A: In order to get a factory finish look on cabinets when you paint them yourself, you will actually use both a brush and a roller. However, the majority of the painting will be done with a roller. Specifically, a foam roller with give you the smoothest finish when painting cabinets.
Using a paint sprayer is one of the easiest ways to get a super smooth finish on your cabinets. By their very nature, paint sprayers eliminate brush strokes and roller marks completely.
The easiest approach to avoid brush marks when painting kitchen cabinets is to follow a specific process such as painting in a single direction, applying numerous layers, and using high-quality materials.
Foam Roller vs Spraying
If you want a super smooth finish on your cabinet doors, I strongly recommend spraying them instead of using a brush and roller. While a foam roller does produce a smooth finish, they still leave stippling on the surface, not to mention the work will take much longer to finish.
Use your roller to gently smooth out any overlapping brush marks or paint drips. The key here is using thin coats of paint. This will limit the number of drips, pooling, and any other blemishes that can happen when painting. It will also give the cabinets a smoother finish in the end.
On the fronts and backs of drawers and doors, you can use a roller. This will apply the paint in a more smooth and even manner and is much faster than only using a paint brush. Then, use a brush for touching up small areas or for hard-to-reach spots.
Walls, Wood, and Metal - Small 1/4″ nap roller covers or foam rollers will produce the smoothest finish. Light to Medium Textured Surfaces - Microfiber rollers are best. Smooth Surfaces - Use a white woven short nap roller for an ultra fine finish.
There are many types of paint to choose from, but the best paint for kitchen cabinets is semi-gloss, gloss or satin. Matte is not practical in kitchens and baths where you will need durable paint you can easily clean.
CONVERSION VARNISH vs LACQUER
For the best custom cabinet finish, our choice is Conversion Varnish (CV) over Lacquer, and here's why… The CV topcoat is extremely durable and easy to clean. It is resistant to heat, water, wear, solvents, acids, and alkalis.
But if your kitchen cabinet finish's durability is a high priority, there is no better option than a high gloss finish. A gloss finish will give you the durability you need in a busy kitchen where scratches, dings, and dents are likely to occur.
Invest in higher-quality foam brushes with dense foam, good-quality glue and a securely-attached head for larger projects. Because foam brushes are so affordable, many people prefer to use them with oil-based paints, which are often more difficult to remove from brushes.
Floetrol is a latex and acrylic paint additive used as a conditioner to help reduce build up on paint brushes, eliminate brush marks, reduces wear and tear on spray guns and it extends drying time. It's made and distributed by Flood.
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.
Painted cabinets should get a thorough sanding with 120-grit paper, but no matter the finish, do a final pass with 220-grit. Use a sanding sponge to dig into any tough areas that need special attention or corners that are hard to get with your sander.
We usually use professional-grade lacquer because it has a lovely, silky-smooth feel to it, and is what cabinet manufacturers use. We think it's the best paint for cabinets, hands-down (although there are some great pro-level water-based options as well).
Paint is the most popular finish for kitchen cabinets because it's easy to clean and maintain. It also has a wide variety of colors to choose from, so you can easily find a shade that matches your décor.
Kitchen walls and especially kitchen cabinets require a paint finish that's tough, easy to wipe down, and attractive. Satin and eggshell paint finishes work well for kitchen walls, while semi-gloss proves best for kitchen cabinets.
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!
Cabinet paints have higher costs because they contain more resins, which makes them more resistant to scratches, staining, and fading. In addition, they are often formulated with special pigments that help to camouflage imperfections and provide a high-quality finish.
Professional home painting services can tell you that, generally speaking, rollers provide smoother, more even results with less effort than brushes. This makes sense, considering the size, capacity, and mechanics of rollers allow for more coverage with fewer strokes.
The longer the nap the more surface is sticking to the furniture and the shorter the nap the smoother the finish. A lot of people think that no nap (a foam roller) would produce a smooth finish but a foam roller produces flashing.