Painting kitchen cabinets - not a good DYI project

Kitchen cabinets endure a lot of wear and tear from daily use, and the sheer number of them makes ​updating a kitchen a big project.

Many older kitchens have stained wood cabinets that are in decent shape. When updating a kitchen, most homeowners are replacing dated finishes like golden oak with modern painted cabinets or darker, semi-opaque stain colors that camouflage heavy wood grain, especially on oak cabinets.

“If you watch HGTV or home makeover shows, you’ll see a lot more painted cabinetry and woodwork,” said Brian Schwaller. “So, to update the look of their home without replacing all the cabinets and trim, homeowners often call a painting contractor.”

New cabinetry for a kitchen remodel is expensive, and can render your kitchen unusable for weeks or even months. A quicker and more affordable option is re-staining or painting kitchen cabinets. This is not to be confused with refacing kitchen cabinets, which is typically more expensive than painting and involves replacing or applying new laminates to doors and drawer fronts.

Painting cabinetry is much more complicated than rolling paint on a wall and really isn't a good DIY project. Extensive preparation and technique goes into painting cabinets to achieve a smooth, durable finish that lasts. Cabinets should be correctly prepped (including sanding), then primed and painted with a sprayer. Telltale signs of a DIY job include roller and brush marks, and later chipping or peeling paint.

“You shouldn’t just use paint from a big box store. You need a higher-end, cabinet-grade finish that will hold up to household cleaners and has a high washability,” Schwaller said. "When the right products are applied correctly with professional spray equipment by an experienced painter, your painted cabinets will look like they just came from the factory.”

There's no need for your kitchen to be torn up for weeks when you're painting kitchen cabinets instead of replacing them. Schwaller's can often refinish cabinets in less than two weeks. We remove the doors and drawer fronts and refinish them in our shop, then deliver them finished and ready to re-install. Only the cabinet frames need to be refinished on-site. Our professional painters carefully protect your home from any mess and clean up spotlessly afterwards.

If your stained cabinets are a little worn but you like the finish, our pros can custom-match the stain to touch them up and reseal them. There's no need to remove quality custom wood cabinetry built for your kitchen when you can refurbish worn cabinets can make them look new again.

Contact us today to schedule a free in-home estimate for your project!

Learn more about Schwaller’s Painting, Staining & Drywall