Painting Gloss Bathroom Cabinets
The best finish for a bathroom paint is semi gloss or gloss.
Painting gloss bathroom cabinets. Be prepared to apply at least two coats per side when painting bathroom cabinets. It ensures maximum durability and is ideal for high moisture areas like bathrooms and basements. The best paint to use on bathroom cabinets is an alkyd based paint. Both oil based and acrylic paints come with a semi gloss option.
Semi gloss paint includes more resin and binders when compared to flat paint and a glossy finish bumps up the amount of resins even more. Use painters tape to protect the rest of the drawer from errant brushstrokes. They should balance easily in this position. Choose a fast drying water based acrylic for bathroom cabinets.
Set cabinet drawers on their ends. Overall the best finish for painting cabinets is semi gloss. My bathroom cabinets are frequently used knocked against by my kids step stools etc. Roller or paint sprayer decide which is best for your situation.
Paint the front of each drawer but not the drawer sides or glide hardware. This cures to a super hard finish similar to oil based paints which is what you need in high traffic areas. Satin paint also called pearl paint is slightly less shiny than a semi gloss paint from the same manufacturer 25 to 35 percent glossiness for satin in general compared to 35 to 75 percent. We want the hard finish of alkyd based paint in a bathroom.
Be sure to allow to dry according to package instructions between coats. To prime the cabinet pour a small amount of shellac or oil based primer into a paint tray. Because semigloss has a lot of shine it reflects light and can make colors look more vibrant. Both shellac and oil based primers are generally more effective than latex primer in defending bathroom.
I have painted all the natural oak cabinets in my home in a variety of colors using semi gloss. Semi gloss paint is the balance between eggshell and high gloss and works well with any style bath or kitchen. Semigloss cupboard paint will accentuate any imperfections so be sure to sand cabinets well if you choose this type of paint. Use a primer paint first or lightly sand existing paint finishes.
Once primer is dried according to package instructions apply 2 3 very thin coats of a high quality satin semigloss or high gloss paint.