This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclaimer for more information.

Updating Kitchen Cabinets

The most expensive part of a kitchen remodel is updating your kitchen cabinets. It’s shocking I know, but it’s also totally true (read about our costs of a kitchen remodel)!! If you’re wanting to save some money on your kitchen remodel, the best thing you can do is try to save your current cabinets. I’ll walk you through some steps for updating your kitchen cabinets by saving what you can and buying the rest. Updating kitchen cabinets isn’t always going to be cheap but it’s going to cost you 1/4 of the price of buying new cabinets. I’ll take that option any day!!

Click on the links below to jump ahead to a specific section:

Step 1: Determine What Your Cabinets Are Made Of
Step 2: Inspect Your Current Cabinets
Step 3: Strip and Sand Cabinets
Step 4: Bondo Holes
Step 5: Remove Wood Grain
Step 6: Prep the Area
Step 7: Prime & Paint Cabinets
Step 8: Prime & Paint Cabinet Doors
Step 9: Update Cabinet Pulls
Step 10: Update Cabinet Drawers

Step 1: Determine What Your Cabinets Are Made Of

Cabinets are typically made of “real” wood (hardwood, plywood) or particleboard covered in veneer. I prefer hardwood or plywood based cabinets because they’re stronger and they’re easier to update. The remaining steps of this post describe the process required to update wood cabinets (not covered in veneer). If you’re wanting to update your veneer cabinets, you can 100% follow the same steps in this post. However, the best method for updating veneer cabinets is to remove the old veneer and add new veneer in the color/stain of your choosing. Yes you will read about people painting over veneer, it does work but there’s a chance it won’t pass the test of time (just something to consider).

How to determine what your cabinets are made of:

• Look at the corners/edges for seams. If you see a seam, then you’re cabinets are covered in veneer.
• Feel the surface of the cabinet. Hardwood cabinets will have wood grain that you can feel, where as veneer will feel incredibly smooth. If your cabinets are painted, then it can be incredibly hard to feel the wood grain. Cabinet makers have a “new” process of painting that makes it almost impossible to feel that wood grain. However, if you have older cabinets then you should be able to feel the wood grain pretty easily.
• Remove a screw to see the “inside” of the wood to determine what you’re working with. If you see wood “dust”, then it’s likely mdf or particleboard covered in veneer. If you see wood chips or splinters, then it’s likely hardwood or plywood.
• After trying all of the above steps, if you’re still not sure what your cabinets are made of then call a friend over and get their insight.

Step 2: Inspect Your Current Cabinets

Now that we’ve established what your cabinets are made of, it’s time to thoroughly check the overall structure of your current cabinets. Pull items out of the cabinets and see if there is any water damage, mold, major chipping, bowing in the wood, etc. to the cabinet boxes. If a cabinet has major damage, then you may need to consider replacing that single piece of cabinetry. You don’t have to replace all of the cabinets just the pieces that are damaged beyond repair. If the cabinets can be salvaged, then grab a beer and celebrate!! You just saved yourself a ton of money!!

We found mold under the oven cabinet, water damage under the sink cabinet, chipped wood, and bowing wood in our longest cabinet piece. We had it all y’all!! Despite the damage, our cabinets were still in really good shape and we felt like we could easily make the repairs needed to save them. I’ll be honest it wasn’t the easiest but considering how much money we could potentially save it was totally worth trying. What’s the worst that can happen?? We mess up and have to buy new cabinets?? Well that’s what we’re already considering anyway so there’s no harm in trying to fix them ourselves.

How to Repaired Water Damage Cabinets:

We removed and replaced any damaged wood from water damage and mold. Then, we replaced the damaged wood with 3/4 inch plywood because plywood handles water spills better than particle board. We also bought a sink mat to protect our cabinets in the future, we don’t want to be rebuilding our cabinets every few years.

How to Repaired Bowing Wood:

We added some extra supports to the bottom of our cabinets to prevent the bowing. Our longest cabinet piece is a custom made cabinet, which is over 10 feet long. That’s asking a lot of a cabinet to be over 10 feet long and over 38 years old. I’d be shocked if cabinets that old didn’t have some bowing somewhere. Luckily it was an easy fix with some added wooden supports between the shelves.

