How To Paint Bathroom Vanity Cabinets (Easy DIY Tutorial)

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The “Before” Bathroom

Our house was built in 1992, and oak Merillat cabinets and molding really seemed to be the standard. One thing we know is that getting rid of the golden oak color in your home can really help update your space. 

We have done a lot of home DIY projects that use a similar painting technique to help get rid of the oak color. From painting our kitchen cabinets white to repainting a different bathroom vanity, we have a lot of DIY home painting experience.

This time we wanted to create a nice blue-gray cabinet for our bathroom vanity.  This matches the two-toned look of the painted oak stair railing that is outside the bathroom door.

Do bathroom cabinets need to be sanded before painting?

Yes, you need to scuff up the surface of your cabinet in order for the primer to adhere to it. However, it is not as big of a deal as you think. You just need to lightly use a sanding block or 220-grit sandpaper and go over your cabinets. Your goal should be to dull the current surface.

Don’t worry the sanding part is really not bad and will take you only a few seconds which we will explain in the step-by-step tutorial. 

What primer should you use to paint bathroom cabinets?

Using the right primer is one of the most important things when painting bathroom cabinets. We used Sherwin Williams Multi-Purpose Latex Primer to primer our bathroom vanity.

It has been our go-to primer for our home DIY projects, but that does not mean that an oil-based primer may be better. If you can stand the smell and cleaning of the brushes you may want to try the Zinsser stain-blocking primer listed below.

• Zinsser Water-Based Primer
• Zinsser Oil-Based Stainblocking Primer: if you don’t mind the smell, but will do a better job sealing your wood cabinets than a latex-based primer.
• If you are going to be painting your cabinets white, you may want to consider using an oil-based primer so that the wood tannins don’t bleed through. Wood tannins are colors that may bleed through in your paint and will create yellowish or brownish spots.

What kind of paint to use on a bathroom vanity?

For best results, the type of paint matters no matter the brand. Make sure that you are using paint meant for cabinets and woodwork.

Our favorite water-based cabinet paint to paint cabinets is Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel. We had painted these bathroom oak cabinets before I discovered this water-based paint that doesn’t resemble your typical latex paint.

Most Economical Bathroom Paint

This Behr latex enamel was relatively cheap compared to some of the other types of paint. For a budget-friendly update, this paint worked well.

I am still happy that I used the Behr paint on my bathroom vanity.

Comparing Prices Of Paints

The regular price of the Behr latex enamel is around $40 and the SW Emerald Urethane Trim is closer to $95. (never pay full price though on SW paints because they always have sales).

Read More>>> Find The Best Paint For Your Bathroom Cabinets

Recommended Supplies

• Deglosser
• Tack Cloth or Rag
• Drop Cloth
• 220-grit Sandpaper
• Enamel Paint in Semi-Gloss-We used this paint in Charcoal Blue)
• Primer-We used SW All-Purpose Latex Primer
• Brush– A good quality brush like Purdy 2 ½” Angular Trim Brush or equivalent from Wooster will help you get a smooth finish.
• Small Roller Handle
• Small High-Density Foam Roller-these rollers help you apply paint in thin coats for a new look
• Paint Tray-these small ones are our favorite to use for small painting projects
• Painter’s Tape-Even though we used the tape meant for delicate surfaces, we should have used the classic multi-surface tape
• Hardware Pulls or Knobs– Here are the handles we used
• Spray paint or new hinges (unless you like your current hinges)
• Plastic Door and Drawer Protectors

Step 1: Remove All Drawers and Hardware

• Take all doors and drawers out. You will notice that we have a fake drawer on the top and did not remove or unscrew that. It was fine to paint it as part of the cabinet box.
• Take off hardware (hinges as well).
• Place in a bag and label clearly. You also want to put a piece of painter’s tape inside the drawers labeling where they came from. 

Step 2: Scuff Up The Surface With 220 Sandpaper

Lightly sand with fine sandpaper to roughen up the gloss on our current surface. This always allows the primer to stick a little better. Make sure you go with the grain.

Step 3: Wipe Down With Deglosser

Use a deglossing agent or trisodium phosphate to clean cabinets. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when using a damp cloth to wipe down cabinets, drawers and doors. Also, you want to double-check that you completely cleaned and deglossed all parts. You do not want anything greasy left over.

