What Grit Sandpaper For Painting Cabinets

Equipped with 100 grit sandpaper orbital sanders remove surface material from cabinets and doors without going too deep.

What grit sandpaper for painting cabinets.

This creates a truly random sanding pattern which removes wood quickly and minimizes swirl marks. Do a first pass with 100 150 grit sandpaper then finish with a second pass of 180 220 grit sandpaper. Off center at the same time. A simple product that combines sand or similar abrasive material on a strong backing paper sandpaper is used to smooth surfaces remove rust or paint and can prepare a surface as well.

Remember the higher the grit number the smoother the finish. If your cabinets have a factory finish sand lightly with 120 grit sandpaper or a sanding sponge. Light grit sandpaper such as 120 or 180 grit on an orbital won t remove material fast enough. If the cabinets are stained or coated with a single layer of clear finish you may not need to use paint stripper.

Choose a high quality paint. Sand the finish from the cabinets trim and drawers with 120 grit sandpaper. Sand the surfaces of the doors drawer faces and cabinet frame to create a smooth surface for priming. Lower grit numbers represent coarser abrasives that scrape off materials much quicker.

Then sand again with 120 grit to get rid of any sanding marks. This speedy randomness also allows you to smooth joints where the rails and stiles of your cabinets meet at right angles. You can sand by hand if you would like but your arms will probably get pretty tired. The higher the grit number is equivalent to a finer abrasive which creates smoother surface finishes.

Sandpaper is one of the most common items you will find with professional painters along with all types of construction workers. If the surface is rough from a previous paint job or poor varnishing job start with coarser 100 grit paper to remove bumps. Painted cabinets should get a thorough sanding with 120 grit paper but no matter the finish do a final pass with 220 grit. But you don t need to sand to bare wood.

Grab your orbital sander and some medium grit sandpaper. Most cabinet finishes are too smooth or glossy to reprime and repaint so using a medium sandpaper we like 100 to 150 grit sand down your surfaces a little not enough to sand away the current finish entirely but enough to give the primer a little more grit to stick to. Special cabinet paints are available that provide a smooth finish but any high quality paint should work. The grit of sandpapers is a rating of the size of abrasive materials on the sandpaper.

Orbital sanders are best for bulk sanding. Wood cabinets are ideal for painting but any surface that can be scuffed with sandpaper can be painted.