How to Keep Painted Cabinets from Chipping | Expert Guide

Painted cabinets give an adorable look to the kitchen, but what happened if chipping starts and all of your favorite kitchen cabinets look turns into a pitfall. This is the case that happened with me as my kitchen cabinets start peeling. The paint on the kitchen is not last long, especially if you did a factory paint. The other main reasons for chipping are the low-quality paint and poor preparation of the color; if the problem is in the paint and cabinets adhesion, it’s not easy to chip it off. To learn how to keep painted cabinets from chipping, you have to understand the reasons and prevention methods that will help you throughout your problem. 

To prevent all of these problems, proper sanding over primer and two paint coats will prevent chipping. Many professionals provide 8-15 years of durability under normal conditions without a fresh coat. If you do this service from professionals, they will charge you $1000 for the entire job.

Let’s make some imagination: you painted your kitchen cabinets, and after few months, it starts chipping, then what will you do?

How to Keep Painted Cabinets from Chipping

To resolve this problem, I bring some solutions for you:

Cleaning

• The secret to keeping the paint of cabinets right for a long time is to clean regularly.
• Clean the cabinets thoroughly with a painted brush.
• Ensure kitchen cabinets are squeaky clean because the tough stain or grease makes it difficult to cling the paint on the cabinet’s surface.
• After cleaning the grease, sand the kitchen cabinets and do wipe them down to remove any dirt particles to mix into the paint.

Primer

The other essential thing for good adhesive paint is to apply primer.

• It is also essential when you want to apply primer to hide dark spots down the paint. You can’t skip this step. To initiate the difference, as a sample, you can apply paint over a bare wood board and on another side of the board 1st sand it to make the surface smooth for primer, then apply primer, now again sand it to make the surface smooth. Now apply paint in this way the primer will give adhesion to the paint to hold on.

Color coat for painted cabinets

• When you finish with the 1st coat, give it 1 or 2 days for drying; once it dries, apply a clear topcoat. The topcoat will act as the sealer for the kitchen cabinets.
• In this way, the durability of paint will increase, and it last longer.

Why paint peel

• The first thing is to know why paint peel; to learn about this problem. It would help if you learned how the paint sticks as both have direct interaction with each other.

Ways to stick a paint:

• Paint: Paint is a crushed pigment mixed into a binder with additives that gives extra adhesion.
• The other way is a physical bond that gives a smooth surface to the kitchen cabinets.
• When one of these is not applied correctly, chipping and peeling start to happen.

There are different types of paint; If you don’t apply them correctly, you will face many future hurdles.

Latex Paint

• If you are using latex paint for your kitchen cabinets, it’s a worse choice for kitchen cabinets; maybe you have a good latex experience on your house walls, but I don’t prefer its cabinets. Reasons are below:
• It doesn’t contain a physical bond through which it peels right off over the cabinet surfaces.
• As I mentioned above, painting kitchen cabinets rather than house walls are entirely different; even to handle latex paint, you need a qualified painter who applies it correctly.

Painted over latex paint:

If you are thinking to paint your cabinets over latex paint, then you must know few work points:

• It is a very expensive method.
• It requires a double job as 1st you have to apply latex paint, then over latex paint, you apply cabinets paint.
• Now you can imagine if you don’t do it correctly, it will bring you into big problems also it takes extra work to bring it up on standards.

Sanding

• Durable paint needs a smooth surface to stick on it.
• To make it smooth, you need to do sanding, which creates lines over the surface that holds the paint for a longer time.
• Instead, if you don’t sand the cabinets, then it starts peeling after painting.

Primer

• Primer is the 2nd choice after sanding.
• The primer’s purpose is to stick to the surface, either its cabinets or any wooden furniture. In this way, the primer helps the paint act as a chemical bond on the cabinets’ surface.
• Now you know the importance of primer as if you use good quality primer, and then it will give better bonding to the paint to stick over it.
• If you don’t use primer, then the paint will also look rigid and take off less time.

Prevent painted kitchen cabinets from chipping:

• Buy door bumper pads and stick them onto the doors and drawer corners, which help the cabinets doors and drawers to prevent chipping. You can buy it from a hardware store or any home appliance store.
• Now locate the areas from where the paint is chipping. Sand it with 100 grit paper, apply good quality primer and give some paint touch up on the marked spots.
• Sand the doors and cabinets if chipping spread. You can use an electric sander to remove the previous paint completely, then apply primer and paint.

For priming, you can use

• Oil-based primer
• Shellac bonding primer

For painting, you can use

• You can use latex
• Or high-quality oil-based paint
• Oil-based paints are the best paint for kitchen cabinets

If you are using higher gloss paint for maximum durability, then use

• Semi-gloss
• High gloss
• Use high gloss as the higher the gloss higher will be the durability and the harder the paint will.
• Gloss paint act as a laminate paint for the cabinets. 

Mistakes you make during painting:

• Nonviable expectations: Painted cabinets give an attractive look, but it may contain open grains and grooves. It’s not prominent during the paint, but when it dries, it provides a very stern look; to sort out this mistake, you have to fill the grooves with putty, but it will be a time-intensive workout.
• Give yourself some time: Some people consider it a weekend job, but it’s not a weekend job as it requires a minimum of 3-7 days to finish.
• You don’t dust out the wood: It’s also the major mistake; if dust particles stay on the surface, it will act as prevalent to the paint.
• You skip the labeling: This is the biggest mistake you don’t know from which cabin you take off the cabinet door and drawers. Drawers can b adjust, but all door sides are not equal.

How to Keep Painted Cabinets from Chipping: FAQ 

Do paint cabinets chip?

Painted cabinets give an adorable look to the kitchen, but what happened if chipping starts and all of your favorite kitchen cabinets look turns into a pitfall. This is the case that happened with me as my kitchen cabinets start peeling. The paint on the kitchen is not last long, especially if you did a factory paint. The other main reasons for chipping are the low-quality paint and poor preparation of the color; if the problem is in the paint and cabinets adhesion, it’s not easy to chip it off.

To prevent all of these problems, proper sanding over primer and two paint coats will prevent chipping.

To resolve this problem, you can use down steps:

• Do a proper cleaning 
• A good quality primer
• Color coat for painted cabinets

Should I seal my cabinets after painting?

Yes, the sealer or topcoat will give you long-lasting results. As

• When you finish with the 1st coat, give it 1 or 2 days for drying; once it dries, apply a clear topcoat. The topcoat will act as the sealer for the kitchen cabinets.
• In this way, the durability of paint will increase, and it last longer.

How long do professionally painted cabinets last?

Many professionals provide 8-15 years of durability under normal conditions without a fresh coat. If you do this service from professionals, they will charge you $1000 for the entire job.

Conclusion

To conclude this topic, chipping from kitchen cabinets mostly occurs due to extensive force or repeated hitting on the door and drawer corner. Always use cleaning methods to make it durable. To prevent painted cabinets from chipping, I easily explained various essential ways to maintain them for a more extended period. Moreover, it would help if you remembered the importance of sanding and priming for your kitchen cabinets and wooden furniture for a smooth finish. Always prevent mistakes that cause the paint to peel off.

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