Step 4: Tape Out The Back Of The Drawers & The Side Of The Cabinet

Tape any spots that you feel you will not be able to trim well with a brush. I only taped along the wall where the cabinet and wall meet. Use your fingernail or an old credit card to really push the tape on.

Tape drawer fronts on the back so that you can add a coat of primer and paint tothe backs of the drawers easily. 

Step 5: Prime Hard To Reach Areas With Brush

Use a primer with a brush first in areas that can’t be rolled. The biggest thing is to make sure you cover everything, while not having drips.

If you’re painting cabinet doors and they are like our standard construction-grade cabinet from the 1990s, make sure to not have extra drips in the grooves or ridges.

Step 7: Prime With A Small Foam Roller

The large flat surface can have primer applied with a small foam roller. The same principle applies to full coverage while making sure not to have drips.

Step 8: Let Primer Fully Dry

Let your primer dry. The front and back of the drawers should be able to be painted/primed at the same time because you should be able to prop them up. Once the primer is dry, you will have to flip the door over and do the backside. 

Pro Tip: Saving your brush and roller in a Ziploc bag is a great tip so that you can save the hassle of having to wash your brush every time. 

How long does it take primer to dry?

The primer should be dry in a few hours (I believe Sherwin Williams says 4 hours). However, I also call myself the naptime painter so I always paint in steps during naptime and just continue the next day.

Therefore, I did the back of the door later that day but waited to start with my semi-gloss latex enamel paint until the next day.

Step 9: Start Using Latex Enamel With Brush

Step 11: Cover All Surfaces With One Coat Of Paint

Make sure that you evenly paint the sides and all parts of the cabinet boxes with the first coat of paint. It is very easy to miss a spot. Look at your cabinet and vanity parts from all angles to see if you missed any spots. 

Step 12: Let The Paint Fully Dry & Add A Second Coat Of Paint

Repeat the steps with the grayish-blue paint at least twice. You may decide to add a third coat depending on how thickly you applied the paint.

You can choose to paint your old laminate counters, keep them as is or remove them and replace for a new look. As you can see, we replaced ours with a new counter and faucet.

Step 13: Let Your Painted Doors And Drawers Fully Cure

It is important that you don’t rush to put new or old hardware back on immediately. Once we felt the paint was cured enough, we decided to add our cabinet pulls.

Normally, we do not pick larger hardware but thought this was a great way to cheaply modernize our bathroom vanity. 

Optional: Add Or Paint Hardware

Before, putting brass hinges back on, you can use spray paint to update the look and match your handles, knobs or pulls.

You can also purchase new hinges (of the finish of your choice) pretty cheaply.

Tips For Spray Painting Hinges

Use an old piece of cardboard so that you can stick the screws in so it is easier to spray the heads with silver spray paint. This will allow you to get full coverage on all parts that you will be adding back to your newly painted cabinets.

Read our full tutorial about painting cabinet hardware with spray paint.

Our New Handles

These large pulls came from Amazon and are only plated brushed nickel. The price was right for our kid’s bathroom makeover.

They came very well packaged with limited scratches or blemishes. I think ordering 5 this size from Amazon was cheaper than anything I could have found at a big box store. 

Read More>>>14 Unique DIY Painted Bathroom Vanities from our DIY friends. We love the different cabinet color ideas.

Tutorial FAQs

Before and After Painted Oak Bathroom Cabinets

It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do for your bathroom cabinets. From the Charcoal Blue cabinets to our SW Grayish bathroom walls we love how the bathroom came out. The only thing we need to do is spray that vent black! (Thanks for the comment and suggestion from one of our readers).

More Budget Bathroom Ideas

You may have noticed that this bathroom also had a few other DIY projects to help finish it. You can see all the products and other DIY bathroom remodel ideas here.

• DIY Herringbone Bathroom Accent Wall-different bathroom with budget-friendly ideas
• DIY Rustic Pipe Bathroom Shelf-we added this later
• 28+ Modern DIY Bathroom Shelving Ideas-seriously such an awesome list of DIY shelves you can build this weekend.
• 7 Mistakes To Avoid When Painting Cabinets