How to Repaint Kitchen Cabinets
How to repaint already-painted kitchen cabinets: addressing yellowing and chip damage, changing color over dark paint, lighter prep than first-time painting, and a durable two-coat finish.
Decorate · Kitchen
This guide is for cabinets that are already painted — you're refreshing a color, fixing a yellowing finish, addressing chip damage, or changing to a new color. Less prep than first-time painting, but with specific techniques for dealing with existing paint conditions that generic guides miss.
If your cabinets are raw wood, factory-finish, or stained-and-varnished (never been painted), see How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets — the full first-time process with deep prep and tannin-blocking primer.
Assess the Starting Condition First
The scope of this project depends on what you're dealing with. Three scenarios:
| Condition | Process | Primer needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Well-adhered paint, same or similar color, minor chips and yellowing | Scuff sand, fill chips, spot-prime bare areas, two coats of enamel | Spot only |
| Well-adhered paint, significant color change (dark to light) | Full scuff sand, full tinted primer coat, two coats of new enamel | Full coat, tinted |
| Widespread peeling or delamination | Strip back — this is not a repaint. See first-time guide | N/A — strip first |
Why Cabinets Yellow — and How to Fix It Permanently
The cause is almost always oil-based alkyd paint oxidizing over time. The fix is repainting with a water-based alkyd hybrid enamel (Benjamin Moore Advance, SW Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel) — these do not yellow. Over yellowed areas specifically: apply shellac-based Zinsser BIN primer before topcoat to block both grease stain and tannin bleed. Painting new white paint over yellowed cabinets without primer blocks the yellow returns within 1–2 years.
The Steps
01 · Number and photograph all doors, then remove
Same as first-time painting — number every door and its cabinet opening with tape before removing anything. Remove doors, drawer fronts, hardware.
02 · Fill chip damage
Surface chips: lightweight spackling, let dry fully, sand smooth with 150-grit then 220-grit. Deep chips or gouges into substrate: vinyl-modified wood filler. Feather edges flat. Spackling shrinks — let it dry fully before sanding; if it sinks below the surface, apply a second fill and re-sand.
03 · Degrease
Even with existing paint, grease must come off before new paint is applied. TSP substitute, wipe, dry. Extra attention to cooking zone cabinets.
04 · Scuff sand entire surface — 150-grit, then 220-grit
All surfaces should be dull and matte — no shiny areas. Use a sanding sponge on raised-panel profiles. Tack cloth thoroughly after sanding.
05 · Prime strategically
Same color refresh: spot-prime only at bare fills and scratches. Color change: full coat of tinted primer (match to new color). Yellowing: BIN shellac primer over all yellowed areas. Allow to dry, sand with 220-grit, tack cloth.
06 · First and second coats of cabinet enamel
Same painting sequence as first-time application: raised-panel doors use panel→profile→stiles→rails order. Long strokes, wet edge, do not overwork. Overnight between coats. 220-grit scuff between coats. Two coats standard; three if color change requires it.
07 · Cure, reinstall, keep touch-up paint
Handle after 24–48 hours. Do not close against frames for 5–7 days. Label and store a small jar of the finish paint for touch-ups over the next 2–3 years.