If you want to have the best chance at giving the surface the ability to fully cure, it’s important to set aside plenty of time to do the work. You may be tempted to follow the easiest way to paint your kitchen cabinets to speed up the process, but you want to do the job right, too.
“My top tip is to give yourself plenty of time, don’t rush it!” says Victoria Yardley of Victory Colours, in an interview with Homes & Gardens. “Thinner layers of paint are better than thick layers (less is more) and make sure you let the paint dry fully between coats. Paint needs to cure for quite some time, often up to 28 days.”
If you simply don’t have the ability to not use the cabinets for a few weeks — which is completely understandable — make sure to give the cabinets 12 to 24 hours to dry before touching them. Then be extremely careful over the next few weeks for how you use them. Avoid banging things into them and don’t drag items over the surface that could cause it to gouge or smudge. “Keep the bashing about with pots, pans and tableware to a minimum for a while,” says Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Dulux, in an interview with Homes & Gardens. Just be as careful as possible while using the kitchen cabinets until the paint fully has time to cure.
