If there is excess moisture on your cabinets from humidity in the environment or from leaks and/or plumbing problems, water-filled bubbles can form in the paint. This issue is often found in damp areas like the bathroom and kitchen, where condensation quickly forms and presents itself on surfaces.
Stay away from sandpaper coarser than 220 grit. Scratch marks are hard to sand out without grinding the coating down to the primer. Allow the paint to fully dry before applying the next coat. Painting cabinet doors before the previous coat has dried can result in air bubbles.
Generally, these bubbles pop quickly, leaving the paint to dry smooth. If you notice the bubbles popping soon after application, they usually go away on their own without leaving craters. If not, adjust your paint, roller or technique to minimize bubbling.
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. And painting with a paint sprayer is almost always faster than using a paint roller and paint brush.
Cabinet Painting with a Roller & a Brush
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.
For wood, brushing is fine, but you may want to hire a professional for a good finish. Using a roller to paint cabinets is a lot faster than brush painting, however, the fabric on the roller will create a 'bobbly' texture on the surface. The texture a roller puts on cabinets makes it unsuitable for gloss paint.
Excess moisture on your painted walls—whether from water droplets, high humidity, leaks, or plumbing problems—can cause water-filled bubbles in the paint, originating anywhere from the substrate level to between the top two coats.
What causes bubbles on painted walls? Well, the answer could be humidity, low temperatures, and moisture. Damp areas will cause your paint to bubble as well as too cold and not properly heated rooms.
The cracking is a result of expansion and contraction. When you apply numerous heavy layers of primers, paints, and topcoats, they can crack at the joints or angles when the humidity changes. The cracking occurs when the door panel shrinks and breaks the heavy paint layer.
With proper care of professionally painted kitchen cabinets, you can expect your newly painted cabinets to last 8-10 years. However, there are a few things that can drastically shorten this timeframe, leaving you needing them repainted 3-4 years later.
If you paint your house when the temperature is too hot, the paint dries too rapidly and the heat compromises adhesion. At temperatures over 90 F / 32.2 C, bubbles and blisters form in the paint. Once the paint cures, it could start to peel away from the surface.
Too Hot. Heat affects paint adhesion primarily because it causes the paint to dry too rapidly. Temperatures over 90 F can cause paint to bubble and blister, which results in peeling once the paint cures.
Bubbling or peeling paint
This causes paint to bubble or flake. In modern homes, bubbling or peeling paint caused by damp is especially common in steamy areas with poor ventilation such as kitchens or bathrooms.
Blisters or bubbles appear when a layer of paint does not adhere perfectly to its underlying surface, known as the substrate. As the new film of paint dries and pulls away, pockets of air or water form underneath.
Applying the second coat too early will result in streaks, peeling paint, and uneven color. Not only will this ruin the entire project but it'll cost additional money to get more paint in some occasions. It's best to wait for the first coat to dry.
If you're serious about maintaining the condition of your house, don't neglect the paint bubbles. They're more obtrusive, aesthetically offensive, and potentially damaging than you might think. It might be a water bubble, which could be an indication of a serious leak or even mold.
Many professionals now use latex paint, citing the improvements to the formula and the as-good-as finish they can get on most surfaces. We actually prefer a third type of paint for cabinets, the hybrid enamel.
Two coats of paint are essential for cabinets—you're building a surface. By the way, to get the nicest finish, use a brush, a 2- to 2 1/2-inch fine bristle brush. Whatever paint you use, ventilate the room—direct a fan out the window—and wear the masks they sell in paint stores.
Moisture/air beneath the paint film is now trapped. When the painted surface is heated by the sun, the moisture/air expands and blisters form because it cannot escape freely. Blistering is often quite severe on exterior weatherboards facing North or West because of this situation.
Detailed Patterns, Warped or Damaged Cabinets
If your cabinets have detailed patterns or they are warped, chipped, cracked or have other damage to them, then painting your kitchen cabinets is not the way to go – it most definitely won't solve your cabinet problem.
Painting your kitchen this color could reduce resale value
According to the analysis of over 50,000 sold homes from around the country, the online real estate company found that homes with kitchens painted in warm yellow hues yielded the highest sale premium. They went for $1,360 above expected values.
Average cost of painting kitchen cabinets professionally. The average cost of painting kitchen cabinets is $100 per drawer face and $175 per cabinet door. This usually averages out to a cost of $5,000 for a medium-sized kitchen. However, the cost commonly ranges from $3000 to $10,000.