Painting Your Cabinets

If you are like many San Diego homeowners and ready to update your kitchen, you are probably trying to figure out what to do with your existing cabinets.

Costs to replace your kitchen cabinets can be considerable. However, the option of repainting your kitchen cabinets has become wildly popular in the last few years.

This blog will shed some light on the situation, and explore the process of repainting your kitchen cabinets.

How much does it cost to refinish my kitchen cabinets?

This is a question we get asked often. Although there are several options, including doing it yourself, we will discuss the costs to hire a professional cabinet refinisher to complete the job.

Keep in mind, there are lots of painters who claim to paint kitchen cabinets for a "good price," but in the end, the cabinets turn out looking terrible. Painting or finishing cabinets requires many years of experience, knowledge of woodwork, good preparation and even safety practices. Not everyone has the skills to finish this job properly.

Keep in mind, repainting your cabinets will be about 75-80% less expensive than refacing or replacing cabinets. You are already saving a considerable amount of money by hiring a pro.

3 Price Options For Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets

Good:

Some companies will brush and roll your kitchen cabinets. They will not remove your doors, drawers or hardware but will carefully paint your cabinets in place. If you have a rental property, this is probably your least expensive option.

This process would require cleaning the woodwork, a primer and two coats of finish all done with a roller and brush. If the painters are clean and decent, some homeowners are perfectly happy with the look of this technique.

For a standard kitchen, prices could range from $1,000-1,800 for this type of work.

Better:

Another option is a bit more thorough in the preparation and removal of doors, drawers and hardware/hinges. A paint company would spray the doors and drawers in a spray booth onsite or off-site.

If it is onsite, a professional company will create a proper spraying area that will make the cabinets turn out beautifully. They will also use a stronger, more durable product such as a pre-catalyzed lacquer.

To save a little on cost, they can carefully hand brush the kitchen frames and boxes. A painter that is good with a brush can make the cabinet frames look almost sprayed. This requires a lot less masking and preparation of the kitchen.

The cost for this type of service can also range depending on colors selected and the size of one's kitchen. For a standard size kitchen again, the price range might be more around $3,000-3,800.

Best:

The best option is typically what most of our customers choose. Our company will spray all the cabinetry: doors, drawers, boxes and frames. We will sometimes update the hinges and hardware while we are working there as well.

This is a service we can provide as well. Typically this option is recommended when you have quality cabinets and you plan on updating other parts of the kitchen, such as the countertops and appliances.

The range for a standard kitchen for this level of prep and service is approximately $3,500-5,000. If the kitchen is quite large with an island, it might increase the cost to $6,000-8,000, or more.

One last thing to consider

Although you might wonder if you can get by with the cheapest estimate, the rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for.

Our company has painted, stained, refinished and finished hundreds of kitchens over the past 37 years. We've also seen some botched up cabinet jobs from other painters and heard "horror" stories. Please don't go cheap on your cabinets.

Once, we had a homeowner show us a sample board of a competitor. It was awful. Our price for the job was close to $4,500 and his was $800. We showed her a sample cabinet door of what we could do. She saw and felt the difference.

By seeing a sample of an $800 job versus a $4500 job, the decision was quick and easy. This homeowner became a satisfied cabinet painting customer of Chism Brothers. She chose quality over “a deal,” and she totally transformed the feel of her kitchen while avoiding a major renovation.

You might think that the more expensive options aren’t worth the price, but remember, the better options (and higher price tag) will reflect a quality job!

Are we right for you?

Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free estimate for your kitchen or other cabinetry projects. We can discuss the prices with you and even help you select the right kitchen cabinet colors. If you want to really dress things up, we can apply a glaze to the cabinets as well! Call us today at 858-454-3850, send an email, or Request an Estimate Online.