How to paint Metal Cabinets easily

I had this idea for a very long time but wasn’t sure if it would work. Would painting metal cabinets with regular paint actually work, would the paint stick and would it look good? I wasn’t sure and didn’t try it.

But now that I found this metal cabinet in a Thrift Store, there was no stopping to it. I was obsessed. But how do you easily update metal cabinets? The answer is paint them and I show you how right here.

How to paint Metal Cabinets easily in a couple of hours?

I researched and got some good ideas how to start updating my 5 Dollar Thrift Store find with paint.

The next day I started with an easy to follow metal cabinets makeover using regular paint to make it look stunning.

Before you start painting, clean it

This is how it looked when I bought it. A little beaten up but not terrible. It had some rust and of course it was dirty. Therefore I cleaned it thoroughly and then sanded over it.

After sanding the rust off, I cleaned it with deglosser.

Then I sprayed the paint and primer on it. But careful!!!! Don’t spray it while the cabinet is standing up, lay it down, then spray it and let it dry. Then turn it and spray the other side. If you spray it standing up, this could happen.

The paint runs and you have to sand it again to smoothen the drips. Otherwise it won’t look good when you paint it.

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How to start with the metal cabinet makeover

The first thing to think about is the color scheme.

• Where are you going to place it?
• What color would look good on it?
• Do you only want it painted in one color or more colors?

I knew I wanted a pattern on it or at least different colors. But because I love my stencils, I decided to add a stencil for sure.

Get your supplies:

• Rust-oleum Paint and cover in white,
• Rust-oleum Crystal clear enamel,
• Paint (I used a paint sample for this small cabinet),
• Foam brushes small and medium,
• Glass Container with Lid,
• Calcium Carbonate
• sandpaper if you need

After you have selected your paint colors and bought the Calcium Carbonate, make chalk paint out of it. And this is how:

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Buy Calcium Carbonate. Here is a link where to buy it:

• Mix Calcium Carbonate well with 4 tbs. of warm water to get a smooth consistency.
• Combine with 1 quart of flat latex paint.
• Mix thoroughly until smooth and that’s it.

How to paint Metal Cabinets easily – Get ready to paint

Cover the outside area where you sand and paint.

If the hardware comes off, take it off. Mine didn’t come off so I decided to paint over it.

Clean the cabinet thoroughly. If it is rusty, sand the rust off, then clean it. Make sure there is no dirt or grease on the cabinet. Let it dry.

Spray paint the cabinets with the primer. Let it dry. It doesn’t take long to dry. Check if the surface is nice and smooth.

Pour the chalk paint you just made into the paint tray and start painting with the foam roller.

Don’t add too much paint on your roller, just roll it on easy. Don’t use too much pressure. Always roll in one direction only.

Paint the top, the two sides and the front. If you want and you think it is necessary, paint the back side. I just added one layer of paint on the back.

Let it dry.

Paint it again and make sure it looks good overall.

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What to do with the hardware?

Paint the hardware in a different color to add an accent.

If you decide to add a stencil in an accent color as I did, then just paint it the same color. If you have pretty tape, then cover the hardware with it.

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How to add a stencil

Do you have stencils already at home? If not, check at Michael’s or any craft store. I think even Walmart carries stencils. Here are some you can order on Amazon:

Decide on the position, where you want to add the stencil. Do you just want the top covered, the sides or the front?

Use painters tape to tape it where you want the stencil to be.

Get your accent paint, pour it into the tray and use a small amount of paint on the roller and roll over the stencil easy.

I use a tiny foam roller for painting over the stencil. This is to receive the best results if you do that.

If you use too much paint, the paint will go under the stencil and smear it. You want a clear pattern, so start with very little paint and rather go over it a couple of times to make it look good.

(I have done lot’s of stenciling in my house https://colorfuldesigner.com/how-to-paint-stencil-on-wood/)

Roll a couple of times over the stencil and make sure that you covered all the cut-outs completely. Then take the stencil off the cabinet and clean the wet paint off.

Let the paint dry and if you want to use the stencil on a different side just do the same steps again.