How to Repaired Chipped Wood:

When we removed one of the upper cabinets, we accidently created a 3 inch hole in the side of another cabinet. Obviously we’re not professionals, so we make stupid mistakes all the time. To repair the 3 inch hole/chip we used bondo (more details on Bondo in Step 4) and it looks amazing!!

Repairing your old cabinet boxes will save you so much money. We spent a day making our repairs and it saved us thousands!!

Step 3: Strip and Sand Cabinets

Now that you’ve decided which cabinets to throw away and which to update, it’s time to get to work. If your cabinets are stained, then you may be able to just sand the cabinets instead of stripping them. If you decide to sand your cabinets, then you’ll need to make sure you do a thorough job of removing all of the varnish(shine). You want the wood to be prepared to “soak up your new paint”. If you miss a spot of varnish, be prepared for chipping later on.

If your cabinets are painted, then I recommend stripping them using Citristrip. I buy a cheap paint brush, brush the Citristrip on super thick, and then wait several hours (overnight if possible) before removing the Citristrip. To remove the Citristrip, I use a plastic putty knife to gently scrape off the Citristrip and deposit the “gunk” in an empty paint can. It should come off easily, if not you’ll want to put another coat of Citristrip over the difficult areas. Afterwards, I wipe the wood down with “paint stripper after wash“ and a thin stripping pad. I almost always forget about the after wash until I’m halfway through a project. I’m always running back to the store because it’s the only way to get the remaining residue off your wood. As a final step, I sand over everything just to be sure I’ve got everything off.

Step 4: Bondo Holes

Bondo is my new best friend! I was a little nervous using Bondo at first but now I’m in a fully committed relationship with it!! It’s amazing!! You’ll use Bondo on the any crevices, seams, holes, chips, etc. If you’re going to be updating your cabinet pulls or hinges, then you may need to Bondo over those old holes as well (just something to consider now rather than later).

I pre-marked, using a sharpie, all of the areas I wanted to fill because once you mix the Bondo you only have 3 minutes to work with it before it hardens. After I prepped everything, then I mixed my Bondo and quickly applied it to the areas I circled with my sharpie. I scraped off as much Bondo as possible so I had less to sand later. Don’t stress too much about the sanding though, it’s not that difficult to sand smooth afterwards.

You can use typical wood filler to fill these types of holes and crevices, however, Bondo is a better option in this situation. I used wood filler on one section because I was being lazy and didn’t want to go to the store for more Bondo. I regret not getting in my car and running to the store. The wood filler doesn’t look bad, but I can tell where I used it. It just doesn’t have the same flawless look as the Bondo.

Step 5: Remove Wood Grain

Some people like the wood grain to show through their cabinets, which is totally fine. I prefer the “no wood grain” look, which is hard considering cabinets are made of wood (obviously). After reading about several options for removing wood grain, I decided to try spackling. I put a very thin layer of spackling over the wood using a plastic putty knife, waited an hour, and then sanded the wood. At first I couldn’t really tell that it worked and I thought it was a waste of time. However, now that I’ve painted the cabinets I can tell it’s a lot smoother and it actually worked! It’s doesn’t work miracles but it does look a lot better!!

Step 6: Prep the Area

Before you start painting, you’ll want to make sure the cabinets are clean and prepped for painting. Vacuum the entire room to get rid of all of the sawdust and any stray dog hairs laying around (make sure your shop-vac has a filter otherwise you’ll just be spreading dust). Then wipe the cabinets down with a damp microfiber towel and a tack cloth.

