Cabinet Painting & Refinishing Can Transform Your Home

Why is CABINET REFINISHING Superior to "Cabinet Painting" and "Cabinet Coating"? Let us help in understanding the difference.

When changing the color or finish on your cabinets, make sure that you are comparing quotes correctly. Remember, cabinet painting is not the same as cabinet refinishing.

Refinish > Paint / Coat

Cabinet Refinishing is a premium, highly detailed process focused on longevity and quality. It’s designed specifically for high-traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms, ensuring a durable, smooth finish that withstands wear and tear. Here's how it works:

1. Preparation

Thoroughly clean with a degreaser to remove grease and grime, an essential step for adhesion.

Mechanical dustless sanding through multiple grits is done to achieve a fine finish. This process eliminates swirls or grooves left by generic sanders.

2. Primers and Finishes

Industrial-grade products like ILVA 2K pigmented polyurethane from Italy are used, providing exceptional durability, especially in kitchens and baths that experience heat, moisture, and heavy use.

The priming process includes two coats of industrial wood primer with sanding between each coat for a perfectly smooth base.

3. Detailed Repair and Inspection

Any dents or dings are repaired using automotive body filler, ensuring a flawless surface before finishing.

An inspection light is used in the shop to catch any imperfections like dents or trash, ensuring a flawless result.

4. Application Process

Doors and drawers are removed and sprayed off-site in a permitted spray booth, which guarantees a dust-free, controlled environment.

Bases are sprayed on-site using fine finish spray equipment, ensuring a smooth and even coating.

Two coats of finish are applied with sanding between coats for that glass-like, furniture-grade finish.

5. Product Testing

Products are rigorously tested for scratch, mar, chemical, and stain resistance before being put into production.

KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association) guidelines are followed, ensuring the finishes are resistant to moisture and suitable for the high temps and humidity often found in kitchens and bathrooms.

6. Other Key Details

No shortcuts are taken: We never caulk floating door panels, as these are designed to move and will eventually crack if caulked.

All bumpers, hardware, hinges, and handles are removed prior to any work to ensure clean and professional results.

We stand behind our refinishing work for up to 5 years, offering a warranty on both the product and finish.

General Cabinet Painting

General Cabinet Painting is a much more basic process, often resulting in a finish that lacks the durability and refinement of refinishing. Here’s what you typically get:

1. Lower Quality Materials

Basic trim paints like those from Sherwin-Williams or general hardware stores are used. These paints aren't designed for the heavy use that kitchen cabinets face.

2. Limited Prep Work

There is often no degreasing prior to sanding, which compromises adhesion.

Hand sanding sponges or even liquid sandpaper may be used instead of mechanical sanding with multiple grits, which can lead to improper adhesion and a rough surface.

3. Inferior Primers and Application

Painters may use primers that claim to replace sanding, but these products don’t provide the same long-lasting adhesion or finish quality as industrial wood primers.

Painting often takes place in garages or yards instead of a professional spray booth, leading to dust contamination and imperfections.

4. Common Issues

A common result is an orange peel texture instead of the smooth, glass-like finish you’d expect from professional refinishing.

Doors and drawers are often left attached while painting, leading to uneven coverage, drips, or missed spots.

5. Shorter Warranty

General painting jobs often come with just a 1-year warranty, if any, and there’s little testing or product development done to ensure longevity in high-use areas.

6. Other Concerns

Some painters caulk floating door panels, which is a mistake that leads to cracking as the panels shift over time.

They also use generic sanders that leave swirls or grooves, rather than specialized tools designed for fine finishes.

Summary

In summary, cabinet refinishing provides an industrial-grade, highly tested, and durable finish that will last for years. Cabinet painting, while faster and cheaper, often lacks the durability, detailed preparation, and flawless finish expected from a professional job.

With over 27 years of experience, we’re locally owned and operated—not a franchise—and dedicated to providing superior results that stand the test of time. From our rigorous process to our premium materials, we deliver a finish you can trust.

We have more experience than any other cabinet painting or refinishing company in Central Florida and were the first to introduce premium Italian ILVA 2K pigmented polyurethanes to the Central Florida market. These cutting-edge industrial coatings ensure a durable, flawless finish that outperforms traditional paints. Our unmatched expertise, combined with our industry-leading 5-year warranty, guarantees a result you won’t find anywhere else in the region.

Let us help you transform your cabinets with unmatched services, warranties, experience and award winning quality and service.

Contact Us

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Phone: 407-717-7142
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