A Simple Guide To Refinishing Your Kitchen Cabinets
As a homeowner we’re always looking for ways to make meaningful improvements to our homes that are affordable and actually make an impact. Refinishing your kitchen cabinets is a great way to breathe new life into your home. Rather than going through a full-scale and expensive remodel one of the best “bang-for-the-buck” home improvement projects is refinishing your cabinets.
Instead of replacing worn out, chipped, nicked, or scratched cabinets the surfaces can be refinished much more affordably and the results are always spectacular when it’s done properly.
What Does Cabinet Refinishing Involve?
Cabinet refinishing isn’t an incredibly difficult project to complete but it is pretty labor intensive, especially doing all of the prep work (the key to a beautiful finished job). The cabinet doors and drawers must be carefully removed and labeled so as not to get them mixed up. All of the hardware must then be removed including hinges and drawer knobs too.
Once the cabinets are removed and stripped down to bare wood they can be prepared for the next step. A good cleaning! Kitchen cabinets especially can get covered in dirt, grease, and grime that will make it very difficult for the new paint to adhere to the surface. We need to carefully (and thoroughly) clean them up.
Once the cabinets and drawer faces have been cleaned we can take care of any small repairs such as filling in chips or cracks with an appropriate wood filler and in some cases even repairing broken pieces by re-gluing or fastening them back together. We want the surfaces to be smooth and uniform so after paint has been applied they look like brand new surfaces.
After the wood filler has dried we need to carefully sand the cabinet and drawer faces. This will leave us with a new smooth, blemish free surface for the painting process.
Like any painting project a quality cabinet refinishing job relies on meticulous prep-work. Any errors or laziness in the preparation process will make the blemishes stand out like a sore thumb after the cabinets have been painted.
After all of the prep-work has been completed we can then prime the cabinetry with an appropriate primer. A primer helps to “build-up” the surface, correct any tiny imperfections, and leaves an excellent base for the final coat of paint to adhere to. After the primer has dried and cured then we can apply a top-coat of paint, let that dry, sand it very lightly with a fine grit sand paper and then we can apply a final coat to the cabinets.
It’s a multi-step process to do it right but the end result is beautiful cabinetry and drawer faces that look like they are brand new again. Done right, you’ll save thousands of dollars in cabinet replacement and you’ll give your kitchen a whole new look.
What Does Cabinet Refinishing Cost?
There is no specific set price to repaint or refinish kitchen cabinets as every project is a little bit different. The cost to refinish your cabinets can vary widely depending on a few different factors.
- How many cabinets do you have? Painters usually like to work off the square footage of the surface area. If you have a huge kitchen with many cabinets and drawer faces you’re going to pay more than someone who has a very small kitchen.
- How damaged or worn is your cabinetry? If your cabinets have many scratches, cracks, dents, or nicks, it’s going to take extra labor in the preparation time to get them back into shape so they are ready for paint. Remember, preparation is is the most important part of the process and you don’t want to sacrifice quality by trying to get the job done faster.
- Will you be replacing the hardware? Hinges are often fine to keep unless they are damaged or broken but in many cases a homeowner might want to replace the cabinet handles and drawer knobs to compliment the new paint and give the kitchen a fresh new look. New hardware can raise the cost depending on what type of hardware you choose.
Most of the cabinet refinishing projects we complete come in between $1000 – $4000 after all is said and done. This is still much cheaper than replacing your cabinetry which can run upwards of $12,000 – $25,000 or more for an average kitchen. Done professionally, your refinished cabinetry is going to look just like new and will improve the look and feel of your space for many years.
Our kitchen cabinet refinishing projects would include:
- A color consultation to help you choose the right color or stain.
- Removal of all cabinetry faces, drawers, and hardware.
- Filling and sanding any surface blemishes.
- Priming the surfaces.
- 1 or 2 coats of paint.
- Replacement of hardware and re-installation.
How Long Does Cabinet Refinishing Take?
Refinishing your cabinetry will be a minor inconvenience for a few days. Most projects for an averaged size kitchen or bathroom take 2-3 days, sometimes a little longer depending on the complexity of the project.
Installing New Cabinet Hardware
Along with refinishing the surfaces it’s always a good idea to replace the hardware on your cabinetry and drawer faces. Hardware can include replacing any broken or damaged hinges, installing new handles and installing new drawer knobs. There are many different styles to choose from and if your cabinetry is old and dated new hardware just contributes to a much nicer refinishing job with a more modern flair.
Signature Look Painting & Decorating specializes In Cabinet Refinishing In Oak Park, IL and Dupage County. You can count on friendly, knowledgeable service with a high quality finished project. We really spend the time necessary to ensure the preparation of your cabinets is on-point before we apply primer or paint.
We have many happy and satisfied cabinet refinishing customers throughout Illinois. Owner (Eric Eggert) is present on every cabinet refinishing project and takes great pride in the work that we complete in our customers homes. We care about your cabinet refinishing project and we want to make sure we do the best job we possibly can. We provide unbeatable value, we keep your home spotless, our pricing is fair, and the quality of our cabinet refinishing work is unmatched.
If you’d like to schedule an estimate to refinish the cabinets in your home then give us a call (708) 769-0233. or fill out our online contact form and we’ll get right back you.
