Color Finishes for Kitchen Cabinets

Paints

• Painting a custom finish onto your kitchen cabinets allows you to choose from more color options than with pre-finished cabinetry. Apply a painting primer before spraying, rolling or using a paintbrush to apply a flat matte or glossy paint finish. Match the paint with the cabinet material to ensure a smooth finish that does not peel in the future. You may also paint murals, words and images onto the cabinets

Stains

• Stains provide a colored finish for wood cabinetry. Available as either water- or oil-based finishes, wood stain may be applied by either brushing or rubbing the stain into the wood of your cabinet faces and doors. Wood stain adds a deeper brown to wood surfaces and is available in multiple shade options, though you may create other shades by combining stains. You may also lighten stains by adding clear coating of the same base ingredient.

Glazes

• Available in paint and wood stain shades, glazes offer a sleek finish for wooden cabinetry. The glaze pigments concentrate in the recessed details of the cabinet doors and molding to make the finished cabinets appear antique. Brush stroke glazes must be applied with a paintbrush, following the grain of the wood, to create a textured, decorative effect on the flat surfaces of the cabinets.

Considerations

• The type of color finish you apply to your kitchen cabinets will depend on the material makeup of your cabinets. Wood cabinets may be painted, stained or glazed, while metal- and plastic-coated cabinets may only be painted. To achieve smooth and protected finishes, you should apply a primer before applying paint, stain or glaze and a clear coating of wood sealant or polyurethane after the color finish dries thoroughly.