Cabinet refinishing in Del Mar

Cabinet refinishing in Del Mar typically costs $75 to $150 per door and drawer front, or $3,000 to $9,000 for a whole kitchen. Expect $600 to $1,500 for one bathroom vanity. How many fronts you have sets most of the price, followed by condition: cabinets with years of cooking grease, water damage under the sink or failed earlier paint need more preparation. These are the same ranges we use for cabinet painting throughout San Diego County, and the quote you get is fixed in writing.

• Per door or drawer front: $75 to $150
• Whole kitchen: $3,000 to $9,000 typical
• Bathroom vanity: $600 to $1,500 typical

If the cabinet boxes are sound and the layout works, refinishing is usually worth it, even in an expensive home. A remodel buys a new layout; refinishing buys a new finish, for a fraction of the money and without the weeks of lost kitchen. Remodel when the layout itself is the problem. Refacing, which fits new doors and veneer over the old boxes, is a carpentry job we do not do. Our guide to what cabinet painting costs and the extra fees to expect helps you compare.

• Layout works, boxes solid: refinish
• Layout is the problem: remodel
• Doors damaged but boxes fine: new doors from a cabinet shop, then we finish everything to match

Yes. A condo kitchen gets the same process as a house, with more planning around the building. Over 40% of the city's housing shares walls or a building with neighbours, and in those homes the spraying has to stay inside your unit. Doors and drawer fronts leave to be sprayed in a controlled area. The boxes are masked off and sprayed inside the kitchen with the room sealed. Check your association's rules on work hours, parking and elevator use before you book, and tell us at the estimate so the schedule fits them.

Mainly the prep, because of the home's age. Kitchens from those decades are often solid wood or plywood that refinishes well, but they may carry several old coats, sometimes oil-based. Those need a proper bonding primer, or the new enamel can peel off the old film. In homes built before 1978, sanding that old paint can disturb lead, so our EPA Lead-Safe Certified crews contain the work and clean up to the federal standard. We check the old finish at the estimate and price that prep on the quote.

A little, and mostly in the hardware rather than the paint. In Del Mar homes that keep doors and windows open to the sea breeze, steel hinges, screws and handles can start to corrode sooner than they would inland, and rust stains a fresh finish around them. The doors are already off during a refinish, so it is the easiest moment to fit new hinges or handles, as on this Poway kitchen, which got soft-close hinges and modern handles. A well-bonded, fully cured enamel handles normal coastal humidity in a kitchen without trouble.

Usually three to five working days, and the kitchen is only fully out of use for part of that. Doors and drawer fronts go first, to be sprayed off-site or in a controlled area, so the early days feel like a kitchen with open shelves. The boxes are coated in place after that, and the room is back in use once they have dried. Treat the new enamel gently for about two weeks while it cures. To add walls, trim or other rooms to the same visit, see everything we paint in Del Mar.