Priced by the piece
Kitchen cabinets aren't priced like walls. A painter counts doors, drawer fronts, end panels and face frames, and each door has two faces and four edges. A kitchen with many small doors can cost more than a bigger one with fewer, larger doors. Ask for a count on the proposal: doors, drawers, panels, open shelves, and any island or built-in hutch.
Racine's households
Census QuickFacts counts Racine's households in 2020–2024 at 31,970, with 2.39 persons per household in 2020–2024. That is the bureau's figure as published. Whatever the size of the household, a kitchen in daily use collects grease, fingerprints and wear on the doors opened most, and that's where cabinet prep begins.
Cleaning before anything else
Paint doesn't stick to grease. Cabinets near the stove and doors under the sink carry the most residue, often invisible until a coat of paint beads up or peels. The first step is degreasing with a cleaner made for it, then rinsing. It sounds minor, but it's labor on every surface, and skipping it is among the most common reasons painted cabinets fail.
Scuffing and priming
Most cabinets were finished in a hard lacquer or varnish, or are laminate or thermofoil. New paint needs something to grip:
- wood with a clear finish is sanded or deglossed, then primed with a bonding primer;
- stained oak and other open-grain woods may need grain filling for a smooth painted look;
- laminate needs a primer made for slick surfaces, and peeling thermofoil usually can't be painted with lasting results;
- knotty or tannin-rich woods may need a stain-blocking primer to stop bleed-through.
Each choice changes the time and products, and a proposal should name them.
Spray or brush
Many painters remove doors and drawer fronts, label them, and spray them in a shop or a set-up area, while the cabinet boxes are brushed and rolled in place. Spraying gives a smoother finish but needs masking and a place to dry flat. Brushing everything on site takes longer per piece and shows brush marks unless the paint levels well. Neither is wrong; ask which method is planned and where the doors will be while they cure.
Paint and cure
Cabinet paints are usually hard enamels, often waterborne alkyds or urethane-modified acrylics. They feel dry quickly and take far longer to cure fully, and doors rehung too soon can stick or mark. Ask how long before you can use the kitchen normally and how long before the finish reaches full hardness. Our cabinet painting and refinishing page covers products in detail, and paint sheens and finishes explains why most cabinets are satin or semi-gloss.
Hinges and pulls
Hinges and pulls come off for painting. Ask whether the painter will rehang and adjust the doors, whether new hardware is going on, and whether holes need filling or drilling. Changing from knobs to pulls with a different spacing means filling old holes, extra work on every door.
Older paint in the kitchen
If the cabinets were painted before, sanding can disturb old layers. Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices. In a house built before 1978, ask whether the firm holds RRP certification and how dust will be contained in the kitchen. Containment in a working kitchen takes planning, and it is part of the price.
Living without a kitchen
While doors are off and boxes are drying, the kitchen is partly out of action. Counters may be covered, shelves exposed, and dishes moved. Ask how many days the kitchen will be unusable, whether the crew will work in stages so part of it stays open, and when you can load the cabinets again.
What separates two cabinet bids
- the count of doors, drawers and panels;
- degreasing and deglossing, included or not;
- primer type for your cabinet material;
- sprayed or brushed, and where;
- coats and the enamel named;
- hardware removal, rehanging and adjustment;
- how long the kitchen is out of use.
The pricing guide covers the general list.