THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO PAINTING A KITCHEN
If you are anything like me, you love spending time in the kitchen cooking for loved ones or experimenting to come up with new recipes that will quickly become family favourites. The kitchen is the heart of my house where we all gather together for family meals and to make holiday memories. So, it is the most important room in the house for me.
Let’s talk about how to paint your kitchen successfully…
Move Everything Out
Anything you don’t want to get paint on should be moved out of your kitchen and into another room. Any table top appliances, artwork, displays or hardware should be moved out of the space. If you cannot remove outlet covers or doorknobs then you can tape over them.
Cover What Remains
Obviously you cannot remove the flooring or cabinetry so you have to cover it using drop cloths, tape, or plastic coverings. If you use plastic coverings then you may want to add newspaper on top of the plastic so you don’t end up with a sticky paint mess if you drip onto the plastic.
Cover baseboards and molding until you are ready to paint them. I like to paint the ceiling, upper moldings, walls, and then baseboards. Painting from the top down prevents extra drips. I cover baseboards and moldings with a high quality painters tape (this is usually blue in color). Windows and doors will need to be covered and you can use painters tape for this as well.
It is important to use painters tape over masking tape because masking tape dries out too easily and then you will have trouble removing it. You can and should remove the tape when the paint is still tacky.
Remove Old Paint or Wallpaper
I use a steam method to remove old wallpaper through using a little handheld machine that I bought at a home improvement store that steams the wallpaper off the wall with little extra effort required.
To remove old paint, you can use a paint scraper or vacuum (or both together). Wear eye protection and a respirator if you need to. If you are dealing with potential lead based paint then definitely wear a respirator and vacuum up paint chips immediately to prevent children from ingesting.
Cover Holes and Remove Impurities
Cracks or holes in the wall should be covered with a resurfacing compound and smoothed over using a putty knife. Smoothing is most important because otherwise you will have lumps and bumps in your walls that you don’t want. In the event you need to smooth the walls further than use sandpaper with a fine grain. Do this after the compound has dried.
Grease is common in kitchens and needs to be removed from the walls before painting can be started. I use TSP, which can be found in the paint department with the solvents in your local home improvement store, to remove impurities from my walls to prep for painting. Start high and work low with a sponge, TSP, and water.
Next, clean the room top to bottom and get rid of all dirt, dust, and debris that could get stuck in your fresh paint.
Cutting in
This gives you clean lines in your corners and near your edges. There are handy dandy edging brushes that I am such a fan of. Ask your local paint expert if you cant find these because they are worth the extra cost in your paint budget. Saves so much time and effort! Maintain a wet brush and firm pressure.
Painting the Wall and Ceilings
I am short and cant reach my ceilings without using an extension pole so I would definitely recommend picking one up because it saves a lot of time. Just attach your roller brush, add paint, and roll away on the ceiling without having to climb up and down a ladder to roll on paint.
One cleaning tip that I can offer you is to line your paint tray with a plastic garbage bag to make for quicker clean up. If your painting will take multiple days then I would recommend just wrapping the rolling brush in plastic wrap tightly instead of rinsing the brush after each use.
Clean Up
Properly cleaning brushes and storing them in clean and dry environment will make it possible to use these brushes for many projects rather than having to buy new each time. Rinse all of the paint out of the brushes thoroughly. I don’t use any sort of solvent to clean brushes myself, just cold water.
The prosses of kitchen painting can be long, painful, and exhausting experience. That’s why you should consider hiring our qualified painters to do the hard work for you, not talking about the time that it will save you. If you are still not sure whether to do it yourself or hire a contractor, call us: 647-558-1615 we will help you to make the right decision.