A small room, a big job
Kitchen cabinets look like a modest painting job. They're not. Every door has two faces and four edges, every drawer front has its own, the boxes have face frames, end panels and often open shelves. The surface is handled daily, splashed and wiped, so the finish has to be harder and smoother than any wall. That's why cabinet painting is priced by the piece and the process, not by the room.
This guide is for a kitchen in Hickory, North Carolina, where the city's water is surface water from Lake Hickory, part of the Catawba River. It quotes no prices and names no companies.
Counting doors and drawers
A painter pricing cabinets counts doors, drawer fronts, end panels and the length of face frames. Glass doors, raised panels and detailed edges take longer than flat slab doors. Ask how the proposal counts, so two bids can be compared.
Cleaning: the step that decides adhesion
Kitchen cabinets carry grease, especially near the stove and above the sink, and paint won't hold on it. A proper job starts with a degreasing cleaner, rinsing with clean water and full drying. Skipping or rushing this is the most common reason painted cabinets chip. Ask what cleaner the painter uses and how they rinse.
Sanding and primer
Factory finishes on cabinets are hard and slick. Paint needs a sanded surface and usually a bonding primer made for glossy finishes. Wood with open grain, such as oak, may need a grain filler if you want a smooth look. Stained wood can bleed tannin through light colors without the right primer. Each of these is a line in the price.
Where the painting happens
Doors off, sprayed in a shop or on site. Doors and drawer fronts are removed, labeled and sprayed flat in a controlled space, then reinstalled. It usually gives the smoothest result and takes longer overall, since the kitchen is without doors for days.
Brushed and rolled in place. Faster to set up, less disruption, but brush marks are more likely and drying is slower in a working kitchen.
Many painters do both: boxes brushed and rolled in place, doors sprayed. Ask which method the proposal assumes.
The finish product
Cabinets need a hard, durable coating: a cabinet-grade enamel or a waterborne product made for cabinetry. These cost more than wall paint and need longer to cure before heavy use, often longer than they take to feel dry. Ask how long before doors can be rehung and the kitchen used normally. Our cabinet painting and refinishing page explains the products.
Hardware and extras
Hinges, pulls and knobs are removed and replaced. If you're changing hardware, filling old holes and drilling new ones adds time. Inside faces of doors, cabinet interiors, crown moulding and toe kicks may or may not be included; check.
Lead on painted cabinets
If the house was built before 1978 and the cabinets carry old paint, sanding it may disturb lead. The EPA rule on the card below applies to anyone paid to do that work. Ask the painter how they would handle it if testing finds lead.
Living without a kitchen
Expect the kitchen to be partly out of use for several days. Clear counters and the cabinets themselves. Agree in advance where doors will be stored and how the crew controls dust and fumes.
Cabinet bids, side by side
Check each cabinet bid for pieces counted, cleaning and sanding steps, primer, finish product by name, number of coats, method, cure time and hardware. The pricing guide covers the general logic.