For a professional company whose job it is to paint kitchen cabinets, the average time it will take them to paint an average-sized kitchen will range between 4-5 days. Most professional companies follow systems that allow them to be productive and efficient, delivering great results every time they work in your home.
The whole process of painting your kitchen cabinets takes approximiately 2 weeks. In some cases however, this timeframe might be extended to 3 weeks. For example when your ktichen doors need to be stripped, or a clear coat needs to be removed, additional time is required from start to finish.
Painting your kitchen cabinets is a highly cost-effective way to give your kitchen a new look, however, it can be a lot of work to handle on your own. At WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, we offer kitchen cabinet painting without all the hassle.
Most cabinet refinishing jobs take about 3 to 5 days to complete, assuming no complications arise, such as plumbing or electrical work that needs to happen while the cabinets are disassembled.
Remember, water-based/latex-based paints can take up to 2 hours to dry, but almost 4 weeks to cure! Oil-based paints, on the other hand, take longer to dry (about 6 hours) but lesser time to cure.
Depending on color choice, atmospheric conditions, and other variables, latex paint may take up to 60 days for a “full cure”. Latex paint can be put to normal use after a day or two, but should be allowed to cure for at least 14 days before attempting to wipe or wash the walls.
To check if your paint is cured, use the fingernail test. In an inconspicuous area, press your fingernail into the coating. If it leaves an indent, your paint is not fully cured. If no indent is visible and the surface is hard, your paint has most likely cured.
Not Letting the Cabinets Dry for Long Enough
Until the cabinets are fully cured to a hard, durable surface, they'll be more susceptible to chips and marks. It's best to wait at least 48 hours before reattaching the cabinet doors and hardware, then be careful not to slam or scrape the doors for the first week.
Painting your cabinets costs $3 to $10 per square foot or $30 to $60 per linear foot for all supplies, materials, and labor. Sometimes contractors will charge $100 per door, $25 per drawer, or $75 to $150 per cabinet.
You don't have to remove the cabinet doors to repaint them, so leave them on their hinges if you're not going to replace them. However, it is easier to paint the cabinet's façade with the doors off. You can paint the hinges to match the cabinets or mask them with painter's tape to keep them as they are.
Wood, wood-laminate and metal cabinets usually can be repainted without difficulty. Plastic laminate cabinets might not accept a topcoat of paint — those that can be refinished often require special paints and techniques, and results can vary.
Two coats of paint are essential for cabinets—you're building a surface. By the way, to get the nicest finish, use a brush, a 2- to 2 1/2-inch fine bristle brush. Whatever paint you use, ventilate the room—direct a fan out the window—and wear the masks they sell in paint stores.
Prime Kitchen Cabinets. Applying primer is an important step in the painting process. Primer provides a suitable surface for the paint to stick to and it covers imperfections.
At minimum, let the cabinets dry in a well-ventilated area for at least 24 hours—however, two or three days is even better.
Look for products labeled "peel bonding primer" or "peel stop." As long as the current coat of paint isn't chipping or peeling, you can apply these primers directly over top of the existing paint after a thorough cleaning.
My favorite sealer for painted furniture is General Finishes High Performance Top Coat and this would also be my first choice for sealing cabinets. It is water-based, non-yellowing, and extremely easy to work with (unlike many other sealers).
For wood, brushing is fine, but you may want to hire a professional for a good finish. Using a roller to paint cabinets is a lot faster than brush painting, however, the fabric on the roller will create a 'bobbly' texture on the surface. The texture a roller puts on cabinets makes it unsuitable for gloss paint.
Brushing allows the painters to apply the color directly to the surface of the cabinets, only wasting the small amount left on their brushes at the end of the project. Spraying atomizes the paint, meaning some of the droplets inevitably float away, and any paint left in the tubing of the sprayer goes to waste.
Rollers are not as consistent. The paint is applied unevenly. So, if you want a factory-grade finish, choose to spray your kitchen cabinets instead of rolling them. In addition to providing a higher-quality final finish, spray painting is faster than using a roller.
Oil-based paint generally takes six to eight hours to dry, while latex paint can be dry and ready for another coat in as little as an hour. If completing a painting project quickly is important to you, then latex paint may be a good option due to its quick drying time.
A painted surface can be cured a long time quicker when it is made of oil or latex. A latex paint cures in about 30 days, but in oil-based paints it cures seven days.
After your first coat of paint is dry, it's safe to recoat typically after four to six hours. A good rule of thumb is to wait at least three hours to recoat your paint or primer if it's water-based. Waiting 24 hours is best for oil-based paint and primer.