To prep the room, I recommend investing in the 3M Hand Masker. Neil bought the 3M Hand Masker and I honestly thought it was a waste of money when I first saw it. Two months later and I’ve used it on almost every painting project!! Tape off any areas around your cabinets that you don’t want to get painted. If you’re going to be using a paint sprayer, then you’ll need to mask off a majority of the room (ceilings included). If you’re going to be rolling the paint on by hand, then you don’t need to worry about splatter as much. I also recommend investing in some masking paper, which will help protect your floors. Taping and masking can take an entire day, so don’t get discouraged. Prepping is the majority of the work, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Step 7: Prime & Paint Cabinets

Painting the cabinets was probably the most nerve wrecking part of this whole project!! I was worried I’d mess up all of my hard work!! I know I can always sand a mistake and repaint the whole thing but seriously who wants to do that?!?!?

You’ll need start with some research and decide if you’ll be painting your cabinets by hand (high density roller) or with a paint sprayer. I’ve done it both ways and I 100% recommend investing in a paint sprayer.

We went through 3 different types of paint sprayers for this project!! One isn’t worth mentioning because it struggled spraying consistently and made the cabinets look terrible (we had to redo them it looked so bad). The other two are both great options, just depends on how confident you feel in your painting abilities. If you’re brand new to DIY home renovations, then you might want to consider this Wagner Paint Sprayer. It’s super easy to use!! You won’t find any video tutorials online because you just turn it on and push the button!! Easy!! The only problem I had with this paint sprayer is that after 3 months when I tried to use it again for different project, I couldn’t get it to turn on. Hints why we purchased the Graco Airless Paint Sprayer. The Graco Airless Paint Sprayer is pretty easy to use but the paint goes on so smooth that you’ll see all of the imperfections in your cabinets. It definitely creates a more professional look but you’ll need to do a really good job prepping your cabinets if you’re going to use this paint sprayer.

Lessons I learned from using the paint sprayer on our cabinets:

• Map out a painting route. I decided to start inside the fridge surround incase I needed to adjust my gun before moving onward. Then I did the sink, the bar, and then the island. I had a route and method of attack!!
• Start in the far corner and work your way back to your “pump”. Once an area is painted, you don’t want to walk by it again and accidently bump it. So start in the far corner and work towards your pump.
• Start high and then come down low. At first I painted the lower cabinets and then the upper, well that stupid hose hit the freshly painted lower cabinets and scuffed them up!! I hate that hose!! Lesson learned, start high and then come down to the lower cabinets.
• If you’re going to spray the interior of your cabinets, then spray that area first. I don’t recommend spraying the interior of your cabinets unless your going to protect them with cabinet liners afterwards. Otherwise the paint on the interior of the cabinets will get easily scratched as you’re sliding dishes in and out.
• Don’t step on the hose (if it has one). I accidently stepped on it a few times, which causes the gun to squirt a chunk of paint out (I had blocked the flow with my foot). Not a big deal but just something to keep an eye on.
• Start with low-pressure, then adjust from there. I ended up in the middle, but it’s whatever works best for you.

Once you’ve determined which method you’d like to use it’s time to start priming the cabinets. I like to use Kilz Primer, I’m not sure it’s the best it’s just what I’ve always used. I did have one tiny spot that continued to bleed through the Kilz primer, so I had to invest in Zinsser Stain Blocking Prime. It blocked the stain, so definitely something to consider if you see any spots on your project. No matter which primer you decide to use, I’ll warn you that both smell really really bad. Make sure the area is well ventilated (avoid blowing anything around your freshly painted cabinets though). I recommend at least 2 coats of primer just to be safe. Then sand with 220 and 400 grit sand paper, the wood should feel “glass-smooth”.

Now you’re ready to paint!! Finally!! I recommend spraying 3 coats of alkyd paint over the primer. Alkyd paint is super strong and I love working with it!! We painted our kitchen table with alkyd paint and it hasn’t chipped at all (and trust me, our feet are all over those table legs). We’ve used both semi-gloss and satin alkyd paint. Semi-gloss is typically more durable, however, semi-gloss will also show more imperfections. We weighed our options and decided to go with the Behr satin alkyd to help hide our painting imperfections. After your 3 coats of alkyd paint, I recommend waiting a day to remove all of your taping and masking. You’d hate to mess up your fresh paint as you’re removing the tape (I’ve done that before and it sucks). Be patient, give it a day before you start the clean up process.

