A cabinet is not a wall and a wall is not a cabinet...

There is a difference between painting a wall and painting a cabinet.  A big difference!  The prep, the process, the products - it's all specific to cabinets and if you don't know what you are doing you can cause damage and leave the cabinets in worse shape than they were.  If you don't prep correctly the primer will not adhere and if the primer does not adhere the coating will not adhere and you may have a nice finish for a little while, but it won't take long for the finish to fail.  You'll have chipping, pealing and if the doors are caulked, the caulk will stretch and damage the paint.  There are soooo many ways to mess it up if you don't live and breathe cabinets.  Which I do!  I research and test new processes.  I take classes and attend training to continually be improving my craft. I am in multiple mastermind groups where we share what to do, and what not to do.  It's so much more than picking up a paintbrush...

Generally speaking, house painters churn and burn.  They want to get in and out quickly and move on to the next job.  If someone tells you that they can paint your cabinets in a day... be very afraid.  A great way to enter the quoting process is to come up with a list of questions.  The answers to those questions will quickly tell you if you are dealing with a cabinet specialist or a house painter.  I will post a list of questions and ideal answers below.  Another MUST DO is to see a sample door.  You should be able to hold the door, check the quality of the coating, feel the finish and run your nail over it to check for adhesion.  Not all paint is created equally and cheap paint is not a cabinet's friend.  

I get it, everyone is looking to save some money where they can. But, my initial reaction when I hear that a house painter will be painting kitchen cabinets is, "uh oh." Just as often as I hear of someone hiring a house painter to paint their kitchen cabinets, I am contacted by someone to "repair" cabinets that were previously painted by a house painter.  This past week I was again contacted to quote on a "re-paint" for a set of cabinets that were painted by a house painter for roughly half the cost of what the homeowner is now going to pay me to paint them properly.  That prompted this post... it's an awful situation to be in as a homeowner, and no one wants to feel taken advantage of.  This is what the cabinets looked like, and your cabinets should most definitely not look like this. It's sloppy, and you can actually see the texture of the finish in the picture. Cabinet surfaces should be smooth as glass and soft to the touch. These...not even close.

Getting to a factory finish

It's possible to get a factory finish using the proper tools and the proper coatings.  I spray all of my cabinets, frames, and fronts to achieve the smoothest, hardest finish possible.  The products I use are made specifically for cabinets, and you can't get them at Lowes... you can't even get them at Sherman Williams.  I use European waterborne lacquer systems that are only available to professionals and I apply the coatings with an airless sprayer, which can be a disaster if you don't know how to use it.  It takes YEARS to master the art of airless spraying.

House painters use brushes and rollers that are not made for cabinets.  They also use sprayers, but the tips they use are not made to produce a fine finish.  Using the wrong tools will result in cabinets that look like the one below and as a homeowner, I know that I would not be pleased if I paid someone and this was the end result.  

I don't do walls...

I don't paint walls.  I don't have the right equipment, knowledge, or skills to paint a wall correctly.  It's not just slapping on paint, it's taping and rolling and getting the right coverage and on and on... If you ask me to paint your walls I'm going to direct you to my friend who is an excellent wall painter.  I only paint cabinets and I really enjoy what I do!  Each new client is an exciting beginning for me and I love going through the process with them.  I want to make sure that when I am finished, you are beyond happy.  I want you to be thrilled, wow'ed, in LOVE with your cabinets.   For me, it's more than just painting cabinets, it's helping you achieve the vision you have of your perfect kitchen or bathroom or laundry room...  When the primer goes on and the space immediately changes and you can begin to envision what the end result will be...that is one of my favorite steps in the process.  Your cabinets are so much more than a wall and they should be treated that way.  

Stacy