Increase Business With Cabinet Painting

Expand your offerings to include cabinet refinishing, and make this latest trend a solid add-on to any interior painting job or remodel.

How to Sell and Estimate a Cabinet Refinishing Job

A typical cabinet paint job might cost a homeowner $3,500, while replacing the same cabinets might cost upwards of $24,000. Start by emphasizing the potential savings, along with the flexibility to choose from different sheens and thousands of colours.

Be prepared for customer questions like “How long will the job take?” “How long will the results last?” and “Is refinishing the right option over buying new cabinets?”

How to Sell and Estimate a Cabinet Refinishing Job

A typical cabinet paint job might cost a homeowner $3,500, while replacing the same cabinets might cost upwards of $24,000. Start by emphasizing the potential savings, along with the flexibility to choose from different sheens and thousands of colours.

Be prepared for customer questions like “How long will the job take?” “How long will the results last?” and “Is refinishing the right option over buying new cabinets?”

A pro painter carries a gallon of ADVANCE® and a ladder to a job.

Tips to Overcome Customer Concerns:

Learn about return-to-service time frames and cabinet-specific paint features

Understand how much it costs to remodel vs. repaint, especially in your region, and be prepared to share that information

Use a sample board painted in thirds to showcase the aesthetic and durability of refinishing in different finish options

Use a sample board painted in sections to show the effectiveness of the process, from existing, to primed, to the first and second coats

Estimating Cabinet Refinishing:

1. Factor in time for removing hardware, sanding and other prep work, and top coating
2. Factor in an additional day for a second coat
3. Be sure to estimate and include the hours it will take to reassemble the cabinets once the paint has cured

Once you gain experience, you’ll be able to estimate quickly by counting the number of cabinets and knowing exactly how much time it takes your crew based on that figure.

A painting contractor sprays a cabinet door with an HVLP paint sprayer.

How to Refinish Cabinets the Right Way

Any painting contractor can paint kitchen cabinets. However, expertise is required to paint them well.

Protect the area: When spraying cabinets, be sure to mask and cover everything and bring in air filtration systems. When brushing or spraying, ensure you have proper ventilation and keep fumes from drifting beyond the area where you are working.

Remove doors & hardware: For best results, remove and label doors to be sure you know which cabinets they belong to and finish apart from the cabinets.

Clean and sand cabinets: Clean, sand, vacuum debris and use a tack cloth to remove residual debris.

Use the right primer Consider one of these hard-working primers for your job:

Fresh Start Undercoater & Primer Sealer provides a smooth finish for all types of woodwork. An interior alkyd, this primer offers outstanding enamel holdout, remarkable stain suppression, excellent flow and leveling, and the ability for sanding after only two hours. If blocking stains and delivering smooth woodwork results is important, this is a great choice. See the video to learn more, and explore and more Fresh Start products here. (Note: may not be available in all areas due to VOC regulations)

Fresh Start High-Hiding All-Purpose Primer is an interior/exterior acrylic that offers maximum hide, seals and suppresses stains, and provides a mildew-resistant coating for wood and other surfaces. Benjamin Moore’s go-to primer for drastic paint colour changes, this video explains all you need to know about this hard-working primer. Explore more Fresh Start products here.

Use a quality paint product: Benjamin Moore ADVANCE^® waterborne alkyd gives you the best of both worlds in a low-VOC formula with soap and water cleanup, but with the hardness and durability of an alkyd. INSL-X^® Cabinet Coat uses a urethane-acrylic formula that adheres to challenging surfaces and dries quickly for faster recoat times. Both products offer a hard, smooth, factory-like finish in virtually any colour.

Apply using your preferred method: Spray with an HVLP spray gun or brush and roll. ADVANCE^® and Cabinet Coat can also be applied with an airless or air-assisted airless rig.

Allow time to cure: Cabinets are high-touch surfaces and require the complete cure time per product instructions.

Pro Tip Spotlight:

Include language in your contract to reinforce the importance of cabinet paint curing before returning to service.

Pro Tip Spotlight:

Include language in your contract to reinforce the importance of cabinet paint curing before returning to service.

A painting contractor paints a kitchen cabinet.

Why Should My Business Offer Cabinet Refinishing?

Cabinet refinishing is a lucrative opportunity for painting contractors, and a cost-effective and flexible solution for homeowners as an alternative to buying expensive new kitchen or bathroom cabinets.