About cabinet painting
Painting kitchen cabinets is the cheapest way to change how a kitchen looks by a wide margin. It is also the interior job that goes wrong most often, and it nearly always goes wrong for the same reason.
Grease is why cabinet paint fails
Kitchen cabinet doors carry a film of cooking grease, particularly around handles and above the hob. It is invisible and it is everywhere. Paint applied over it will not bond, and it starts peeling at the edges within months. Thorough degreasing before anything else is the step that decides whether the job lasts, and it is the step most often skipped.
Bonding primer and a hard finish
Cabinet surfaces are usually slick — factory finish, laminate or old varnish — so they are scuff-sanded to give the primer something to key into, and a bonding primer goes on before colour. The topcoat needs to be a hard-curing enamel rather than ordinary wall paint, because doors get handled constantly and wall paint stays soft enough to mark and stick.
Curing takes longer than drying
Cabinet enamel is touch-dry in hours but fully hard in days or weeks. Doors closed against frames too early can stick and tear the finish when opened. Kitchens are usable well before the paint is fully cured, but it is worth knowing the difference and being gentle with them at first.
What moves the price
- Number of doors, drawer fronts and cabinet boxes
- Current finish — raw wood, varnish, laminate or previously painted
- How much grease and wear there is
- Whether interiors are included or only the visible faces
- Sprayed or brushed, and whether doors are removed and done off-site
This is why a photo prices most jobs without a visit.