Repairing Blotchy Spray Paint on Cabinets

Wipe the cabinets down with a cloth soaked in paint thinner to strip the blotchy paint job. Allow the paint thinner to soak into the wood for about 10 minutes and then wipe the cabinets with the cloth to remove the paint. A paint stripper may be necessary if the paint is old or thick. Use a solvent recommended by the stripper manufacturer to clean up.

Scrub the wood with a cleaning solution made with trisodium phosphate and water, if you have used thinner. Mix the chemical as directed by the manufacturer. Rinse the wood and allow it to dry completely.

Sand the wood with medium-grade sandpaper. Wipe away the excess dust, then sand the wood again with fine-grade sandpaper. This will give the wood a smooth, uniform surface, which will make it more receptive to paint. Wipe the cabinets with a damp cloth.

Apply wood primer to the cabinets. You can use a brush or a paint sprayer for this application. Spread the primer using full, even strokes. Avoid laying the primer on too thick; spread the primer as thinly as possible to ensure quick drying. If you use a sprayer, hold it about 12 inches from the cabinets and spray in a single direction to ensure even coverage.

Allow the primer to dry before applying paint. Start at one end of the cabinet, and then move the sprayer in a continuous stream from left to right until you have covered all surfaces with an even coat of paint. Overlap each pass slightly to account for spray dissipation at the edge of the stream and to ensure full, even coverage.

Allow the paint to dry. Apply a second coat of paint if deeper color saturation is desired. Once the second coat dries, apply a protective wood sealer, such as polyurethane or lacquer. Wood sealer varies by product and manufacturer, so read the label for complete details on application and drying.