Painted Your Kitchen Yourself and It’s Peeling? Here’s How It’s Fixed

Painting kitchen cupboards yourself looks simple on social media. In real life, many DIY paint jobs start chipping around the handles within months, peel at the edges, or never quite lose their tacky feel. We’ve seen — and put right — plenty of failed kitchen painting attempts, so here’s why it happens and what can be done.

Why DIY kitchen paint fails

Grease that was never fully removed

Kitchen doors carry years of airborne cooking grease, much of it invisible. Paint won’t bond properly to a surface that hasn’t been thoroughly degreased, so it lifts at the first knock.

No key and no primer

Smooth factory finishes — melamine, laminate, gloss and old lacquer — need to be keyed and primed with the right adhesion primer. Paint straight onto them and it sits on the surface rather than gripping it.

The wrong paint

Wall emulsion, general-purpose eggshell and chalk paint without a proper protective topcoat are too soft for doors that are opened, wiped and knocked dozens of times a day. Kitchens need paint designed for kitchens.

Brush and roller marks

Even with good paint, brushing and rolling leaves texture. That’s why a sprayed finish looks factory-made and a brushed one usually looks painted.

Not enough curing time

Paint can feel dry within hours but take weeks to harden fully. Doors rehung and used hard too soon pick up marks that never come out.

Signs your paint job has failed

• Paint chipping or wearing through around handles and door edges
• Peeling or flaking near the kettle, oven or dishwasher
• Doors that stick to the frame, or a surface that still feels tacky
• Visible brush marks, drips or patchy coverage

Whatever you do, don’t add another coat

It’s tempting to paint over the problem. But new paint on top of paint that isn’t bonded will fail with it — and every extra layer makes the job of putting it right bigger.

How we put a failed paint job right

1. Assessment. We look at how well the existing paint is holding and what’s underneath it.
2. Taking back the failed paint. Loose and poorly bonded paint is removed and the doors are sanded back to a sound surface.
3. Proper preparation. Degreasing, repairs, and the right primer for the surface underneath.
4. Spraying in our workshop. Doors and drawer fronts are sprayed with specialist kitchen paint in our dust-free workshop, while the fixed parts are finished in place.

The result is the finish you were hoping for in the first place — in any colour you like, matched to Dulux, Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Edward Bulmer or your own swatch.

Send us a photo

If your DIY paint job isn’t holding up, send a few close-up photos through our online quote form and we’ll tell you honestly what’s involved. No judgement — it happens to a lot of people.