Cabinet Painting and Refinishing in San Diego

What cabinet refinishing is, and when it makes sense

Refinishing keeps your existing doors, drawer fronts and cabinet boxes and changes the finish on them. Refacing replaces the door fronts and covers the boxes with new veneer. Replacement is new cabinetry. Refinishing is the right call when the boxes are sound, the layout works and what you want to change is the color and the condition of the surface.

It does not fix everything. Particleboard that has swollen from a leak under the sink, doors that have delaminated, or a layout you dislike are not paint problems. That is why the first thing we do on a cabinet job is inspect the substrate and put what we find in writing. If refinishing is not the right fix for a run of cabinets, the proposal says so, and it says why.

How we paint kitchen cabinets

1. Site visit and written proposal. We look at every door, drawer and box, note the existing finish and its condition, and write a line-item proposal that names the finish system, the color and the sheen.
2. Doors and drawer fronts come off. Each one is labeled so it goes back where it came from. They are sprayed off-site, where dust and overspray are controlled and each coat can cure flat.
3. Boxes and face frames are finished in place. Counters, floors, appliances and the rest of the kitchen are masked. Boxes are cleaned, degreased, scuff-sanded, primed and finished in your kitchen.
4. Anything unexpected becomes a written change order. If we open a cabinet and find water damage or a failing finish that changes the scope, it is documented and approved in writing before the added work is done.
5. Reinstall, adjust and walk through. Doors and drawers go back on, hinges are adjusted, and the job closes when you have walked it with us and signed off.

Painted, stained and factory-finish cabinets

The prep changes with the existing finish, and the proposal reflects it. Previously painted cabinets need the old coating checked for adhesion and any failing areas removed. Stained and clear-coated cabinets need the gloss cut back and a primer that will bond to the old topcoat. Factory finishes on newer cabinetry are hard and slick, so the scuff-sanding and primer choice matter more than on anything else in the kitchen. In every case the finish system is named on the proposal, so you know what is going on your cabinets and what it was chosen for.

What affects the cost of cabinet painting in San Diego

Every proposal is itemized, so you can see what drives the number. The main factors are the count of doors and drawer fronts, whether the boxes and the inside of the frames are included, the existing finish and its condition, and the color change. Going from a dark stain to white takes more primer and more coats than a like-for-like refresh. Islands, glass-front doors, crown molding and new hardware are each their own line.

Cabinet refinishing across San Diego County

We refinish kitchens from La Jolla and the coast through central San Diego to East County and the South Bay. Much of our cabinet work is in the oak and maple kitchens common in El Cajon, Santee, La Mesa, Chula Vista, Coronado, La Jolla, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Encinitas, Del Mar, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Poway homes built from the 1970s through the 1990s, where the boxes are solid and the finish is simply dated. Based in El Cajon, serving all of San Diego County.

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Questions, answered