Polished Cabinet Painting in Lexington

Cabinet painting requires cabinet-grade enamel, not standard wall paint. We specify Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, Benjamin Moore Advance, or INSL-X Cabinet Coat depending on substrate and color. These paints self-level to a smooth finish, cure hard enough to resist fingernail dents and cleaning, and hold up through years of daily door-slam and handle-pull. Wall paint on cabinets fails within eighteen months because it never cures hard enough for the wear cabinets take. Cabinet-grade enamel costs more per gallon but pays for itself in longevity.

A standard kitchen with twenty to thirty doors and drawers takes four to seven working days including full cure time. Day one is removal, numbering, and prep. Days two through four are prime and finish coats on doors and drawers in our controlled spray area. Day five is face frame work in-place. Day six or seven is reinstall with numbered hardware. See our interior painting scope for related timing.

Doors and drawers get sprayed in a dust-controlled setup off-site or in a protected space, producing a factory-smooth finish with no visible brush marks. Face frames, boxes, and areas that cannot be removed get brushed and rolled in place using the same cabinet enamel. The combination of sprayed doors plus brushed frames is industry standard for on-site cabinet painting because face frames rarely detach without damaging surrounding countertop or wall. Spray-only cabinet painting requires full box removal and is only practical on complete kitchen remodels where cabinets come out anyway.

Yes. Cabinet color change from oak to white, from cherry to navy, from wood-stain to painted, is the most common cabinet painting project we handle. Dark-to-light changes sometimes need an extra primer coat to block tannin bleed from wood species like oak and cherry. Light-to-dark changes typically need two coats of finish paint. Our cabinet painters always draw a physical sample on a hidden door back so you see real color on real wood before full coats. Color change is where cabinet painting really pays off versus replacement, since new cabinets in the preferred color cost dramatically more.

Interior cabinet painting (inside boxes, behind doors) is an optional add-on rather than standard scope. Most homeowners leave interiors as-is since they are hidden behind closed doors. For homeowners who want fully painted cabinets inside and out, we include interior painting as a line item on the estimate with additional cost for added prep and spray time. Glass-front cabinets and display cabinets are different; interiors should always be painted since the inside is visible through the glass. Our cabinet painters clarify interior scope during every walkthrough estimate.

Prep is where cabinet painting quality wins or loses. We remove all doors and drawers, label each with its location, degrease with TSP to remove cooking grease, scuff sand to break the existing finish, fill dings with wood filler, sand filler flush, vacuum and tack-wipe every surface, then apply tinted bonding primer. Primer dries 24 hours before first finish coat. Our doors and window frames work uses the same prep discipline.

Yes, with the right primer. Laminate and thermofoil surfaces require a bonding primer formulated for slick substrates (Benjamin Moore Stix, Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond) before cabinet enamel goes on. Standard primer will peel within months on laminate. Thermofoil cabinets with peeling or failing vinyl layer need the loose vinyl removed first; severe thermofoil failure sometimes argues for replacement rather than paint. Our cabinet painters inspect laminate and thermofoil substrate during walkthrough estimates and quote honestly on what is paintable versus what should be replaced instead.

Yes. Doors and drawers get removed, numbered on the inside (hidden after reinstall), and transported to our controlled spray area. Spray application on a horizontal drying surface produces a factory-smooth finish with no visible brush or roller marks. Face frames and cabinet boxes stay in place since removing them damages countertops, backsplashes, and walls. Numbered hardware returns to exact original positions on reinstall so doors hang straight and close properly. Door removal and reinstall is included in the standard cabinet painting scope, not an add-on line item.

Sink, counter, and microwave access typically stays available throughout cabinet painting, with face frames painted in off-hours to keep the kitchen workable. Once doors are reinstalled on the final day, light kitchen use (opening doors, pulling drawers) is safe immediately. Heavy use (slamming doors, bumping handles) should wait 72 hours for full cure. Loading the kitchen with all your stuff (plates, glassware, pantry items) can happen on day two post-reinstall. Our trim and baseboards scope has similar cure considerations.