Do I Prime Over Semi-Gloss Paint to Refinish Cabinets?

Remove cabinet doors and set hardware aside. Check the existing paint for peeling, cracking and chipping. Sand a portion of a cabinet door with medium-grade sandpaper. If paint flakes off easily or in large flakes, you should plan on sanding thoroughly, then priming the wood before adding a finish coat.

Determine, if possible, what kind of paint was used for the existing finish. New latex paint will self-prime, or adhere, to old latex, and new and old oil paint layers bond well together, as long as the existing coat is firmly attached to the wood. If you do not know what kind of paint was used originally, or if you are applying latex over oil or vice-versa, you should definitely prime to improve adhesion.

Evaluate the fraction of wood that is laid bare by scraping and sanding prep. Bare wood will absorb new paint differently from previously painted surfaces. Priming will insure that your finish coat goes on smoothly and evenly. As a rule of thumb, plan to prime if a quarter or more of prepped wood is bare.

Prime if you are making a strong shift in color, such as a light or pastel color over a dark surface or an intense, dark color over light cabinets. A primer coat is more viscous than finish paint and will prevent bleed-through of previous colors.

Skip priming if you are essentially duplicating the previous coat of paint, as long as the previous coat is intact and secure. Do not, however, skip sanding. Even if you are moving from ivory to off-white, the existing paint needs to be roughened all over with fine-grit sandpaper to maximize adhesion of the new coat.