My kitchen cabinet paint job peeled in a year. Now I sand every time.

Always thought I could skip sanding on laminate cabinets. Used a bonding primer and thought it was enough. After they started chipping, I redid it with proper sanding. No issues since, and the finish is way better.

4 comments

4 Comments

beth2762mo ago

Joelmoore's point about grease is huge. That deglosser might cut through the shine but it won't touch the thin film of cooking oil that builds up on every kitchen surface. You can't see it, but it's there. Sanding physically removes that layer along with the gloss. A primer can't bond to grease, it just sits on top of it. That's why a dry hallway might be fine without sanding, but a kitchen is a grease trap by comparison. The bond fails the first time you wipe a cabinet with a damp cloth.

ivan7743mo ago

Honestly though, is the sanding step always that big of a deal? I've seen people just use a really good deglosser on laminate and it held up fine for years. Maybe it depends on the brand of primer you used the first time.

joelmoore3mo ago

That's a fair point about deglossers sometimes doing the trick. From what I've seen, skipping sanding works best on lightly worn laminate that hasn't been waxed or heavily cleaned. But if the surface is super smooth or has any grease, sanding gives the primer something to really grab onto, which matters a lot for long-term hold. The primer brand for sure plays a role, but so does the type of paint you use over it. Your mileage may vary, but I've seen jobs fail after a few years when sanding was skipped, especially in high-use areas.

ward.kim3mo ago

Okay but here's what I wonder, when you say you've seen jobs fail after skipping sanding, were those in kitchens or bathrooms? Because moisture and heat changes might wreck the bond faster than in a dry hallway. A deglosser might seem fine at first but then it peels where there's steam or big temperature swings.