We bought a house recently and our kitchen cabinets are not old (~10 yrs) and great quality and we like the configuration so we decided the only thing we wanted to change is the color. They are currently stained with a glaze. We want a clean white or off\-white look (no glaze). We have a lot of cabinets and are not skilled in DIY so we agreed to hire a pro. The problem I am having is determining what kind of pro/process we really need. I have received at least five (5!) quotes which is a lot for me. We got two from painters and three from cabinet specialists. The cabinet guys' quotes were 10-12k. The painters quoted 3-5k. We got samples from one painter and two cabinet guys and I do think the cabinet guys' samples were superior - they basically look like factory cabinets but I am reluctant to spend that much money for changing the color and the painter sample seems good enough to me. I would go with the cabinet specialist, however if painting is going to be significantly less durable. The painter said he would use oil-based paint, no poly with a high volume, low pressure sprayer. One cabinet guy said he would use poly (I was less confident in him); one described a multi-step curing process (a franchise called n-hance https://www.nhance.com/blog/service/cabinet-color-change/)) that uses all water based products. Now I'm getting a bit daunted by the differing approaches and posts I've read and not really knowing the right path. Any advice? I've seen lots of posts about Cabinet Coat which I hadn't heard of. I'm including a couple of pics of our kitchen. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3425364/hire-a-painter-or-a-cabin These are pictures from before we bought the house so we have changed wall colors and furniture and such but hopefully you can see why we want to change the cabinet colors \- they are beautiful but they blend right in with the floors, giving a sort over-all "blah" effect. Any advice is very much appreciated!

I don't think it matters if it's a cabinet specialist or a painter as long as the person is proficient at doing this type of work. I don't paint cabinets all the time, but I'm sure my work would stand up to the cabinet guys job. In fact, I know a few companies that specialize in painting cabinets and they are usually double my price. The reason for this is because they charge twice as much as me (over $100 per hour). The reason they charge so much is because they can. They target rich people that live in wealthy areas and once you do that for a few years, those rich people refer you to their other rich friends and it snowballs. I work for regular people too so it's why I get to be the poor guy. I find that cabinet makers are carpenters first. That is their craft. They do paint and stain the cabinets they build, but painting is not their primary trade. I think finding a company that specializes in cabinet painting is going to be harder than finding a cabinet shop that will paint cabinets. Usually cabinet guys want to use lacquer or conversion varnish and will swear it's the best finish you can possible have. Everyone will have a different opinion about what is best. For me, I'm a fan of acrylics because they don't yellow. I always say the best way to find a contractor is from a friend. It would be great if you could actually see an entire kitchen that somebody painted and has been in use for a few years instead of just seeing sample doors.