Cabinet Painting Questions From Cambridge Homeowners

Lower cabinets and any drawers with fronts being painted should be emptied, because drawer boxes get pulled and dust travels. Uppers can usually stay loaded if the doors are the only thing coming off. We tell you exactly which units to clear when the cabinet painting date is confirmed.

Waterborne coatings are low-VOC and much milder than the solvent lacquers that were standard twenty years ago. Most of the spraying happens in the shop anyway, and the on-site portion runs behind sealed containment with a fan venting outside, so the house stays liveable throughout the cabinet painting.

The range gets pulled out where the cabinets beside it need access, and the dishwasher stays put unless a door beside it is being stripped. Everything that stays is masked, and the fridge, the sink and the stove keep working throughout the cabinet painting.

They can, and a large colour shift is routine. Going from dark stained oak to a warm white simply needs an extra coat and a stain-blocking primer underneath, both of which are built into the cabinet painting price instead of appearing later as extras.

Satin and semi-gloss are the two real choices for cabinet painting, and both clean easily. Satin hides surface imperfections better and suits a bright room, while semi-gloss throws back more light and suits a dark galley better. Flat sheens do not belong on cabinetry.

Warm water with a little dish soap on a soft cloth handles everything a kitchen produces after cabinet painting. Avoid abrasive pads, bleach and degreasing sprays, and give the finish a month before any serious cleaning so the coating reaches full hardness first.

Yes, provided the surface is intact and a waterborne bonding primer is used instead of an ordinary undercoat. Chipped edge banding gets filled and sanded flush first, which is the step that separates lasting cabinet painting on melamine from work that fails in a year.

Interiors are a separate cabinet painting line because painting them roughly doubles the surface area and the labour. Plenty of owners paint doors, drawer fronts and frames only. Walk-in pantry shelving is the common exception since it is on display every time the door opens.

That door is replaced and painted with the rest so it matches exactly. Buying a factory-finished door in the same colour almost never matches, but a raw replacement sprayed alongside the originals is indistinguishable once the cabinet painting is finished.

Spring and early fall are the busiest stretches, so a few weeks of notice is realistic for a full cabinet painting booking. A vanity or a single island can often be slotted in sooner because the shop time is short.

In a market where homes are selling under asking and sitting for over a month, a fresh kitchen is one of the few changes that pays for itself. Cabinet painting costs a fraction of a renovation and changes the first thing a buyer looks at.

Every job is fully insured. The cure schedule you are given is the other half of making the finish last: gentle use for the first week, soft cloths and mild soap for the first month, and no heavy stacks or harsh cleaners until the coating reaches full hardness.