Cabinet Refinishing
Kitchen cabinet refinishing in Huntley, IL
Cabinet work is priced by door, drawer, face, handle and hinge count, plus a materials base. The spray setup and oak grain fill are explicit options, so the estimator shows exactly what is in the number.
Not ready for a number? Skip the estimator and schedule a call.
Priced by door, drawer, face, handle and hinge count, plus a materials base
Count your doors, drawers, faces, handles and hinges. Then choose the optional on-site spray setup or oak grain fill if they apply. Cabinets use a flat itemized sum, with no condition, coats or color-change multipliers.
Price it in the estimatorCabinet refinishing estimate
$4,875
Itemized straight from our cabinet rate card. No multipliers, no guessing.
- Materials basePrimer, coating, sundries and masking
- $500
- Doors18 doors at $128.25
- $2,309
- Drawer fronts8 fronts at $126.63
- $1,013
- Faces and end panels2 at $112.50
- $225
- Handles18 at $10.00
- $180
- Hinges36 at $18.00
- $648
What drives the number
Why one house costs more than the next
Nothing here is a mystery. These are the six things that move your price, up or down.
Door and drawer count
This is the whole job. Every door gets cleaned, sanded, primed and sprayed individually, so 34 doors is genuinely more work than 22.
Boxes and face frames
The estimator counts the finished doors, drawers, faces, handles and hinges separately. The materials base is added to every cabinet job, and the spray setup is a separate option when needed.
The finish that is already on them
Old oil-based paint, worn stain, heavy grease and grime, and broken doors all add prep time before anything gets sprayed.
Grain and how smooth you want it
Oak grain telegraphs through paint. Filling that grain for a smooth painted look is an extra step, and it is not cheap. We will show you both options.
Color direction
Dark stain going to a light white needs more coats and a good bonding primer. That is the most common cabinet job and it costs more than a light to light change.
Where we spray
We remove doors and drawers and spray them in a controlled setup, then finish frames on site. That is why the finish is smooth and not brush-marked.
What does not change it
Whether you seem like you can afford it. Our rate card is the same for every house in Huntley. Same per-door price whether it is a rental kitchen or the biggest house on the street.
Before you book
What decides a cabinet price, and what we will not paint
- Thermofoil is a no
- We do not paint thermofoil cabinets. Thermofoil is a vinyl film over MDF, not a paintable surface.
- You pay by the piece
- Every cabinet job carries a $500 materials base. Then each door, drawer front, face, handle and hinge is counted. Cabinets use a flat itemized sum, with no condition, coats or color-change multipliers.
- Two options that add cost
- On-site spray setup is $800. Oak grain fill is $15 per door and per drawer. Oak grain telegraphs through paint, and filling it is the extra step that gets you a smooth painted look.
- What the finish is, and is not
- Refinishing gives you a beautiful painted finish, not a factory conversion-varnish finish. Degrease, sand and bond primer, then two finish coats of cabinet-grade coating.
- The warranty on cabinets
- Our painting warranty runs five years, which is how long we expect the paint to last. Cabinets are warranted only where proper prep was possible. The warranty terms are written on your estimate.
- Paying
- A 50% deposit books the work. We accept cash, check and card. We do not offer financing.
How it goes
Four steps, start to finish
- 01
Count and price
Count your doors and drawer fronts, put them into the estimator, and you have a real range in under a minute.
- 02
Finish and color
We check the existing finish, test adhesion, and confirm color and sheen. Sheen matters more on cabinets than on any other surface in your house.
- 03
Remove, label, spray
Doors and drawers come off labeled, get degreased, sanded, bond-primed and sprayed. Boxes and frames get done in place with the kitchen fully contained.
- 04
Rehang and adjust
Everything goes back on, hinges adjusted so the doors line up, and we walk the kitchen with you before we leave.
Our work
Real jobs, real houses, our own photos
Straight talk
When we would tell you not to hire us
We would rather lose the job than take money for work that will not hold up or that you do not need yet. Here are times we tell people to wait or spend their money somewhere else.
Your cabinet boxes are falling apart
If the particleboard is swollen under the sink or the shelves are sagging, paint does not fix structure. Put that money toward new boxes.
You have thermofoil cabinets.
We do not paint thermofoil cabinets. Thermofoil is a vinyl film over MDF, not a paintable surface.
You want cabinets that look like new cabinets
Refinishing gives you a beautiful painted finish, not a factory conversion-varnish finish, and oak grain will still read through. If that will bother you every morning, buy new doors.
Comparison
D'Franco versus a typical low bid
Both columns are honest. Read the last row carefully.
| What you are comparing | D'Franco | Typical low bid |
|---|---|---|
| Degrease and adhesion prep | Degreased, sanded and bond primed, with an adhesion test first. | Wiped down and painted. It chips off the pulls within a year. |
| How the finish is applied | Doors removed and sprayed, frames finished on site. | Brushed and rolled in place, doors still hanging. |
| Product | Cabinet-grade coating built to survive fingernails and cleaners. | Standard wall paint, which stays soft and prints for months. |
| Containment and dust | Kitchen contained, floors and counters protected, filtered airflow. | Sanding dust in your dishes. |
| Hinges and reinstall | Labeled, reinstalled and adjusted so doors sit square. | Rehung fast. Some doors do not line up and stay that way. |
| What you pay on signing day | Higher. Cabinet work is where the gap looks biggest. | Usually cheaper, often about half. |
Last row included on purpose. If price on the day is the only thing that matters, we are not going to win, and that is fine.
Questions
Answers, including the awkward ones
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets?
By the count. The flat sum includes a materials base, doors, drawer fronts, faces, handles and hinges. On-site spray setup and oak grain fill are separate options. Count the pieces and run the estimator to see the itemization.
How long will painted cabinets hold up?
We painted our own cabinets in David's kitchen with the same process and materials we use in your home. 10 years later we got tired of brown and repainted them white. We are 4 years into the white, so 14 years, and they still look great.
Can you get rid of the oak grain?
We can fill and smooth the grain, but it adds real labor and cost. Many homeowners decide they like the texture once they see both samples side by side. We will show you both before you commit.
How long is my kitchen out of service?
Typically three to five working days. You keep the use of your sink and appliances the whole time. Doors and drawers are off for most of that window.
Is refinishing worth it, or should I just buy new cabinets?
If the layout and the way your kitchen works already suit you, there is no need to replace it. A full remodel also means losing your kitchen for as long as the work takes. Refinishing does not.
Why don't you use Benjamin Moore on cabinets?
Time. By David's numbers, the Benjamin Moore cabinet coating needs about 16 hours to cure and the Sherwin Williams one needs about 4. Benjamin Moore would keep your kitchen out of use far longer for no gain in finish, and time is money. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams are still the only two brands we warranty.
Learning Center
Keep reading before you buy
Cabinet refinishing cost guide
Per-door pricing, add-ons, and exactly where the money goes.
Refinish or replace your cabinets
A straight comparison, including when replacement is the smarter buy.
Best cabinet coatings
The products we actually spray and how they hold up in real kitchens.
Price your kitchen in about a minute.
Count your doors and drawers, run the estimator, and see whether refinishing makes sense before anybody comes to your house.