Cabinet painting and spraying
Cabinet painting keeps the kitchen you have and changes the part you look at. Every door and drawer front comes off, gets degreased, sanded, bonding-primed and sprayed in a dust-controlled setup. The boxes are sprayed or brushed in place. The finish is a hard waterborne enamel such as Benjamin Moore Advance or Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane, chosen for how it holds up to hands, steam and dishwasher heat.
Concept imageryOn the quote, from the start.
- 01Every door, drawer front and hinge removed, labelled and tracked so each one goes back where it came from
- 02Degreasing with a dedicated cleaner, then sanding to a dull surface so the primer has something to grip
- 03A bonding primer suited to the cabinet material, whether wood, MDF, laminate or a previous factory finish
- 04Two sprayed coats of waterborne enamel on doors and fronts, with the boxes masked and finished to match
- 05Kitchen sealed off with plastic, counters and appliances masked, and the floor covered end to end
- 06Doors rehung, hinges adjusted, new pulls fitted if you supply them, and a touch-up visit under the [2-year] warranty
No figures published. The drivers, in order.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Number of doors and drawer fronts | Each piece is cleaned, sanded, primed and sprayed on both sides. Thirty fronts is a different job from sixty. |
| Door style | Raised-panel and glazed doors have more edges and profiles to sand and more places for a run to hide than a flat slab. |
| Current finish | Bare or previously painted wood primes easily. Thermofoil, high-gloss laminate and old lacquer need a specific primer and more sanding. |
| Colour and sheen | A dark colour over light cabinets, or a pure white over oak grain, can need an extra coat to cover evenly. |
Island and pantry fronts count the same as any other door. The written quote lists the door count so you can see exactly what the job covers. Read the cost guide.
John looks at the cabinets up close, checks what they are made of and how the old finish is holding, and counts every door and drawer front. The written quote names the primer and enamel, the sheen and how many days the kitchen will be out of use.
On day one the doors come off and the kitchen is sealed in plastic. Boxes are degreased and sanded in place while the doors are prepped and sprayed in the setup. Oak grain is filled first if you want a smooth finish, or left to show through if you prefer.
Two coats of enamel go on by spray, with a light sand between them. The doors cure before they are rehung and adjusted. The job takes [n] days and ends with a walk-through where every door is opened, closed and checked in the light.
Questions about cabinet painting and spraying
How durable is painted cabinetry?
Done properly, it holds up for years. The key is the prep: a real degreaser, a sand to a dull surface and a bonding primer under a waterborne enamel. Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane both dry to a hard film that resists chipping and wipes clean. Skipping the primer or spraying over grease is why cheap cabinet jobs peel.
How long before I can use the kitchen?
You can cook on the first evening, with the doors off. The sprayed enamel is dry to the touch in hours and ready to rehang after about a day, but it keeps hardening for [n] weeks. In that window, treat the doors gently and avoid hanging wet towels on them.
Can you paint laminate, thermofoil or MDF cabinets?
Usually. Laminate and MDF take a bonding primer well once they are sanded. Thermofoil is the one to check: if the vinyl is peeling at the corners it needs to be removed or glued down first, and we tell you at the walkthrough whether it is a good candidate.
Do you spray or brush the cabinets?
Doors and drawer fronts are sprayed, because that is the only way to get a level finish on a profiled door. Boxes and face frames are sprayed where the room can be sealed and brushed with a fine finish brush where it cannot. The two methods are matched so the finish reads the same.
Will the paint show brush marks or grain?
Sprayed enamel has no brush marks. Oak and other open-grained woods show a faint texture under the paint unless the grain is filled first, which is an extra step listed as its own line on the quote. Maple, MDF and previously painted doors go smooth without it.
Where we do this one.
- Toronto
Toronto - Scarborough
Toronto - North York
Toronto - Etobicoke
Toronto - East York
Toronto - York (Toronto)
Toronto - Mississauga
Peel - Brampton
Peel - Caledon
Peel - Vaughan
York - Richmond Hill
York - Markham
York - Aurora
York - Newmarket
York - King
York - Whitchurch-Stouffville
York - East Gwillimbury
York - Georgina
York - Pickering
Durham - Ajax
Durham - Whitby
Durham - Oshawa
Durham - Clarington
Durham - Uxbridge
Durham - Scugog
Durham - Oakville
Halton - Burlington
Halton - Milton
Halton - Halton Hills
Halton