Painting is one of the biggest bangs for your buck, but preparing and painting cabinets is a time-consuming job. It can be a dramatic facelift, especially when you give a fresh new look to cabinets with a dark finish. After the cabinet and drawer fronts and hardware are removed, the real work begins with sanding, deglossing, and priming the surfaces. When they’re completely smooth and dry, they’re ready for a topcoat of paint. You can leave some items inside the cabinets, but create space to easily work on the frames.
A painting contractor will charge $1,184, which includes labor and material, to prepare, prime, and paint a small kitchen with 200 square feet of base and wall-hung wood cabinets with one coat of alkyd paint. You can do it yourself for $150, the cost of the materials—sandpaper, deglosser, primer, paint, and brush—and save 87 percent. If you’re considering painting the interior of the cabinets, it'll cost more in time and money plus they have to be completely emptied and there is more surface to cover than the exterior surfaces.
