Refinishing vs Refacing

  • Refinishing can be a better solution if you want to keep

    • the existing doors style
    • the existing overlay
    • the doors are structurally sound
    • door hinges working properly

    Disadvantages of refinishing vs refacing

    • It can be more time consuming, therefore more costly to prep the old doors for refinishing professionally
    • Warranty is less on refinished doors since we can’t guarantee the integrity of the existing door structure. Cracks and other imperfections in old doors will cause problems in the best finishes.
    • Older style, exposed hinges will age the cabinets even with a new finish
    • Common standard overlay style can’t be changed by refinishing

  • Scope of Refinishing

    Standard refinishing:

    • All doors, drawer fronts and the exterior of the cabinet boxes, including all trim will be sprayed with a factory lacquer finish.
    • We don’t use veneer!

    Optional items may include:

    • Adding new or modifying existing cabinets
    • Replacing hinges and other hardware
    • Replacing handles
    • New drawer boxes, soft close slides
    • Installing  pull out shelves
    • Any carpentry work, including trim and crown molding

  • Procedure

    1. Removal: We will remove all doors and drawer fronts (removing all hardware as well) and take them to our shop for refinishing
    2. On-site finishing: Carefully prepping the cabinet boxes on site, sealing off the entire kitchen and spraying the cabinet boxes, applying the same finish as were applied to the doors in our shop.
    3. Install: Reinstalling hardware and hanging doors.

  • Timeline

    1. Removal: Removing all hardware then removing all doors and drawer fronts takes 1-2 hours.
    2. Refinishing doors: It takes 3-4 days to prep and refinish the doors/drawer fronts in our shop.
    3. On-site: It takes 1 day for most kitchens to prep and refinish the cabinet boxes and rehang all hardware and reinstall the doors.

  • Materials Used

    • Bounding primer
    • Sprayed lacquer, conversion varnish or 2K Polyurethane

REFINISHING FAQ

If the answer is yes to all of the options below, refinishing would be your best option.

  • You like your current doors style but you don’t like the finish
  • You don’t want to change the door overlay style
  • Your doors are structurally sound
  • Your doors are solid wood
  • Your cabinets are NOT oak

Full overlay means that the doors and drawer fronts cover almost the entire cabinet box when closed. There is usually only a 1/4″ gap between the doors and drawer fronts as opposed to about 1″-2″ with standard overlay doors.

We never use veneer on cabinet face frames that are almost always solid hardwood, like maple, oak or cherry. These solid wood surfaces can be refinished with any color of a sprayed factory finish, paint or stain that will make it indistinguishable from a new factory finish. However once a veneer has been applied to the surface, it can no longer be refinished and it will be apparent that the cabinet has been refaced.

Since the cabinets will be sprayed with an actual paint or stain finish, the color choices are unlimited. We can match any paint or stain color of any brand from Benjamin Moore to Farrow and Ball .

We can apply any type of polyurethane based sprayed factory finishes designed for kitchen cabinets. We do not use chalk paint, oil or latex paints.

There are two main categories of finishes: Painted and stained finishes.

Stain is a transparent finish that shows the wood grain,

Interested?

Get a Quote!