What does De-Glossing Cabinets Mean?

Just like it sounds, de-glossing means to take the gloss off of a shiny kitchen cabinet before you put on the primer.  The glossier your cabinets are at the beginning, the more work this will be for you. De-glossing is done by manually sanding the surface of the cabinets. If your cabinets are really shiny, sanding may take a while.  Information concerning Bentonville, AR can be discovered here.

Always start with fine-grit sandpaper.  If the fine grit isn’t making any difference in the gloss, move to medium-grit sandpaper. Remember, you aren’t trying to sand down to bare wood – you just want the shine to go away.  Why get rid of the shine?  Because the new paint won’t stick to the shine.  You will know you are done sanding when your cabinets look dull.  Information about Using Foam Brushes to Paint Kitchen Cabinets can be found here.

By Hand?

Most homeowners would want to do this process with a power sander.  That’s ok to do, but it might be too much.  A power sander might take you down to bare wood before you know it. The power sander applies too much pressure.

The other problem with a power sander is that the sanding pad surface is flat, while your cabinets probably have raised panels with grooves.  Those indentations will have to be sanded by hand, or risk the paint not sticking.