How to Glaze Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Remove all the knobs and drawer pulls from the cabinets and set them aside in a safe place. Wipe the cabinets off with a rag dampened with cleaner. Tape around the cabinets to protect the surrounding walls.

Examine the finish on your painted cabinets. Surfaces with matte, eggshell and satin finishes are ready for glazing. Glaze may form beads on a high-gloss surface. Use a low-grit sandpaper to remove the sheen from semi-gloss paint. Follow by wiping the cabinets with tack cloth.

Mix tints or acrylic paints with glazing medium. Adjust the colors to make the desired shade. While earth tones will suggest wood, you can also achieve a noteworthy look with unexpected colors like shell pink or pale green. Keep the finish looking soft by sticking with a color similar in value to your base paint.

Apply the glaze with a wide, soft brush in approximately four-inch strips that follow the direction of the wood grain. Most of glaze job will involve dragging in a vertical direction.

Apply and drag one strip at a time, to prevent the glaze from setting up too quickly. Drag through the wet glaze with a wide, natural-bristle brush with a single brushstroke to even the glaze out.

Use a new, whole piece of steel wool to make a second pass through the glaze. Use soft, even pressure and do not stop until you reach the end. Pausing during the process results in small deposits of glaze on the cabinets. Wipe the steel wool off on a rag. Drag through the glaze again to soften the finish, if desired.

Apply glaze on the next strip. Drag through the glaze with a brush and steel wool, following the same process for each section. Replace the steel wool when it becomes sticky or saturated with glaze.

Run a thin artists brush around the edges of the cabinets to remove any pooling paint. Take off the tape. Wipe off any bleeding paint with a damp rag, being careful not to touch the wet glaze.

Allow the glaze on the cabinets to dry completely. Reinstall all hardware.