Friday, October 8, 2010

Paint A Bathroom Vanity Cabinet

Painting the vanity gives your bathroom a fresh look.


Painting your worn-out bathroom vanity cabinet is a great weekend project and will make a big impact in a small room. With proper prep work, it will be really durable, too. Get creative with color and transform your bathroom. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Take the doors off the vanity, pull out the drawers and remove all hinges and hardware. Put them in a bucket of mildly soapy water to soak. If there are rubber bumpers on the vanity doors, scrape those off. Replacements are very inexpensive at hardware stores.


2. Using your degreasing cleaner and warm water, scrub all the woodwork with the flexible sanding pad or wet-dry sandpaper. This takes care of the cleaning and sanding in one step. Rinse and let it dry. Use newspapers or drop cloths to protect counters and floors.


3. Apply a paint primer to all surfaces. Paint the cabinet boxes and both sides of the doors, paying attention to drips along the edges. If you are painting around a mirror, either use a very steady hand or painter's tape to protect it.


4. Now caulk any gaps on the doors, drawers and where the woodwork meets the walls. Slick off all excess caulking carefully with a damp fingertip until it is smooth. Let this dry for at least two hours, depending on how heavy the caulk lines are.


5. Paint everything you have primed. It is better to do thin, even coats than heavy, clumpy ones. Let it dry at least eight hours. Then, sand very gently with your fine-grit, wet-dry sanding paper or sanding pad. Carefully dust off any residue. Paint your second coat. Unless you are using pure white or a very low-hide color, two coats should be sufficient, but don't put all your paint away just yet.


6. Hang the doors and replace the hardware. Now check for any little dings from putting everything back together and touch up the paint as needed.

Tags: your bathroom