Every kitchen conversation gets to the cabinets, because they are the biggest line on the estimate and the biggest thing in the room. Painting them is the cheapest way to change the kitchen, and it is also the upgrade with the widest range of outcomes, from a finish that looks factory-new for a decade to one that chips at the first dishwasher cycle. The difference is almost entirely in the condition of the boxes and the amount of prep.
When painting is the right call
- The boxes are solid. Plywood or well-built particleboard boxes that are square, with doors that close and drawers that run. The layout works and you are not moving anything.
- The doors are paintable. Solid wood, wood veneer, or MDF doors take paint well. Thermofoil and laminate can be painted but need specific primers and will never bond as well.
- The problem is the colour or the finish, not the function. Dated oak or honey maple that is otherwise fine is the classic candidate.
- Budget or timeline says so. A repaint is a fraction of new cabinets and the kitchen stays usable for most of it.
When painting will disappoint
- Water damage. Swollen particleboard at the sink base or under the dishwasher does not paint out. It has to be replaced.
- Failed hinges and drawer glides on cabinets built with no room for modern hardware. Sometimes fixable, sometimes a reason to replace.
- Layout problems. Paint does not add a drawer stack, fix a corner cabinet nobody can reach, or make room for the fridge you want.
- Heavy grain you want gone. Oak grain shows through paint unless it is grain-filled, which adds a lot of labour. If you want a smooth modern door, new doors are cheaper than the fill.
- Peeling thermofoil. The film is delaminating; paint on top of it peels with it.
What a proper cabinet repaint involves
- 1Doors and drawer fronts off, hardware off, everything labelled. Doors are finished flat in a controlled space, not hanging in the kitchen.
- 2Degrease thoroughly. Kitchen grease is the reason paint fails to bond, and it is invisible.
- 3Scuff sand, fill any dents and the old hardware holes if the hardware is changing, and sand again.
- 4Bonding primer suited to the surface. This is the step that separates a finish that lasts from one that does not.
- 5Two or more coats of a cabinet-grade enamel, sprayed for the smoothest result, with adequate cure time between coats.
- 6Reassemble with new soft-close hinges and glides if the cabinets can take them, and new pulls.
The boxes are painted in place, which means masking the kitchen and living with the smell for a few days. Full cure for cabinet enamel is measured in weeks, so treat the doors gently at first.
Refacing: the middle option
Refacing keeps the boxes, replaces every door and drawer front with new ones, and covers the visible box faces and ends with matching veneer or panels. It gets you new-looking doors in any style, with none of the grain or peeling problems, for less than new cabinets. It only makes sense when the boxes and the layout are genuinely good.
When to replace
If the layout is wrong, the boxes are damaged, or you are changing the counters and the footprint anyway, new cabinets are the honest answer. Painting cabinets that are going to be torn out in three years is money spent twice. Our kitchen remodel planning guide walks through how the cabinet decision fits the rest of the project.
Questions we get
Can the countertops stay if we paint the cabinets?
Yes, and that is a big part of why painting is cheap. Replacing counters later is possible but risks damaging the painted boxes during removal.
How long does a cabinet repaint take?
Typically a week or so for an average kitchen, with the doors off-site for part of it. Longer for large kitchens or grain filling.
Do you paint cabinets or install them?
Both. Cabinet painting is part of our painting work and new cabinet installation is part of remodeling. We will tell you which one we think is worth your money for the kitchen in front of us.
Get an honest opinion
Wright Way Services paints, refaces and replaces kitchen cabinets across Newnan, Peachtree City, Sharpsburg, Senoia, Tyrone and Fayetteville. Call (770) 301-4638.
Open 24 hours · Newnan, GA
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