Craine Painting noticed in a simple cruise through Pinterest that the social site is packed with DIYers’ tips on painting kitchen cabinets to revive an old kitchen. Great in theory. Execution is often the challenge because these doors and drawers are the eye-catchers in a room and they absolutely have no room for error. We’ve been called upon several times to redo a DIY job that went from great lazy-Sunday idea to epic fail. Here are seven reasons painting them yourself isn’t your best investment in time or money.

1) New cabinets are an investment of $8,000-$20,000. Once you paint a cabinet, your next step when updating for a new décor is an investment in new cabinets.

2) Some surfaces are not receptive to paint. Laminates and veneers come to mind, however some 1980’s cabinets were faced with Formica or other long-wearing but unpaintable surfaces.

3) Amateur work shows up in painting – especially cabinetry. If you’re absolutely convinced paint is the answer, hire a pro to do it, typically for around $3,000. Professional surface preparation is vital to a long-wearing coat of paint. There is no such thing as a no-prep job. Dust and kitchen grease are two of the biggest challenges to overcome. Type of paint is also crucial because flat paint won’t clean up well and bargain paints won’t handle the wear and tear cupboards and drawers take. Brush marks are a design feature only if you intended them to be. Otherwise, they detract from the color selection and the look of the room.

4) No matter how thorough the directions, the ‘distressed’ look, glazes, and chalk paints are hard to achieve. We have been to many jobs where the owner has used chalk paint, followed the manufacturer directions to a T, and the coatings have failed within six months. We have the training to give you the chalk painted/distressed style you are looking for, using high quality products that exceed standards of durability.

5) Don’t wax cabinets. Wax melts at 114 degrees… way too low for a kitchen.

6) Painted cabinets can impact your resale. See number 1 above. If a potential buyer sees a less-than-top-notch paint job, or the color doesn’t work for them, you could lose a buyer. They don’t want to invest more on top of the home investment they’re already making.

7) There are other ways. Cabinet refacing is one tactic to give a new look to older cabinetry. Stain is always ‘in.’ Sometimes, sanding and resealing the surface will give the update you’re trying to achieve.

8) Refreshing any look takes time. To do a job professionally, things like filler, primer, and waterborne lacquer need time to cure. There simply isn’t a one-Sunday-afternoon cabinet job.

Photo by Stuart Monk, used with permission
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