Cabinet Painting, Staining, & Refinishing

Cabinet Finishing

Do your cabinets need a refresh? Is the paint peeling or chipping off or the clear coat starting to crumble? Maybe you want to give your stained cabinets a new shine or change the color of your existing cabinets? PaintWRX can help. In this section, we’ll discuss your options for giving your kitchen cabinets an upgrade, offer you advice on how to choose the right professional for your project, and give you the steps to follow to transform your kitchen into the space you’ve always wanted it to be. Let’s get started…

Hiring the Right Professional

Home buyers often consider the condition of the kitchen as one of the most important factors when choosing to buy their new home. When you refinish your cabinets, you are increasing your home’s value and making it more attractive to potential buyers. This is an investment that should last for many years to come. So how do you make sure that your new finish will last? It starts with choosing the right professional to complete your project. Keep in mind, the right professional is rarely the cheapest. There are many companies that would be happy to slap a coat of paint on your cabinets and take your money. This may work fine for an apartment or a rental property, but this is your home. You spend a lot of time in your kitchen and you are investing in your home’s value. You want the job done correctly.

When you begin reaching out to painting contractors, use this checklist to see if they are a good fit for your project:

·     Ask them for references on other jobs they’ve completed (and contact those references).

·     Ask them to provide photos of their work.

·     Ask them to thoroughly explain their refinishing process.

·     Ask them which materials they will use and why they have chosen those materials.

·     Ask them if they provide a warranty on their workmanship.

·     Ask them if they are insured, bonded, and licensed.

Of course, you may have additional questions, but these are important and you should not skip this step! Having this information can make the difference in your project’s success.

1.) Planning – Before any work begins on your project, the contractor needs to determine a painting plan. Often, a sketch is drawn of your cabinet layout and each opening, door, and drawer face is assigned a number so that it can be returned to its original place. The number will be will also be written on your cabinet door, often behind the hinge. If you are keeping your current hinges, each set of hinges/screws will be placed in a separate plastic bag and labeled to match the door number. This helps maintain your door’s original alignment so that no readjustment is needed when the doors are reinstalled. Other planning considerations are made to account for overspray areas, customer availability, ventilation, access to the area, and project timeline.

2.) Painting Interior Cabinet Boxes and Drawers – Most often, when refinishing cabinets, the interior of the boxes will remain in their current state. Most cabinets have had a clear coat sealer applied to protect the shelves and boxes from scratches and moisture. If you decide to paint the interior of your cabinet boxes, you should keep in mind that metal pots and pans, dishes, silverware, etc., can easily scratch even the toughest of painted surfaces. We don’t usually recommend painting the interior of your kitchen cabinets.

3.) Masking – This is a very important part of your refinishing project. Especially if all your food, pots and pans, dishes, etc. will remain in place throughout the project. Each opening must be properly sealed with paper or plastic to prevent paint particles from entering your cabinet spaces. Along with all of the openings, floor protection must be used to protect from overspray and all other areas should be protected if they are not being repainted. This includes appliances, backsplashes, sinks, walls, etc.

4.) Preparation – We have already discussed some of the contaminants that can have an effect on the new cabinet finish. To remove all of the contamination, your contractor will need wash every surface receiving paint. Commonly, a solution of TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) and water is used to thoroughly scrub the surface and remove oils and dirt. Once the cabinet is cleaned and rinsed, every surface must be sanded to provide a “tooth” for the new primer and paint to adhere to.

5.) Spraying vs. Brushing/Rolling – While not a hard and fast rule, it is often true that a sprayed on finish can provide a smoother, more consistent result than a brush and roller. Brushes can leave brush marks (lines in your paint) and rollers can leave a slight stipple (visible texture). Many of the high quality wood finishes on the market today are meant to be sprayed, not brushed or rolled. While we have seen professional cabinet jobs turn out well with a brush and roller, it is not something that we would recommend for a smooth, factory-like finish.

6.) Priming – No matter what finish you have on your current cabinets; this step should not be skipped. You may hear a contractor say that if your cabinets are already painted, there is no need to prime. This is simply not true. If your cabinets are stained then there is a lacquer or varnish clear coat on top that will require a primer for adhesion. A good primer will provide a build coat that will help fill the wood grain, provide a smooth surface, and help hide the underlying natural wood colors from bleeding through to the topcoat. It is not uncommon for two-coats of primer to be applied. Each coat must be sanded smooth, and all dust removed before moving on to the next step.

7.) Painting – Only after each one of the previous steps have been completed, can painting begin. In fact, the painting step typically takes the least amount of time on a project like this. If all the other steps have been completed correctly, the painting process should go very smoothly. Each coat should be applied with a sprayer and given sufficient time to cure before the next coat is applied with a quick sanding/dusting in between coats.

8.) Reinstallation – Once the cabinets and doors have cured, the doors and drawers are ready for installation. This should be a breeze if everything was properly labeled during the planning phase. All of the masking should be removed, and the area should be thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned of all dust and debris. It is important to note that while the paint has had time to cure, it can remain soft for a period of time and should be handled carefully for the next few weeks.

Wrap Up...

As you can see, refinishing cabinets is more than just slapping a coat of paint on. It’s a very specific process that requires a painting contractor that has the knowledge and experience to get the job done.

At PaintWRX, we have a professional spray booth in our shop that allows us to handle cabinet refinishing projects of any size. Our process is exactly the one you have just read about and we make sure every step is completed to our professional standard of quality. As for our preferred materials, we have found that a combination of primer and topcoat manufactured by Renner Italia delivers the best results. These are water-based products that can be sprayed safely in your home as they contain very low VOC’s and provide a refined and elegant look to your cabinets.

New cabinets? We can do that too! We can stain, lacquer, or paint your new cabinets for a factory look. Are your stained cabinets in decent shape, but just need a new coat of clear? Let our cabinet specialists help bring your cabinets back to life.