Craig's Refinishing Tips

I would love to hear some stories on kitchen cabinet refinishing. I personally have tackled and completed many, from staining, re-staining, and painting.   Any way you do it, kitchen cabinet projects are labor intensive so my tip is “Charge Accordingly.”  For small kitchens, 12 to 18 doors and drawers, we start at a couple thousand.  Don’t short change yourself, as these projects take time.

How we do it is we mark and remove all doors and drawers, and then bring them to our warehouse where they are worked on and completed in a spray booth.  We usually are scheduled to return to the customer’s house a week to a week and a half later.  Two technicians will have a full day of prepping and spraying all the boxes.

Tip: When going from stained cabinets to a painted color, caulk everything.  Holes, seams, and any visible voids not properly filled really stand out making your job look less than professional. After priming, caulk some more. 

When re-staining cabinets if the customer doesn’t want to keep original stain we only go from light to dark stain using a lot of “wiping stains.” 

Tip: Let the stain dry for at least 24 hrs before applying the first coat of finish. 

Of course there are many steps in completing kitchen cabinet refinishing projects! Though very labor intensive, they also can be very profitable as well as a good way to expand your refinishing company.