Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing Process
The first step when starting a cabinet job is a price quote. We calculate the cost based on the number of doors and drawers you have and the areas that are being done (added island, bathroom, laundry, entertainment center, etc). If our price fits your budget, we will set up an appointment to come to your house to grab a couple of your doors/drawers to make you some samples as well as answer any questions you have. We want you to see our quality and make sure that the sample color(s) and sheen (shine) is right for you. When we do cabinets we want to get the job done quickly so you can have your kitchen back as soon as possible. Most jobs only take us 5 days; we start Monday and finish Friday. The only days that we will be in your house is Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. To get a better understanding of the process, continue reading below.
Monday - Preparation
The desired area (kitchen, bathroom, laundry, etc) will be completely prepped for spraying. The floor, walls, counter-tops, appliances, openings, nearby furniture, etc. will all be covered. We'll also create a bubble with painter's plastic around the area and place a fan in a window to create a suction to minimize fumes and debris from spreading to the rest of the house. In addition, we'll number and remove all of the doors and drawers to take with us and finish at our shop.
Tuesday - Cabinet Facings
First, we'll sand the facings to remove scratches, defects, grease, etc. We may also use a dewaxer depending on the condition of the facings. Then we'll begin spraying. If it's a solid color: we'll spray 1-2 coats of primer, then 2-3 coats of color, and lastly 2-3 coats of clear. If it's a glaze, we'll go through the same process as a solid color except we glaze after the first clear coat. After we glaze, we ask the customer to check it out to see if it blends to their liking. If it's a stain color: we'll stain, tone everything to blend, and then spray 2-3 coats of clear. After we're done, we'll clean everything up.
Wednesday and Thursday - Cabinet Doors
For two days we're at our shop working on the doors and drawers. On Wednesday, we sand, dewax, and prime both sides of the doors, and get the backs completely finished (all color/stain/glaze and clear coats). On Thursday, we finish the fronts.
Friday - Finishing Up
To start things off, we put all of the hardware (hinges, handles, knobs, etc) back on the doors. Then, we load everything up and head to the customer's house to install the finished doors and drawers. After we have everything installed, we touch up whatever odds and ends we may have missed, adjust the doors so that they are level and fit together properly, and put felt pads on everything so it all closes quietly. After all of this is done, the job is finished and we'll be on our way!
