Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing / Painted Cabinets
Painted cabinet refinishing in St. Louis.
The difference between painted cabinets that last and painted cabinets that peel is almost entirely in the prep.
Painted cabinets done right — or done over.
Most painted cabinet jobs fail within a few years. Finish peeling at the edges. Paint chipping around handles. Brush marks you notice more every time you open a door. The problem is almost never the paint itself. It's what happened — or didn't happen — before the paint went on.
Proper painted cabinet refinishing starts with a full strip back to bare wood. Not a scuff-sand, not a light coat over the existing finish. A real strip, by hand, so the surface is clean and the new primer has something to bond to. Then appropriate primer for the substrate — different wood species take primer differently, and original kitchen cabinetry in St. Louis homes covers a wide range. Then a finish coat applied correctly.
The result holds. It doesn't peel at the corners in year two.
What we do differently.
Painting over an existing finish — even a lightly sanded one — creates a bond that's only as good as the weakest layer underneath. We strip to bare wood and start clean.
Stain-blocking, adhesion-promoting primer selected for the wood species and the finish going over it. This step is where most paint jobs cut corners.
Paint that's applied too fast over insufficiently cured primer fails early. We let each layer set properly before the next one goes on.
If your kitchen cabinets were built before 1978, they may have lead paint underneath whatever finish is on them now. Sue Wheeler is an EPA Certified Lead Removal. Every project on a pre-1978 surface is handled with proper containment and documented cleanup.
Strip & Refinish or Perk Up & Protect?
If your painted cabinets are peeling, chipping, showing brush marks, or were painted over an original stained finish — they need Strip & Refinish. Full strip, prime, paint.
If your painted cabinets are in structurally solid condition and holding their finish but looking dull or scuffed — Perk Up & Protect may be appropriate. Light prep, fresh topcoat. We'll tell you honestly which applies when we see them.