The Professional Cabinet Refinishing Process

Refinishing your kitchen cabinets is one of the smartest upgrades you can make to your home. It brings tired, dated cabinet boxes and doors back to life for a fraction of the cost of tearing them out and starting over. At Artistic Refinishing, we’ve been perfecting this craft in South Florida since 1994 — 30+ years of spray-applied, commercial-grade work. Here’s exactly what goes into a professional job, so you know what to expect before we ever pick up a sprayer.

Don’t replace it — refinish it. Done right, cabinet refinishing saves most homeowners up to 90% versus a full replacement, and it’s finished in a fraction of the time. A typical kitchen takes about 2–3 days, not the weeks or months a tear-out demands.

Removing the Old Finish

Every good result starts with disciplined prep. The first step is stripping the existing coating off your cabinet boxes, doors, and drawer fronts. We clean and power-sand all surfaces to remove the old finish and the years of grease, residue, and grime that have built into it. That’s what gives the new coating something to grip.

Door profiles and detailed contours are where amateur jobs fall apart — it’s hard to prep into the grooves and edges evenly. After 30+ years, we have our methods for getting into every profile so the surface is uniformly ready. The finish already on your cabinets determines how aggressive the prep needs to be; heavier factory coatings or multiple layers of old paint call for more work than a single worn coat. It’s exacting, and it’s why this step belongs with an experienced crew rather than a weekend project.

Careful sanding is also what makes the final finish tough and chip-resistant. Nobody wants white cabinets where the paint flakes off the moment you brush against them. The extra time here is what separates a finish that lasts from one that peels.

Repairing and Prepping the Surface

Open cracks and nail holes stand out badly on a fresh finish. We fill holes in the cabinet boxes and trim molding so everything reads solid and seamless once it’s coated. New crown molding often hides nail holes that only show up under a clean finish — we patch those too, and inspect the doors throughout the process for any blemish that needs attention.

Once the wood is stripped and repaired, there’s still prep to do before any coating goes on. Surfaces are cleaned to lift away any solvent residue or leftover traces of the old paint, and the raw wood is smoothed so the new finish lays down on a clean, consistent base. Skip this and you’ll see it in the final result.

Applying a High-Grade Commercial Finish

With prep done, we apply the finish. We build it in multiple thin, spray-applied coats, sanding gently between them so each layer bonds tightly to the last. Boxes and doors get the same careful treatment. The result is a smooth, factory-quality surface you simply can’t get from a brush and a can.

We use a high-grade commercial finish chosen for durability, a rich look, and low odor. Just as important, our white coatings are formulated not to yellow over time — a common failure with ordinary paints, where white cabinets slowly drift off-color and there’s nothing you can do about it. We refinish in solid colors, so you get a clean, consistent look that holds up in a working kitchen.

Want to see the range of finishes in person? Take a look through our project gallery for real before-and-after results, or read more about how we work on our process page.

Quality doesn’t have to be expensive. When you schedule with us, we show up and finish the job when we say we will — no scheduling games.

Ready to Refresh Your Cabinets?

If your kitchen still has good bones but a tired finish, refinishing is almost always the better call. Learn more about our cabinet refinishing service, or contact us for a straightforward estimate. Our workmanship warranty covers chipping and peeling, and we’ll share simple care tips to keep your finish looking new for years.