How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets Before Painting

How to clean kitchen cabinets before painting them to ensure that the paint will stick.

Before sanding and painting any kitchen cabinets you want to thoroughly clean them.

We like to use Dawn dish soap, M1 liquid deglosser or Krud Kutter.

You can use these brush attachments:

or green Brillo pads to clean your kitchen cabinets and get them ready for prep and paint.

What Is Liquid Sandpaper? (Best way to degloss wood)
Yes, Liquid paint deglosser (liquid sandpaper) works on previously painted gloss surfaces but before you go jumping into painting your next glossy surface you need to understand how deglosser works and when you should use it! Liquid sander will NOT work on oil-based paints. You will have to scuff and use an oil-based primer for that!

How Does Sandpaper work?

Liquid sandpaper is a specially formulated solution that you can apply to a glossy painted surface or polyurethane to take the sheen off and ideally paint over that surface without having to sand.

The solution causes a chemical reaction that breaks up the density of the finish and therefore it loses its gloss. 
Now when you prime or paint over the deglossed surface, you will create a chemical bond between the surface and primer/paint.

There are 2 types of bonds you want to create when painting.
A chemical Bond (primer/paint “melts” in with the previous finish)
A Mechanical Bond (primer/paint “locks” in with a scuffed up surface)

A mechanical bond is created when the surface is scuffed up to create a tooth for your paint to bite into.
Check out this short video to see how we use liquid sandpaper to prep kitchen cabinets for painting.

How Long Does Liquid Sandpaper Last?
The average deglosser has an operating time between 3-7 days.
If you wait longer you risk not creating that chemical bond.
Then you would have to apply it again.

How to use liquid sander deglosser?
Pour your liquid sander into a clean bucket.
I like using a green Scotch-Brite pad to scuff up the surface at the same time.
This pad is coarse enough to get the job done without damaging the surface.

Is liquid sandpaper the same as Deglosser?
Although there are different names for deglosser, liquid sandpaper is the same product.

[DIYhomeimprovementguy]

Check out 518painters.com/blog for more tricks of the trade👍🏼

[DoreneT]

Thanks for the video, direct and to the point!

[jinsun]

I read through almost. all your blog post about cabinet painting prep series, thank you very much for making these awesome posts to help people out. Really appreciate all your effort!

[samanthabigham]

Totally forgot I had those brush attachments till I passed your video now my job on the kitchen will be soo much easier! Thanks!

[kristinpanos]

This was immensely helpful as I'd just begun prepping cabinets for paint- I also had brush attachments that I'd not thought of using, and great confirmation that the Krud Kutter degreaser I had started using is recommended by pro's! And it's great to see his son taking part in the video production. So adorable.

[JMPK]

Kids are so great. Never realized how happy mine were going to make me. Take care!

[catbee]

Thank you! You are the first vid that I've seen that shows those awesome brushes--think I will try them out:) Your son is so HANDSOME! He looks like a handful!

[ipaintkitchencabinets]

Great video. I’m in the kitchen cabinet painting and refinishing business myself, I just bought these brushes and we put them on a corded drill in our shop to clean the cabinets… Brother, I must say they are fantastic for cleaning the cabinet doors. A real timesaver and they actually do a better job than by hand. Thanks for sharing this

[susano]

Great tip, straight forward advice. Love that you involved your adorable son in the family business.

[littleflower]

Your video is very helpful and your son is adorable.

[dennispuleo]

The handsome kid is priceless
And so is your tip for the cabinets

[womanwsoul]

Dang I wish I would have seen this video before I started my kitchen cabinet refresh. I thought I'd seen every relevant YouTube before I got going and I've done everything by hand but those brushes look perfect for my DIY project. Oh well, next time. PS. You're both so cute!

[gb]

Thumbs up from Ireland great advice mate! 🇮🇪

[conradyo]

Your son is a funny kid. God Bless bro

[jman]

Best advise. Now please tell me how to get a smooth coat of paint with out a sprayer?

[Braveheartman]

What about using Prep All which is a wax and grease remover that’s widely used when painting cars just before spraying

[ToaffyLoaffy]

Will try this out brother i been looking for a better way to clean cabinets

[lanabebee]

Great video. Thanks for the tips. Your son is a cutie

[age_of_reason]

Do you have to rinse off the TSP with water?

[yutasuzuki]

Hey man, great idea having three different brushes on hand. What do you use to remove built up grime on the edges of the doors?