Hiring A Kitchen Cabinet Painter

So you've decided to transform the look and feel of your outdated kitchen cabinets . You realize this is a job better suited for a professional . So you do a quick google search "Kitchen Cabinet Painters Near Me" and you get quite a few results . Some with lots of great reviews and some not so much . Who do you choose? The number 1 search result with the really great reviews? That would be a given . Unfortunately Reviews shouldn't be the main deciding factor . You can have a service provider that on the internet looks like the best choice but you have to look a bit deeper.

Not Every Painter Is a Cabinet Painter

Yeah sure ,you can hire your regular handyman who does all the other painting and repairs in your home. Everyone thinks they can paint however its more than just slapping paint on walls and surfaces. You be 100% efficient at painting walls but painting cabinetry is a whole other monster. The main thing in painting cabinets is the prep work. The painting is actually the easy part .

Questions To ask your cabinet painter?

Ask Them Whats There Cabinet Painting Process?

Ask What Type Of Materials Will Be Used?

Ask For A Time Frame It'll Take To Complete The Project?

How Will You Protect My Things During The Job?

Do You Hand Paint Or Spray

Knowing the answer to these questions will give you a better idea if this service provider is right for your cabinet painting project .

What's The Prep Process?

The prep process comprises many steps in a cabinet painting job that shouldn't be passed over . Firstly , Is covering all surfaces that shouldn't get paint splatters on . Your Floors, counter tops, appliances , etc. When Spraying the cabinets there is a lot more prep involved. Things like taping and masking walls. Setting up a spray booth to keep dust and over spray contained in one part of the house (The Kitchen)

Cleaning off Dirt & Grease from Cabinets

Prior to Painting your Kitchen cabinets you have to start off with a clean surface to paint on so the next coat can get proper adherence. This is done by using a mild dish detergent or the painters go to a product called TSP which could be purchased from any paint store or big box store. This Step should not be skipped over .

Removing Cabinet Doors & drawers

This is a No brain-er. There is no way to get a quality finish painting cabinets with the doors and drawers still attached. If your handyman tells you he doesn't take off the doors when painting. I rest assure this isn't the cabinet painter you want doing your project.

Scuff Sanding current Finish

In order for primer and paint to stick to your cabinets you have to remove the current finish . This is true when painting over stained, varnished , or lacquered cabinets. You have to scuff the finish off in order for the new coat to stick correctly .If this step is skipped you can rest assure in a few months or so your cabinet paint will be peeling. This is also the case for painting cabinets without priming . If the handyman You've hired tells you he doesn't need to sand nor use a primer then this isn't the painter for your project . It'll end up costing you more money in the long run than your initial investment of having the cabinets painting in the first place.

What paint will be used?

You Can't just use any old paint for kitchen cabinets . You also shouldn't go the cheap route ($20-$30 a gallon paints). When choosing paint for cabinetry you want to make sure you pick something that will stand up to the test of time . In the old days oil based paints were the go to for cabinets . The drawbacks of that option is the slow dry time and the horrendous smell that lingers for quite a while. I've had high success with numerous products that are specifically formulated for cabinets and trim work . I recommend using a durable water-born product or a hybrid alkyd product . Those are proven to stand the test of time and hold up to the abuse that commonly occurs in a kitchen. Here are the best paints for kitchen cabinets.

Sherwin Williams recently came out with a waterborne product which is supposed to be the best of the best. It has many benefits called The Gallery Series . You can achieve a factory finish look . It has great leveling and flow, dries durable and super fast (between 30-45) which can then be lightly sanded and re-coated. This cuts down the time to complete kitchens almost 50%.

Time Frame of Painting Cabinets .

On average you can expect a handyman or a painter to take about 5 working days to complete your job. it's one whole day alone for prep. Then You have to prime and let that dry and repeat the same steps when painting. Depending on the climate and humidity it could be done a bit quicker but not by much . You have to have enough dry time between each coat you apply . If not the finish will not be very good. In this particular process it's best to have a little patience which will make your finished product that much more worth the initial investment.

Choosing Color

This is solely up to the homeowner. Yes your contractor could recommend colors to you but it ll comes back to preference and whats in style today . Like white kitchens. In my personal opinion it will always be in style. Should you paint your kitchen cabinets white? The choice is totally up to you. Choosing a color is hardly ever an issue when picking your cabinet painting company . Here are 10 popular colors for kitchen cabinets

Clean up process

Your cabinets have been painted. All there is left to put back up the door and drawers ( add new door and drawer pulls if that's what you wanted). The time now is to make sure final touch ups are done and your kitchen is left cleaner than it was before. All the tape, pare, plastic ,empty paint cans is properly discarded. All dust is vacuumed up and everything is back in its original place. It'll be a shame your painter done a flawless job but left behind a mess.Trust me it happens . A good service providers leave something better than they've found it.

In Conclusion

Before hiring a cabinet painter make sure he or she is well equipped and skilled to do your project with the utmost professional degree. From the prep process to the final clean up . Ready to make this investment .Check out a ballpark of what it may cost to paint your kitchen cabinets