Step 8: Prime & Paint Cabinet Doors

The process for painting your cabinet doors is basically the same process described in the previous section but I have a few additional tips for you. The first thing you’ll want to do to your cabinet doors is caulk between any crevices/groves on the door fronts. The caulk will help create a smooth finish and will make your cabinet doors easier to clean when needed. I skipped this step at first because I thought it sounded stupid but after a few coats I understood the need to caulk. I went back and caulked everything and it looks amazing!

The next tip for painting your cabinet doors is to invest in some mini painting cones to place underneath the cabinet doors as you’re painting. These little cones were a life saver and totally worth the cost!! They made it easier to spray the sides of my cabinets and protected the paint when I had to flip the cabinets.

The third tip I have for you is to paint the back and sides of the doors first. I didn’t want to paint the sides of the doors at the same time as the fronts because I wanted to focus on making the fronts flawless. So paint the sides at the same time as the backs. Also once you’re done painting the sides and backs, then you’ll flip the doors over to paint the fronts. The mini painting cones will leave a tiny imprint on the back of the freshly painted doors. No one will ever notice since it’s on the back of your doors but they might notice if it’s on the front. So paint the backs of the doors first and then do the front of the doors.

The last tip I have for painting your cabinet doors is to be patient and take your time. Technically paint needs a few weeks to fully cure, meaning you shouldn’t flip your cabinets to paint the other side until then. But who has a few weeks to wait for paint to cure?!?! I gave my cabinet doors one week to cure and used the mini painting cones to help protect my cabinets since they weren’t fully cured. I then attached cabinet bumpers to the back of the doors so they wouldn’t stick to the cabinets once installed. Sometimes cabinets will stick and chip if you don’t let them fully cure so be careful!

If you’re doors are SUPER outdated, then I recommend replacing your cabinet doors for an updated look. We used Barker Doors and I can not say enough great things about their company!! Read all about why we choose Barker Doors here.

Step 9: Update Cabinet Pulls

A great way to update your kitchen cabinets is by updating your cabinet pulls. Pulls comes in different sizes and shapes so determine what look you want and what adjustments you’ll need to make to your cabinets.

Don’t worry about installing the new pulls, it’s super easy with the right tools. I installed all of our new pulls in a few hours using this cabinet hardware jig. After I set my dimensions, I just set the jig on a cabinet door and drilled. No more measuring required, super easy and made my cabinets look consistent and professional.

If you don’t currently have pulls, then recommend installing pulls to protect your cabinets from wear and tear. Otherwise the sides and corners of your cabinets will start chipping/fading because your hands are always grabbing the cabinet doors instead of the cabinet pull.

Step 10: Update Cabinet Drawers

There are a few different ways you can update your drawers. One of the nicest things you can update is the drawer slides. Neil (my hubby) really wanted soft-close drawer slides, he wanted our old drawers to feel smooth and modern. We tried installing the drawer slides ourselves but it’s hard considering how level everything has to be. I gave up and then Neil invested in the Kreg Drawer Slide Jig. He did it by himself while I was gone one weekend and he said the Kreg Drawer Slide Jig made the job a lot easier.

Another way to update your drawers is by purchasing all new drawer boxes. Wait, what??? I know I’m all about being budget friendly but drawer boxes really aren’t that expensive. We didn’t have the option of “saving” our old drawer boxes, they were beyond repair. We replaced all of our drawer boxes for about $800, and it would’ve been about half that price if we would’ve ordered them “unassembled”. Now that we have the new drawer boxes, let me tell you that I 100% recommend the investment. Drawers are just one of those things that you see and use on a regular basis. It’s so nice to open my smooth, new drawers and not see any old marker/food stains. I love them!! If you can’t afford the new drawer boxes, then at least consider some cabinet liners to cover up the old stains on your drawers.

One of the last recommendations I have for your drawers is to invest in some drawer organizers! I know it might seem silly but splurge a little and create that dream kitchen you’ve always wanted!! Be sure to read all about our DIY Kitchen Remodel for more inspiration.

Be sure to save this post to Pinterest for future reference.