How to add a finish touch

I couldn’t take the hardware off so I decided to paint it. It didn’t look good. I wanted to have some accent on the hardware so I added some Washi tape from my Washi tape collection.

After the cabinet was painted and dry, the stencil looked good on the top and the front, and the hardware was updated with tape, I spray painted the clear coat on it. This is important to protect the paint from scratches.

Just to be safe, spray paint it on the same way as you sprayed the primer. Lay the cabinet, spray it on, let it dry, then turn it around.

Spray paint the sides when laying in order to prevent running paint or running clear coat.

This is how it looks finished

I am totally in love with the look of my metal cabinet. What do you think? And it fits perfectly to the wall and floor color.

How about the inside of the drawers?

The inside of the drawers also needed an update. But painting is hard because you just can’t reach all the corners. This is why I decided to add some pretty gift paper.

Of course you can spray paint the inside of the drawers, but you should do that before you start painting the outside. Also, if you want to spray paint the inside, take the drawers off to be able to get the paint everywhere.

Check through your collection of gift wrap or left over wallpaper or anything pretty you can find in your house. Just cut it the same size of the drawers and lay it inside or tape the sides so the paper won’t move.

Here is how it looks inside now:

Summary of how to paint a metal cabinet easily and adding a stencil:

It is totally simple to do, you don’t need any special skills to update a metal cabinet. The only thing I would advice you to do is to make chalk paint out of regular paint. The paint is thicker and will stick better on to the cabinet.

Follow these easy steps and the $ 5 metal cabinet looks stunning.

Here are the steps again:

• Clean the cabinet thoroughly.
• Sand all the rust off the cabinet and clean it with deglosser.
• If you can, take the hardware off.
• Spray the primer on all sides and the top.
• Make chalk paint out of your paint sample (or buy chalk paint)
• Paint the cabinet at least twice.
• Let it dry.
• Tape the stencil onto the cabinet and paint over it.
• Update the hardware with tape or silver/bronze paint.

It took me two afternoons to get this cabinet pretty. First afternoon I sanded and painted the cabinet and the second afternoon I added the stencil and finished it up.

It was a fun project to do because you see the results almost instantly. And for $ 5 cost of the cabinet you can’t complain how it looks now.

So if you have a metal cabinet you want to update, start doing it now. I am so happy with how it looks.

And the next project is already on my balcony and it will have a different pattern on it.

This is how to start:

How to paint Metal Cabinets easily – my second project.

The cabinet looks blunt, not very pretty, just plain grey and needs an update. It is not rusty or beaten up, so the only thing to get it ready for painting is cleaning it.

1. Start with cleaning it with deglosser to get rid of all grease.
2. What pattern do you want to add? Get the supplies for it.
3. Get your paint ready.
4. Mix the calcium carbonate and add it to the paint.
5. Start painting with the foam roller
6. Let it dry and paint it again.

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How to add a stripe pattern

I decided to add a stripe pattern on top of the cabinet. This is how to do it:

1. Get painters tape and a level.
2. Decide on a stripe pattern you like.
3. Add the painters tape and make sure it is straight. Use the level for straightness.
4. Press the edges on tightly, no paint should get below the tape.

Get your small paint foam roller and the accent paint. Roll the accent paint color between the tape gaps but over the tape edges.

Make sure you add two layers of paint to cover the whole stripe.

Watch the short video to see how it looks when you take the tape off:

And here is how it looks after the tape is taken off and the cabinet is back in my home again.

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Both of the metal cabinets came out great. Each one is painted differently, but both look very cute compared to the blunt look before.

If you are thinking of painting a metal cabinet, just get one or two sample paints, this is plenty of paint to cover the cabinet. I had leftover paint samples I used for both metal cabinet updates.

That means, it was a very inexpensive project for me to do. I love it.

Are you looking for an easy weekend project?

Did you get hooked on stenciling? I added many stencils to my home. If you want to see where you can add stencils, and how to do it, here is https://colorfuldesigner.com/how-to-paint-stencil-on-wood/

If you bought a stencil for updating your cabinet, don’t stop now. There are many ways to use a stencil around your house.

See you at the blog,

Conny xoxo

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