Kitchen Cabinet Painting

We don't just paint over kitchen cabinets, we refinish them to look new again!

Kitchen Cabinet Painting

Painting vs Refacing vs Replacing Kitchen Cabinets

Painting kitchen cabinets is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to give your kitchen a brand-new look.

If you are happy with the layout of your cupboards, you do not need to replace or reface them. You will literally save thousands of dollars compared to replacing or refacing them.

Expectations: Who should paint your kitchen cabinets?

If the goal is paint previously stained cabinets to look new again, remove the doors and drawers from the cabinet shells and take them to a paint shop where they can be properly refinished and spray painted. All other sections that cannot or should not be removed can be painted onsite using traditional methods. Spray painting doors and drawers always produces the best results.

If you are on a budget and are good with a brush and roller you can save thousands painting them yourself.  If you aren't too fussy and don't expect perfect, DIY kitchen cabinet painting is a great way to update a kitchen for a few hundred dollars.

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DIY Tutorials

Should you hire a house painter?

If you want your cabinets to look somewhat better than DIY, don't even think about attempting to paint cabinets yourself. Hire a painter. Most people who attempt to DIY kitchen cabinet painting would never do it again. Painting cabinets is is tedious process that requires above average painting skills. Once cabinets have been painted poorly, it may cost a lot more to fix them than its worth. See bad kitchen cabinet painting.

House Painters vs Cabinet Refinishing Painters

The average house painter should be able to paint cabinets better than DIY, but don't expect high quality. Most painting contractors ARE NOT cabinet painters. House painters don't normally have the proper setup and training, let alone the patience to refinish cabinets to look much better than DIY. House painters usually paint kitchen cabinets and cupboards like they spray paint houses.  Cheap painters come at a cost

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Spraying kitchen cabinets on the walls

Kitchen Cabinet Painter

Kitchen cabinet painting and refinishing is a specialized trade. If your goal is make kitchen cabinets look new again, hire a professional kitchen cabinet painter. They clean, sand, remove old finishes, including shellac, lacquer & varnish before painting and DO NOT MAKE A MESS!

  • Residential cabinet painters are a combinations of wood finisher and high-end residential painter all in one;
  • Residential cabinet painters are fine finishers able to hand paint details to MATCH high quality spray finishing;
  • Kitchen Cabinet Painters would have a spray painting shop and the ability to pick-up and deliver what they refinish without damage.

No mess, clean, professional kitchen cabinet painting that does not require extreme taping or masking. You don't need to empty your cupboards!

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oak shells before painting
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Oak shells after painting
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Oak kitchen cabinet painting

Costs and comparison’s

  • The average cost to replace kitchen cabinets is between $15,000 $30,000
  • The average cost to reface kitchen cabinets is between $8,000 and $15,000

How much does it cost to professionally refinish & paint kitchen cabinets like this?

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Cost to paint kitchen cabinets

The average cost to refinish and paint kitchen cabinets is between $4,000 and $6,000. This includes sanding & refinishing, all labour, paint and supplies.

Larger kitchens with more detail will cost $6,500 +

Costs are based on:

Can all types of cabinets can be painted? 

Yes! All wood products, laminates, melamine and even thermofoil cabinets can be beautifully painted.

See many examples in our Gallery 

Do you need to paint inside the cupboards or shelves?

Most cupboards are laminated with a durable surface so it's not necessary to paint inside them. However, if they are open shelves or are behind glass doors you may want the inside to match the exterior of the cabinets, walls etc.

Cabinet colours

We use Benjamin Moore paint so you have over 3500 colours to choose from! We can colour match as well.

Two-tone cabinets

If you want more than one colour or shade of white, you can paint the uppers, lowers, islands and even bathroom vanities any colour you like. 

Vanities, bookcases, mantles and more!

We often paint bathroom vanities, built-in cabinets, laundry room cupboards, bookshelves pantries and even fireplace mantels. This can be a huge savings if you choose to have everything done at the same time.

How long does kitchen cabinet painting take?

Painting previously stained kitchen cabinets requires extra steps and time to prevent old stain and grime from being exposed. These steps requires extra attention to detail which can never be done in one day.

Start to finish is usually about 10 days or less.

PAINTING Guys Shop

Our goal is to produce the very best results in a healthy environment. We have our own dedicated painting shop outside Edmonton where we do the bulk of the sanding and spray painting.  Service Area

We use Festool hepa filter vacuum sanders and their air extraction system on-location and in our shop. Everything is done to perfection. Nothing is perfect, especially when it comes to refinishing older cabinets that have been stained and gone through a few decades of use but we know you will be thrilled when you see how great your cabinets will look.

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PAINTING Guys Shop

Service Locations 

We provide these services in the following Alberta locations: Edmonton including all surrounding communities north to Cold Lake and east to Lloydminster Alberta. Service Area

How to paint kitchen cabinets to look new again

Overview

Realign all cabinet doors, disassemble doors and drawers, clean, sand, patch, caulk and apply 2 coats of undercoat, apply 2 coats of finish coat and allow everything time to cure. Reassemble, add new felt door and drawer bumpers and we are done! 

