How to Fix Peeling Kitchen Cabinets

Loosen and remove the hinge pins from each hinge of the cabinet doors using the flat-head screwdriver. Lift the doors off the cabinets and place them flat on the plastic tarps. Unscrew and remove cupboard knobs and handles. Place all cabinet hardware pieces in a small bag to keep them safe.

Loosen the large chunks of the peeling paint by skimming them off with a paint scraper. Work carefully over every cabinet door to remove the loose paint from each door.

Load the palm sander with 120-grit sandpaper. Thoroughly sand all surfaces of the cabinet doors to remove additional paint. Switch to manual sanding to sand crevices and recessed areas of the cabinet doors. Thoroughly wipe the doors with the tack cloth to remove sawdust.

Load the 2-inch paintbrush with primer. Evenly apply the primer over the front surfaces of the cabinets. Keep the brush strokes vertical, and remove excess primer as you cover the surfaces to ensure the primer covers the wood in a thin layer. Push the brush bristles into crevices to coat these areas neatly. Allow the primer to dry for the time recommended by the manufacturer.

Apply acrylic paint over the primer using the same paintbrush. Use care to keep the brush strokes neat, applying the paint in a very thin layer. Allow the paint to dry completely for the time recommended on the paint can. Apply a second coat of paint after the first coat of paint completely dries.

Wait for five days before rehanging the cabinet doors to ensure the paint is sufficiently set. Hanging the cabinet doors before the paint completely hardens may result in gouges in the fresh paint.

Hang the cabinet doors back onto the cabinets by aligning them on the hinges and inserting the hinge pins. Reattach the old knobs or replace the knobs with new ones.