Grease comes off, the surfaces are abraded, a primer matched to the substrate goes down and thin sprayed coats follow. Kitchen cabinet painting keeps the layout exactly where it is and changes everything visible about it.
Most kitchens we are called to for cabinet painting sit in one of three groups: golden oak from the Clarkson and Lorne Park build-out, maple or early thermofoil from 1990s updates in Port Credit and Cooksville, and factory white shaker in the City Centre towers. Each group wants a different primer and a different depth of prep, so kitchen cabinet painting gets quoted after a look rather than over the phone.
What A Kitchen Cabinet Painting Quote Actually Lists
A single lump figure can be checked against nothing, so ours comes apart. The tally of fronts, gables and end panels leads, then the substrate, then whether grain fill or a bonding primer is called for, then the primer and the topcoat family, sheen, how many coats, and any hardware work. Islands, pantries and vanities each occupy a line of their own so they can be added or dropped.
Ontario figures for 2026 put most painted kitchens between $2,500 and $5,500. A tower galley or a compact kitchen can open around $1,500, while a large or two-colour job climbs to $6,000 to $9,000 and past it. By the door, cabinet painting lands roughly at $130 to $250. Those numbers sketch the market; the quote written after the free visit is the one that counts.
Cabinet Painting Lasts Because Of The Order Of Work
Failure in cabinet painting nearly always traces to one of four things: grease left on the surface, a skipped sanding step, the wrong primer for the substrate, or heavy coats put to work before they cured. The routine exists to close all four.
Every front is unscrewed, tagged to its opening, and its hinges bagged and labelled. A degreaser able to shift wax and cooking film does what water-based cleaners cannot, and the surfaces are then abraded to roughly 220 grit. Dents and redundant hardware holes get filled and gaps get caulked.
Primer follows the substrate. Oak and cherry take shellac against tannin bleed, melamine and thermofoil take a bonding product, maple and MDF take a cabinet primer. The topcoat is either waterborne alkyd enamel or a two-component polyurethane, laid on in two or three thin sprayed passes with each one scuffed before the next. On open-pored oak, grain filling happens before any colour.
How Long A Kitchen Cabinet Painting Job Disrupts The House
Fronts leave for the booth, which is where most of the hours go. On site the work is two or three days on carcasses and frames inside sealed containment, and the fronts stay away for seven to ten days. Start to final hinge adjustment, plan on about two weeks.
The kitchen never closes. Open boxes work as shelving, and the sink, range, fridge and dishwasher all stay connected throughout. Households that also cook downstairs often book the basement kitchen in the same window and save a second mobilization.
Cabinet Painting Is Dry Long Before It Is Cured
Fronts go back on when the film will take handling, not when curing has finished. Waterborne alkyd enamel accepts normal use at about a week and reaches full hardness nearer the thirty-day mark. A catalyzed 2K polyurethane is far quicker, cured within roughly a day of spraying.
Cabinet painting in a humid August hardens slower than the same work in March, and lake air through Port Credit and Lakeview keeps summer humidity up. The schedule allows for that instead of rushing the hinges back on. Written care notes cover the first month.
On-Site Cabinet Painting Needs A Proper Enclosure
A built-in cannot travel, so the booth comes to it. Poly sheeting seals the room or the wall section, floors and neighbouring surfaces are masked, and a fan draws air out while spraying happens. Cabinet painting done this way produces the same film as a booth, provided the containment is done honestly.
Fronts still come down and still travel, which shrinks the on-site portion considerably. What is left in the house is the carcass, its frame and any fixed shelf, and those are degreased, abraded, primed and sprayed where they sit over a day or two of cabinet painting.
Soft-Close Hinges Are Cheapest To Fit During Cabinet Painting
The best moment to change hinges is the moment the doors are already down for cabinet painting. Old self-closing hinges from the 1990s go slack, sag, and let doors sit crooked, and no amount of adjustment brings a worn spring back.
Modern concealed soft-close hinges usually reuse the existing 35 millimetre cup, so the change is quick. Where the old ones are face-mounted or follow an odd European pattern, new plates or a fresh bore may be required and that gets quoted. Drawer boxes can take soft-close undermount runners too, though that is a bigger change priced on its own.
Book A Kitchen Cabinet Painting Visit
Phone +1 (289) 201-6018 or pass the details along on the contact page, and a visit is set inside one business day. Pieces get counted, the substrate identified, colour discussed, and a priced cabinet painting quote follows in writing. Vanities, condo galleys and the rest appear on the home page.
Kitchen Cabinet Painting Questions
How long does a kitchen cabinet painting job take?
Plan on about two weeks from start to final hinge adjustment. On site it is two or three days on carcasses and frames inside sealed containment. The fronts stay at the booth for seven to ten days. The sink, range, fridge and dishwasher stay connected the whole time.
What does the written quote list?
It tallies fronts, gables and end panels, names the substrate, then the primer, the topcoat family, sheen, coat count and any hardware work. Islands, pantries and vanities each get their own line, so any of them can be added or dropped. The written quote is the price that applies.
Why do painted cabinets peel or chip?
It nearly always traces to grease left on the surface, a skipped sanding step, the wrong primer for the material, or heavy coats put to work before they cured. Degreasing, scuff sanding, a matched primer and thin sprayed coats exist to close all four gaps.