Kitchen Cabinet Painting Vs. Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing: What Is The Difference?

Some people think kitchen cabinet painting has to do with solid color, while kitchen cabinet refinishing has to do with stained and varnished work. While this might be close to the truth, we set our own definitions at The Picky Painters. 

 

The Difference Between Kitchen Cabinet Painting And Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing

 

1. Coating

 

Cabinet painting is when you’re just using regular paint made for woodwork. Most people believe that this is the best option when it comes to painting kitchen cabinets. However, the paint used is not meant for cabinets.

 

 

Meanwhile, cabinet refinishing uses a product specifically made for cabinets. It is a certified coating that was adequately tested for quality and makes the furniture KCMA-certified. It delivers a smooth finish compared to using regular paint.

 

Refinishing covers the coating of the kitchen cabinets, with the texture being one of the significant parts. The coating has been tested against hot and cold conditions, staining, and water. It can be described as a quality control test.

 

So, the coating is the main factor for distinguishing between kitchen cabinet painting and kitchen cabinet refinishing.

 

2. Process

 

After the coating, the cabinet process also has a vital role. For kitchen cabinet painting, the procedure comes with all the work, like brushing and rolling to apply paint and primer. That’s the most basic way to use the coating on the cabinets.

 

You cannot do some of the mentioned processes in cabinet painting – such as brushing – for cabinet refinishing and when using high-end coatings. For this one, a full spray finish should be done, along with prep work. Then, you can achieve a factory-quality finish.

 

 

The product used makes a huge difference, as well. Not everything can give you a desirable result. Even if you use regular paint in a clean environment, you still won’t get a furniture-like finish because you don’t have the proper coating.

 

The cabinet painting process is more of a hand, brush, and standard job. On the other hand, cabinet refinishing does a full spray to achieve a factory finish look. 

 

3. Prep work

 

Regarding prep work, some standards must be followed – except if you are doing cabinet refinishing. You need to spray and protect everything unless you want to uninstall the cabinets and spray them elsewhere.

 

 

However, that is not possible unless you are re-doing the entire kitchen. By doing that, you have to remove the counters, sink, and trim. You can also have issues with the flooring and shifting the furniture. Thus, it’s not feasible to remove the cabinets.

 

Prep work is the key to protecting everything you don’t want to get painted. It’s better to use KCMA-certified coatings since they do not come off once you put them on the surface. But before applying that, here are the prep work that should be done:

 

• Cabinets should be cleaned and scrubbed before painting takes place.
• Some prefer to sand off the full coating, but that’s not always safe, so make sure to use the right products.
• Make sure that there is no dust on the floor because it might be sprayed onto the cabinet and give it a rough finish.

 

Here’s Why The Picky Painters Should Do Your Next Kitchen Cabinet Painting or Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing

 

Those are the three main areas of difference between cabinet painting and cabinet refinishing. If you choose The Picky Painters, our kitchen cabinet refinishing gives a much better warranty. Right now, we offer a five-year warranty.

 

If you are up for a little bit more affordable, you can choose our kitchen cabinet painting process. The project comes with a two-year warranty. 

 

Note that you can still encounter problems that are not paint-related. For example, the cabinet gets chipped and dents if it is hit by something. But we assure you that the paint will not wear off.

 

Meanwhile, touching tends to make the furniture paint wear off or fade. This is because regular paints aren’t made to be touched with hands, and the oil could get to them. In addition, they are not made to withstand water and hot-cold temperature. 

 

Thanks for reading our blog for today, and check out other blogs here: https://thepickypainters.com/blog/