How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets With Paint That Won't Yellow

Unscrew the doors from the cabinets and pull the drawers out. Take hardware such as handles and hinges off of the cabinets.

Clean the wood you are painting on the cabinets, doors and drawers by wiping them down with a cleaning agent on a clean rag. You can use trisodium phosphate or mineral spirits for this purpose. Wipe down the wood two or three times to thoroughly clean it and allow the wood to dry.

Scrape away any loose or peeling paint with a putty knife or razor blade. Hold the blade at a low angle so that you remove only the paint without digging into the surface of the wood.

Fill in any nicks or holes in the wood (except the screw holes for the hardware) with wood putty.

Sand the surface with 150-grit. Smooth any rough edges on the wood, the edges of any chipped paint and any places you used the wood putty with fine-grit sandpaper. When sanding, go with the grain of the wood, and sand until the surface feels smooth to the touch. Wipe the wood off with a tack cloth to remove dust created by the sanding process.

Place drop cloths on the floor beneath the cabinets and painter's tape along the walls next to the cabinets. If the cabinet doors have glass in the center, place painter's tape along the outer edges of the glass as well.

Coat the wood on the cabinets, doors and drawers with primer. Use long, even strokes when applying the primer, running the brush tip over the edges to prevent the primer from beading up and dripping. Place the primer only on the tip of the brush to control the application and begin in areas where there is intricate patterns on the wood, such as along the top of the cabinets or on the doors, and move out toward the larger, flatter areas. Allow the primer to dry for the time specified on the can. Sand with 320-grit.

Paint the cabinets using the same technique you followed when applying the primer. Allow the paint to dry, sand with 320-grit and add a second coat.

Place the drawers back into the cabinets, reinstall the hardware and screw the doors back onto the cabinets.