Before you start painting, most cabinets will require sanding the surface, filling in any cracks or uneven areas with wood filler, and allowing it to dry. Once sanded, use a damp cloth or a lint-free tack cloth to remove all of the dust and debris.
Do you need to sand cabinets before painting? Skipping this time-consuming step is a surefire way to lead to a messy finished product. Sanding helps fresh paint adhere to surfaces and will help prevent chipping down the line. It's also better to sand twice (first to remove old paint, then to smooth out the wood).
To paint cabinets without sanding, it's necessary to properly wash, degloss, and prime the surfaces before applying the paint. Three materials (tri-sodium phosphate, liquid sander/deglosser, and bonding primer) help you do this.
Between coats, sand the surfaces lightly, making sure to clean up the debris afterward. Apply a second coat to the cabinet. This coat should provide a perfect, consistent finish without any thin or light areas where wood might show through.
If you're painting a previously finished project, clean the project well. If the project has a high gloss finish or a clear top coat, lightly sand* the project with a medium grit sanding block. This will enable new paint coats to bond with existing paint coats.
If your original paint job was done well (and the wood was properly primed) you don't need to strip and sand the old paint off. Make sure to inspect the surface you are painting fully.
I have primed previously painted cabinets before painting. I've also simply cleaned them and painted a fresh topcoat without priming. Both have held up well, however, you'll need to determine whether or not your specific project would benefit from priming first.
Wood, wood laminate, veneer, fiberboard, and even metal cabinets can be repainted without difficulty. However, plastic laminate and thermofoil cabinets might require special paints and techniques that will be more conducive to paint adhesion.
GF Milk Paint is incredibly high-quality acrylic paint with EXCELLENT adhesion (so good that you can even paint laminate cabinets with it). It has low VOCs and is incredibly durable, so it is a great choice for painting kitchen cabinets without sanding or priming. It also really minimizes brush strokes!
But sanding all those cabinet fronts is laborious, messy, and leaving it out could save you both time and energy without compromising the paint job.
I recommend using the Benjamin Moore “ADVANCE” paint and primer. This paint is a water-born Alkyd that dries like oil paint but can be clean with soap and water. It's the easiest product to use for homeowners and easy to apply with a brush and roller.
The risk you run with not sanding is that your new paint job will chip almost immediately after it's dried. For most experts, like Dan McRorie of Fitzwater Interiors, creating a smooth, even surface is the single most important part of the project—even if you're going from a stain to a color.
The initial condition of the surface will determine what exactly will happen if you don't sand before painting. A clean, smooth, not glossy surface will take paint well. However paint can feel rough, streak, peel, chip, or even not adhere if not sanded first.
Most people agree that a sprayed on finish provides the highest quality result, and the lowest cost, on cabinets and fine woodwork. The spraying process allows for application of a primer and multiple, thin, finish coats of high quality materials which can be mixed all colors and alkyd or lacquer.
No matter the finish of your cabinet paint — lacquer, semi-gloss, or anything else — stay away from abrasive cleaners or cleaning tools. Using harsh cleaners or rough tools can dull or damage the paint. Avoid strongly alkaline or acidic detergents.
Sand the First Coat
You can usually achieve an even smoother coat if you opt to sand and paint one final time. Sanding the first paint coat brings down bumps and inconsistencies introduced by the roller or brush.
You probably don't need a primer. If the current wall is smooth, clean and covered with the same type of paint (both are oil-based for example), you can head straight for the paint. You need to fill holes, spackle and sand*, maybe even cut a new piece of drywall in to the existing wall.
Some paints adhere extremely well to certain surfaces while others need a rough or scuffed-up area for the best application. For example, when working with bathroom trim or kitchen cabinets with semi-gloss or high-gloss finishes, you'll most definitely need to sand between coats.
Peeling paint occurs when moisture collects under a painted surface. Moisture enters wood surfaces from the unpainted side, gets absorbed and then dries. This repeated swelling and shrinking of wood causes the paint to pull away from the surface, which results in cracking and peeling paint.
Pro tip: Sanding between coats of paint isn't always necessary, but is highly recommended when applying polyurethane over stain or raw wood.