Hit 50 repainted kitchen cabinets last weekend and my arm is still sore

I've been slowly redoing my entire kitchen one cabinet at a time over the past 3 months. Last Saturday I finally hit the 50 cabinet door mark and I honestly didn't think I'd get that far without giving up. The prep work is what takes forever, all that sanding and cleaning before you even touch a brush. Has anyone else tried those paint sprayers instead of hand rolling? I'm tempted but worried about drips.

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_robinson366d ago

Agree with you @cora518 about the prep being the worst part, it's like you spend all your energy on the boring stuff before you even get to the fun painting part. It got me thinking how that's just how things go in a lot of life projects, the real work is in the setup and planning, not the big flashy finish. I noticed this same pattern when my neighbor tried to redo her bathroom, she spent days just patching holes and sanding before she ever picked up a brush. We all want to skip straight to the easy part, but nothing turns out right if you don't put in that groundwork first. Hand rolling might be slower but it forces you to slow down and do it right, which is probably why it looks better in the end.

cora5186d ago

Actually read a blog post from a pro painter that said hand rolling gives a better finish than sprayers for cabinets... something about how the paint levels out nicer with a roller. But they did mention sprayers save a ton of time if you don't mind taping off everything in sight. The prep is definitely the worst part, I'm with you on that. Sanding all those little crevices made my fingers cramp up for days.

williams.sage6d ago

A buddy of mine tried rolling his kitchen cabinets last summer and swore by it. He spent a whole weekend just doing prep and taping, then rolled three thin coats over two days. Said the finish came out smoother than any of those spray can jobs he'd seen at home depot. Only catch was his back was killing him from crouching down to get the bottom panels even. He joked it was a toss up between back pain or hand cramps from sanding.