Cabinet Painting & Refinishing

Cabinet painting has become one of the most requested home improvement projects in New Brunswick, offering a dramatic kitchen or bathroom transformation at 20-30% of the cost of full cabinet replacement. Many NB homes built in the 1990s and 2000s have solid wood or MDF cabinets in dated oak, maple, or cherry stains that are structurally sound but visually tired. Rather than spending $15,000-$30,000 on new cabinets, professional refinishing delivers a modern look — typically white, grey, or navy — for $3,500 to $8,000 depending on the number of cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and the complexity of the layout. Professional cabinet painting is not a simple brush-and-roll job. It requires removing all doors, drawers, and hardware; degreasing every surface to remove years of cooking residue; sanding or chemically deglazing the existing finish for adhesion; applying a bonding primer specifically formulated for cabinetry; and spraying two to three coats of a hard-curing cabinet enamel that resists chipping, yellowing, and moisture. In New Brunswick kitchens, where humidity from cooking and limited winter ventilation can be significant, using the right primer and topcoat system is critical to long-term durability. The curing process matters too — cabinet enamel paints take 14-30 days to reach full hardness, during which the surfaces must be treated gently. Shortcuts with regular wall paint or latex-only systems lead to sticky doors, fingerprint marks, and peeling within a year or two, especially in NB's humid Maritime climate. A professional NB cabinet painter typically completes a standard kitchen in 3-5 days, working off-site or in a controlled spray environment to achieve a smooth, factory-quality finish. Bathroom vanity refinishing is a smaller project, typically $800-$2,000. If your cabinet boxes are in good condition and you are happy with your kitchen layout, refinishing is far more practical than replacement and generates less construction waste — a consideration as NB landfill tipping fees continue to rise.

Find a Painter