How much does it cost to paint cabinets?
Resurrect Wood Refinishing is a wood refinishing company, not a painting company. Our technique is much more thorough than painting, our product is durable, odorless, and as close to a factory finished look as possible. We use a proprietary blend based on a polyurethane acrylic that is selected from choice vendors. Think water based lacquer finish. That all being said, we understand the confusion with painting versus refinishing and hope that this blog post will clarify the common questions we receive.
With labor and product, the average cost to paint cabinets in the Orlando market is about $110-$120 per surface area. Painting may seem like the more affordable choice at first, professional painters charge a bit less than refinishing. However, with such a large difference in quality between refinishing and painting, we don’t think the small gap in price justifies the purchase. Most professional painters do not focus exclusively on cabinets. They apply the same techniques for walls, baseboards, and ceilings to wooden cabinets. Thus producing a quality that is less than desirable due to unconsidered factors like, type of wood, grain direction, and depp grease/oil stains.
Can you just paint over cabinets?
It is impossible to paint over cabinets if the expectation is anything but to look like painted-over-cabinets. Even with spraying techniques, the paint products are designed to be applied by hand, and in order to spray they have to thin the product, thus compromising the durability. If hand applied, latex and enamel paints clog up corners, leave thick brush strokes, and do not adhere to wood as well as our refinishing products do. Painters typically skip the important steps we use to prepare the wood surface. This neglect can risk what is called a “color bleed-through,” where the old color and stain appear through the new coat of paint. In most situations, professional painters who do not specialize in cabinet refinishing will just keep applying paint as a solution to bleed-throughs, creating thicker coats. The result in the end product looks less like a factory finish and more like painted cabinets.
Many professional painters will apply generous amounts of gloss finish, at the end of their cabinet service, suggesting this as an alternative for refinishing. We applaud the effort but the poly coats are generally too thick, and leave bubbles and a rough feel.
Is it better to spray paint or brush cabinets?
We prefer spraying over brushing. Spraying our refinishing product helps maintain even coats without any risk of brush strokes. It allows our technicians to evaluate every situation on an as-needed basis, as different types of wood require different amounts of coatings. This attention minimizes unnecessary labor time and cost to the customer.
How long do professionally painted cabinets last?
In addition to looking less than desirable, professionally painted cabinets only last about 2-5 years before requiring another coat of paint. They are subject to chipping and peeling and most painting companies do not offer a touch up service.
Depending on the homeowner, refinished cabinets can last the life of the cabinets themselves. Keeping up with cleaning and after care helps ensure our product to last for years without needing any additional work. Our product is water-based, meaning mild dish soap and water can be used for all clean ups.
Is it cheaper to refinish/”paint” or replace kitchen cabinets?
The goal of refinishing is to save customer’s a third of the cost of replacing their cabinets completely. Resurrect Wood Refinishing aims to preserve the existing cabinetry by applying a new coat of finish and also changing the color if desired. Many times customers are perfectly fine with the layout of their cabinets. Their cabinet boxes are in great shape and they do not mind the style of their cabinet doors. If this sounds like you then we encourage you to contact us for an in-person estimate. It’s getting harder and harder to buy wood cabinets without the hefty price tag, so why not just update what you already have?
