The kitchen is often considered to be the “hub” of most Northern Virginia homes. It is the most trafficked room in the house and after a while, it looks like it. Cabinets and drawers get scratched, marked up, and dented in the normal course of kitchen activities. The same goes for baseboards and pantries. Ceilings are exposed to years of steam and vapors from food preparation.

If your kitchen is showing its use, but not so bad that it needs a complete makeover, then it’s probably time to touch up those imperfections and restore the space to something resembling its original condition.

A kitchen touch up is a doable DIY project and you certainly don’t have to call in professional painters to do the job. However, Reston’s leading home painting company, All American Painting Plus, has some tips for the task that will ensure professional results.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Kitchen Touch Ups

If you are like most Northern Virginia families, you kept the leftover paint or stain originally used in the kitchen and it’s stored somewhere in the basement. We’ll give you a few tips on how to use that paint without making the touch ups obvious.

  1. Make sure you actually need to paint. Sometimes rubbing a spot with a soapy cloth will remove marks. Another alternative is to make a paste of baking soda and water. Put it on, wait a bit, and then remove it.
  2. If painting is the solution, open some windows to ensure good ventilation.
  3. Make sure you have enough paint to do the job. If you are low or the paint has mostly dried up, take the can to the paint store and ask for the same color and finish. While you are there, you are going to want a good quality primer as well.
  4. Prime the area you want to paint with a high quality latex primer. Obviously, don’t go outside the area that you want to touch up.
  5. You’ll want your touch up to have the same texture as the rest of the space. If a brush was originally used, use a brush. If the paint was rolled on, get a small handheld roller.
  6. Thin out your touch up paint by about 10%. Use a thinner recommended by the paint maker. A thinner paint will not be as obvious as full strength when you put it on.
  7. Don’t overload your brush or roller with paint. Start with a small amount and apply more if required. You want to avoid a thick patch job.
  8. “Feather” the paint. This is a technique to “hide” the fact that you touched up the area. If you are using a brush, extend your strokes slightly beyond the touch up area. If you are using a roller, take a dry roller and start from the center going outward while gently lifting the roller as you go. The idea is to blend the touch up with the surrounding space.
  9. Don’t throw paint out in the trash or down a drain. Be an environmentally responsible Virginian and take old paint to an authorized recycling center.

The last tip is to be patient and allow the paint to thoroughly dry before you evaluate your work.

If You Need More than a Touch Up

If your cabinets have seen better days, you can quickly transform them by calling the residential painting pros at All American Painting Plus. Our professional painting crew will sand down and repair flaws, apply paint or stain, and install new hardware. Presto, you have “custom” cabinets without the expense of custom cabinets!

Contact All American

Give us a call today. We’re sure that you will be pleasantly surprised by our affordable painting estimate!