Vetting cabinet painters to uncover the perfect one for your needs and vision requires a substantial amount of consideration. A good place to begin is by understanding exactly what aesthetic you want to accomplish for your kitchen cabinets. You should ask contractors to view samples of their prior work aligning with your vision beforehand to gain a sense of their experience and skill. Professional contractors would be more than happy to grant this request, and many retain a gallery of pictures for potential clients to browse through on their in-person or online.
You need to have a set budget worked out while choosing professional cabinet painting contractors, as costs sometimes fluctuate significantly. Check that any painter you consider provides documentation of all material and labor costs as well as clear verbal communication during the project about it's timeline. What you don't need is for unexpected surprises to pop up once the project commences that can raise costs above what you budgeted for.
Give attention to the contractor's dependability by checking any online client reviews. Most experienced painters will have comments and reviews from previous clients available online, and these are also an efficient way to find out if they have a history of delivering the services you need on time and within budget.
It's may be enticing to immediately start dipping brushes into paint and get your home improvement project moving forward, but there is some prep that needs to happen first to ensure your cabinets look great and are protected from the heavy-use they will likely see in the future. Cabinet painting can quickly become an overwhelming task when doing it on your own, but an expert can quickly and effectively bring your vision to reality starting with the most important prepping phase of cleaning, sanding, and priming:
- Cleaning: It's crucial that any dirt or grease are completely removed from cabinet surfaces before painting or staining or it might hinder their adherence. The cleaning stage is also the right time to disassemble the cabinets and their hardware, including drawers, knobs, hinges, etc., to make the following stages easier and more efficient.
- Sanding: The good news is that efficiencies in home improvement have made great strides, and there are products that professionals use to make some of these prepping steps easier. Deglossers, also known as liquid sandpaper, is a chemical product that easily strips gloss from cabinet surfaces so that the dusty process of sanding in the old way is virtually obsolete. Liquid abrasives can also penetrate to those nooks and crannies that would be exceedingly challenging to get to with traditional sandpaper.
- Priming: Priming will be necessary in some cases, as it serves many important purposes for the painting that follows, such as allowing for better adhesion, preventing stains and imperfections from bleeding through, and providing a protective layer over the cabinet surface. If the existing paint is oil-based and you apply a latex paint before priming, it will only flake away and require repainting sooner than expected.
Deciding if your existing cabinets are able to be painted or not mostly depends on their material. Nearly any solid wood cabinets are able to be refinished several times within their lifespan, though the techniques necessary may be a bit more difficult for “open grain” woods such as oak. Solid hardwoods absorb stains or paints more effectively than most other varieties of cabinets and can undergo repeated sandings to get rid of imperfections that accumulate over time from use. Engineered woods like Medium-Density Fibreboard, wood laminate, or even metal cabinets can all undergo painting relatively easy.
The most challenging type of kitchen cabinets to paint are cheaper thermofoil cabinets, which is an engineering process of placing a thin sheet of PVC over engineered wood. Some painting contractors will advise against painting this material as the surface repels the paint trying to adhere to it, and even after scuffing and priming methods are used, the paint will likely peel and chip much faster than a high-quality material like hardwood.
A better question many people might want to consider is should my cabinets undergo painting. If your cabinets are too aged and worn out, it could be more cost-efficient to purchase new models.
Painting your cabinets will usually always be a cheaper alternative than buying new custom-built cabinets or even stock units. Painting or refinishing your cabinets will be a great investment in your property's value, with many residents in Beaverton, OR reporting an return as high as 70%. Refreshing your existing furniture in this way offers you the chance to personalize your kitchen and stay up-to-date with current design trends, not to mention follow through with your commitment to sustainable living.
The price of replacing cabinets varies in Beaverton, OR, but could be up to three times more expensive than painting. This is even when taking into account that cabinet paints are typically more expensive than wall paints due to them containing more resins that protect against fading, scratching, and staining.
Employing a contractor to paint your cabinets rather than do the job yourself will add to the expense, but this, too, will likely be much cheaper than replacing them. A talented contractor will understand the materials your cabinets are constructed with and how to apply different techniques to ensure they look the way you've envisioned when complete. If your cabinets show small cosmetic issues like chips and cracks, they can use wood filler and specialized finishing techniques to cover them up. Painting cabinets is a harder job than it seems, but a trained painting contractor will be an invaluable resource in helping you stretch your investment to the max.