Kitchen Cabinet Painting Services in Birmingham AL

The kitchen is the most utilized room in your Birmingham home. You pass through and often linger in your kitchen throughout the day, and visitors to your home can glean a lot about you simply from viewing this room of your house. A clean kitchen may help you to put your best foot (and food) forward, but guests will also notice the layout of your kitchen and how you designed the space. The cabinetry takes up much of the usable space in your kitchen, making it a focal point for those who come into your home. A carefully chosen cabinet painting service can help you express your personal tastes and present your best self to guests. 

Our Process

Cabinet painting is more involved than simply dipping a paintbrush in some paint and slathering it on your cabinet doors and frames. If you want your cabinetry to have a polished look, you’ll need to follow a rigorous renovation process that can quickly become overwhelming. 

Colours Cabinet Refinishing in Birmingham has the experience and know-how to complete your cabinet work within just a few days, but if you’re dedicated to doing the work yourself, you can simplify the daunting process by going through the following preparations before you paint:

1. Remove the cabinet doors and hinges. Move the doors out of the kitchen to maximize your working space, and put the hinges and any screws or bolts into a bowl, so they’re easy to locate when you’re done.
2. Prepare your cabinets for new paint. Wipe down the doors to remove food particles, oils, and dirt that have accumulated over the years. You should also clean the cabinet frame. Once this is done, you need to sand the door and frame surfaces. This helps to remove imperfections in the wood and improves how the paint adheres to the cabinets.
   
3. Use painter’s tape and plastic sheeting to protect areas you don’t want painted. This is especially important if you plan to use a paint sprayer.
   Once the preparations have been completed, you’re ready to start painting your cabinets doors, and frames. This can be a long process, particularly if you need more than two coats of paint, as you have to sand in between each one to guarantee a smooth, attractive finish.
   

Time and Cost Considerations in Cabinetry Painting

The average cost to finish your cabinetry painting project in Birmingham can be as little as $3,000 or as high as $10,000. This is because there are so many variables that come into play. Your final investment will be determined by whether you treat the project as a DIY or hire a professional company to do the work for you. Other variables that will determine your final cost include:

• The size and condition of your old cabinets
• The type and quality of the paint you buy
• Supplies you buy to complete the painting job, including drop clothes, brushes, sandpaper and tools
• Whether you buy or rent equipment to simplify the painting process

How long it takes to complete your painting project will also vary. We can complete most cabinetry projects in 5-6 days from start to finish. If you do the work yourself, it can take a week or longer to refinish your cabinets and restore them to useable condition.

The Latex Question

As long as you don’t have an allergy to it, latex paint is a practical and affordable choice for your kitchen paint job. It’s a versatile paint that comes in a range of styles to fit your personal tastes, the most popular of which are gloss, semi-gloss and satin. With latex paints, you want to make sure you use quality paint such as Benjamin Moore or other commonly used name brands, as latex paints do have a tendency to peel more easily. To ensure a longer-lasting paint job, you may want to use a primer on the cabinets before your first coat; you can also increase the longevity of the cabinet’s paint by using a polycrylic topcoat to provide an extra layer of protection from scratches or denting.

Alkyd Paints for Cabinet Painting

Acrylic alkyd paint, such as Benjamin Moore Advance, is a “hybrid” paint that combines the durability of oil-based paint with the easy application and cleanup of latex and other water-based paints. As with enamel paint, you can choose from different finishes, including semi-gloss and satin. Alkyd paint has a lower VOC than oil-based paint, making it more environmentally friendly than its predecessor, and it also adheres better to non-wood surfaces. If you find a good quality alkyd paint, you may not have to use primer to boost its durability, although applying primer is always recommended, and you may even be able to get by without sanding in between coats.

The Dangers of DIY

A simple cabinet paint job can quickly become an involved renovation project, particularly if you choose to paint the cabinets yourself. It can be difficult and time-consuming to navigate through all the conflicting advice and recommendations posted on YouTube and other social media sites. Before you spend hours scouring DIY videos and articles, let’s tackle some of the most prevalent topics you’ll encounter.

Sheen

Sheen is defined as how shiny a paint is after it has dried on a surface. In general, paints come in one of five sheen types:

• High gloss
• Semi-gloss
• Satin
• Eggshell
• Flat/Matte 

High gloss and semi-gloss paints will give your cabinet doors a polished, shiny appearance, while a matte or flat finish is non-reflective and provides a smooth, uniform look. For your kitchen cabinets, a satin or semi-gloss finish offers durability, stain resistance and aesthetic appeal, although you may need two or three coats to get the most out of these sheen types, since they don’t do well at covering blemishes or imperfections in the cabinet frames. 

Painting Tools

Once you’ve chosen the sheen of your paint, you have to decide whether to use a paint sprayer or a traditional brush and roller to finish your project. Cabinet painters may find that although a paint sprayer is quicker (and more fun), the prep and cleanup process is more difficult, and the potential for mistakes is much higher. Most cabinetry paint jobs benefit from the slow, methodical approach you can only get from a handheld paintbrush and roller.

To Primer (Or Not to Primer)

The purpose of primer is to make it easier for paint to stick to the surface of your cabinets. This is especially important if your cabinets are made from laminate or other non-porous material; for old or worn-out cabinets, you may need to apply more than one coat of primer.

If your cabinets are in good shape, you may be able to use paint that already has the primer included, but you may be sacrificing some of the durability of your paint job.

If you really want your refinished cabinets to last, using a primer is a simple first step; you should also apply multiple coats of paint and sand each coat so the paint has a clean, smooth surface to adhere to.

Keeping Your Perfect Paint Job “Perfect”

With a little effort, your refinished cabinets will provide a beautiful focal point for anyone who enters your kitchen for many decades to come. Modern water-based paints are designed to be durable and easy to clean. To keep your paint job looking great well into the future, you just need to follow a simple set of rules:

• Wipe your cabinets regularly using a warm, soft sponge or washcloth to keep splattered food and grease from accumulating on the surface.
• Avoid the use of chemical solvents and abrasive scrubs when cleaning your cabinets.
• Use a vent or fan to pull steam away from your cabinets when you’re cooking.
• Don’t hang your moist wash clothes or towels over cabinet doors.
• Repair dents, dings, or scratches quickly and then apply protectant to avoid possible degradation of the paint job.
• Keep your cabinets safe from sun damage and fading by hanging curtains or blinds in your kitchen windows.

At Colours Cabinet Refinishing in Birmingham, we specialize in cabinet painting and restoration. Thanks to our 21-point comprehensive cabinet refinishing process, we offer a 5-year written limited warranty on all cabinet painting projects that includes protection against peeling, chipping, or blistering that happens as a result of incorrect materials or workmanship. 

In addition to cabinet painting, we also offer a range of services designed to enhance the functionality and aesthetic appeal of your kitchen cabinets, from extending the height of your cabinets to installing new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and much more.

If you are considering updating your cabinets, we would love to have the opportunity to meet with you so we can discuss your needs and answer any questions you may have. Contact us today using our online form.