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Changing cabinet bumpers

Refinishing cabinet doors and drawers

The most important step in kitchen cabinet refinishing revolves all around how well the doors and drawers are refinished. When they are smooth, they not only look good but they will also stay cleaner if they are smooth.

How to paint kitchen cabinets doors
Spray painted cabinet doors and drawers look beautiful!

Cleaning cabinets

Contrary to top ranking google results for “How to paint kitchen cabinets like the pros”   … we never use Trisodium phosphate (TSP) heavy-duty degreaser as a substitute for cleaning or sanding. TSP​​​ should never be used to clean cabinets because TSP affects bonding. Always read the labels before mixing chemicals! 

Sanding

When it comes to refinishing older kitchen cabinets, if you do not sand everything properly, the finish will not only look cheap but it can also scratch or peel much easier. Sanding the old finish down to clean wood, patching dents and fixing cracks is how to properly refinish cabinets to look like new again! This process is particularly important when refinishing darker stained cabinets to a lighter colour and shade of white.

Sanding is the nasty part of cabinet refinishing and there is no fast and cheap way to do it without compromising the end result. Refinishing the doors and drawers requires about a week to sand, clean, patch and allow the spray finish to set and cure properly before reassembling back in the home.

How to sand kitchen cabinets

Drying racks!

Freshly spray-painted doors and drawers that are placed on drying racks in a vented dust-free environment ensure a satin smooth finish every time!

Drying racks for kitchen cabinet spray painting
Kitchen cabinet drying racks 

Painting exterior sections of the cabinets and cupboards

The exterior sections of the kitchen cabinets, which include the face frames, any exposed cupboards, shelving, crowns, valances, gable ends, kick plates are always done by hand before finish coating.

These sections should be cleaned, sanded, sealed and undercoated in place so they do not expose old stain, bleed or any gaps around the walls and ceiling. This is why you do not remove these section and why you take the time to allow everything to cure.

Painting shells is very clean. We use festools hepa filter dust extraction and vacuum sanders. Other than having cabinets without the doors and drawer fronts on them, you are able to use your kitchen throughout our entire process and you do not have to empty the cupboards!

Kitchen cabinets without doors and drawers 

Painting kitchen cabinet shells - how to paint kitchen cabinets

Painting crowns, valances and trim

When the goal is to repaint any previously stained cabinet "to look new again", do not remove crowns, valances or any trim that will show old stain between cracks, joints and seams. Sealing everything in tack is how you do it and always use high-quality paint-able products that do not shrink at different cure speeds of the top coat.

We never use alkyds or cheap caulking that shrinks or causes adhere issues. When it comes to cleaning, we never use TSP because is will cause a chemical incompatibility issue with primers. Always read the labels before you use the product.

Finally: always allow these areas time to cure before finish coating. You do not want anything to crack open 12 months down the road.

Quality vs speed drying painting products

We do not use chemical based products to speed up the drying and curing process (formulate the coatings). Quick dry chemicals tend to be more brittle and problematic to cracking around seams and joints as seen in the example below. This is why we take time to prep and refinish cabinets properly using latex and acrylic based products. The down side is these products take a few days to cure between our steps but in the long run these products also stabs the test of time.

Lacquer vs Paint, which is better?

When it comes to refinishing older kitchen cabinets to be painted, which is better to use, lacquer, pre- or post-catalyzed lacquer (epoxy formula) or paint?

Below is an example of why we don’t use pre- or post-catalyzed lacquer (epoxy formula). Example of a pigment lacquer cabinet door finish failing only after a few years. Pre or post-catalyzed lacquer (epoxy formula) fails like the rest of the finishes, especially if they weren’t primed properly.

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pre- or post-catalyzed lacquer (epoxy formula) chips and flakes

Climate and humidity

Most stained cabinet panels are designed to expand and contract throughout seasonal climate changes. When this happens the gaps between the panels are purposefully stained so you do not notice this happening. But when you paint older cabinets for example white… the gaps between the panels and seam can become very noticeable and unsightly. Therefore, when it comes to repainting older cabinets we need to overcome the dark gaps from suddenly appearing and exposing old stain.

  1. To overcome these issues we must clean the joints, vacuum out dust and hand paint shellac based bonding primer into these gaps and joints. This process cannot be done with sprayers. It must be done by hand.
  2. After priming we use high end caulk and acrylic paint because these products expand and contract far better than composites, lacquer or alkyds as these products are prone to cracking over time.

Using products that bond and work together to prevent down-the-road warranty problems is difference between cheap looking repaints and like new results that last for years.

Spraying cabinets on the walls

Many residential painting contractors include "kitchen cabinet painting" as part of their service. They will set-up a "spray-net", plastic and tape off cupboards so they can spray paint everything in the home. They claim this process is the best.

We realize not everyone paint the same results. Masking everything all and spraying cabinet on the walls is not how we paint kitchen cabinets. Here is why:

Spraying cabinets on walls never produce as consistent and professional looking finish as detail hand finishing does. A sprayed 45 degree angle always creates excessive lap build-up and over-spray from the back pressure. You can reduce this pressure using an HVLP but this problem still exists which is why we do everything on the walls by hand. Taping off cabinets like this example below is a complete waste of time and money.

