and dings with wood filler. Sand your cabinets with 180-grit sandpaper to remove any peeling varnish and to roughen up the stained surfaces. This provides a better bonding surface for the new paint to adhere to. Wipe off the sanding dust with a clean cloth. Apply a paint primer to the cabinets if you're going to paint them. Sand the primed surfaces once more with a 320 grit sandpaper and wipe off the dust. I would spray apply 1 coat of primer, scuff sand with 320 grit. Then spray 2 coats of your color of choice, scuff sand with 320 grit in between coats, then apply a conversion varnish in whatever gloss you want.


----------

