Painting Wall-High Built-In Shelves

Remove shelves from the unit. Likewise, remove hardware, such as shelf supports. If your unit has doors or drawers, remove them from the unit and remove knobs, pulls and hinges. Removing components makes it easier to paint the main case, as well as individual parts.

Clean surfaces with a general-purpose cleaner, warm water and a sponge. Rinse with a clean, damp cloth and allow to them dry.

Sand surfaces with 120-grit sandpaper to degloss -- or roughen -- the surface so new paint will stick to it. Remove dust with a damp cloth or sponge.

Protect floors and nearby surfaces with a tarp or painting cloth. When painting high surfaces, the protection allows you to accidentally drip paint without having to descend the ladder for immediate clean-up.

Brush the paint onto surfaces in long, even strokes with the grain of the wood. Load the brush well to achieve excellent, one-coat coverage. A step stool or ladder makes reaching the top of your unit easier and safer. A ladder with a painting shelf allows you to work without having to descend the ladder to reload the brush. Using a small paint pan or bucket avoids contaminating the paint can with dust and dried paint bits. When done with the unit, move on to shelves, doors and drawers.

Allow the paint to dry overnight. Add a second top coat if not satisfied with the coverage of the first. You can recoat as many times as needed. Allow each coat to dry overnight and sand between coats with 150-grit sandpaper, but not after the final coat.

Reattach hardware and reassemble the shelves and other components. If you are using the same hardware, clean off old paint bits by soaking them in hot, soapy water and scraping them with a nylon kitchen scrubby. Polish or repaint according to your taste. Metal parts are easily painted with spray paint, while wooden knobs and pulls can be painted with your top coat to match.