Wrapping cabinets in plastic to spray paint is a waste of time

If spray painting or clear-coating cabinets on the walls was good enough, all cabinet makers would choose this method.

Detail Hand Painting 

Part of this beautiful built-in refrigerator cabinet was sprayed and other sections were hand painted. Being able to seamlessly paint what cannot or should not be disassembled is why we have decades of thrilled clients throughout Western Canada. 

Hand painting the shells always looks far superior to taped off make-shift spraying. Tape lines look cheap and tend to bleed and chip at the seams of the tape lines.

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How to painter a built-in refrigerator. Edmonton cabinet painters

The Finished Product!

On the last day of the process we return back with all the sprayed painted doors and drawers and complete the finish coating. We always allay at least two coats. The goal is to do whatever is nessesary to achieve the best looking refinishing we can do.

When everything is put back together the end result is always amazing. Kitchen cabinet painting is definitely worth every dime spent. Our clients are constantly amazed over how beautiful their old kitchen cabinet turn out.

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Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Your search for “kitchen cabinet painters near me” is over!

PAINTING Guys - ranked best choice when it comes to high quality kitchen cabinet painting services.

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PAINTING Guys kitchen cabinet painters

 

FAQ

What kind of paint do we use to paint kitchen cabinets?

Kitchen cabinet panels often shrink and expand throughout the seasons from changes in humidity

Therefore, it’s important to use flexible paint that bonds well to all types of products.  We always use Benjamin Moore colours and their top acrylic paints.

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Cabinet Paint

Lacquer and oil-based products will yellow, shrink and crack over time.
Acrylic paint, (which doesn’t yellow or shrink)  makes more sense to use when painting cabinets. Read more on chipping and cracking

  • We always use high-quality acrylic paint.
  • We don't use lacquer or oil products, including hybrid oil paints because they yellow and shrink over time.

Paint Brand:

We choose Benjamin Moore acrylic paint because it is the best cabinet paint on the market.

  • Acrylic paint comes in any colour and the colours look amazing;
  • Acrylic paint does not smell or have harmful VOC off-gases such as alkyd, solid pigmented lacquer and composite paint.
  • Acrylic paint does not yellow which is extremely important when painting older cabinets a shade of white;
  • Acrylic paint is very durable and easy to touch up years down the road;
  • Acrylic paint is more flexible in comparison to a "composite, alkyd or lacquer" finish. Seams and joints have less chance of cracking compared to alkyd, solid-pigmented lacquer and composite paint.

Cabinet colours and choices:

We choose Benjamin Moore acrylic paint because of how it looks compared to all other brands.  Go to your local Benjamin Moore stores, choose a colour and we can paint your kitchen cabinets that colour. You are NOT locked into a pre-mixed limited colour choice such as you are with fast one-day painting companies.

In this how-to video, we demonstrate the durability of Benjamin Moore acrylic paint and why we don't recommend solid-pigmented composite, alkyd or lacquer paint. 

Is it a good idea to paint kitchen cabinets?

If you are happy with the layout of your cupboards, you do not need to replace or reface them. We’ve been restoring old kitchen cabinets for 4 decades and all our clients are extremely happy. See our testimonials

Does paint chip?

Kitchen cabinet paint is no different from a car. It will chip if you hit it.

However, for the paint to stick and feel smooth, surfaces should always be prepared properly. After 40 years in the painting business, we have learned one thing that sets our work apart from others, paint chips far less and adheres to a surface much better when old finishes are clean and sanded back down to the wood again.

Sanding greatly improves paint adhesion, durability and overall look.

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We Always Sand!

Before Painting, Priming or Undercoating

⚠️ When it comes to kitchen cabinet painting, it is very important wood surfaces are extremely clean and porous (never shiny). The deeper paint gets absorbed into the wood, the less chance paint will chip or be as noticeable. See flood coating

(sanding is particularly important when painting darker wood cabinets light colors or shades of white)

Note: We never use lacquer because it yellows, cracks and chips at corner joints with expansion. 

Benjamin Moore Acrylic paint is our choice of when it comes to kitchen cabinet painting because acrylic paint does NOT yellow, it is more durable and flexible than lacquer and it comes in any color you desire! 

Service Areas

Cities and towns we paint kitchen cabinets near me include:

  • Edmonton
  • Sherwood Park
  • Lloydminster
  • Bonnyville
  • St. Paul
  • Fort Saskatchewan
  • St. Albert
  • Lac La Biche
  • Mundare
  • Smoky Lake
  • Athabasca
  • Cold Lake
  • Elk Point
  • Vegreville
  • Barrhead
  • Radway
  • Innisfree

Make-shift spray booths

Some painting contractors will set up a make-shift spray-net in the kitchen area to isolate and vent off-gases and dust from entering the house. They claim this method is good enough however we do not subscribe to this as it is problematic and unhealthy for both client and ourselves.