emb2012 – out of curiosity, what was the quote for?

Lion Construction commented “you get what you pay for”
and I agree however, Is that 45 sq. ft. of cabinets you are referring to?

I recognize this is an older thread but I am glad to see it’s
still a topic of discussion – I am often asked about cost differences between
re-face, painted and new cabinets.

I would like to offer a little perspective as it relates
to “professional painting” of cabinetry and the original post and photos of the
kitchen (posted by glaaat) are a good example.

Presently we are doing a white kitchen very similar in
size (square footage of space and cabinet configuration)

Price: $6200

Details – To my client and her interior designer, the original
cabinets appeared to be in good condition. But they didn’t like the dark stain
and wanted freshen up and lighten the kitchen and chose to paint.

From the surface I could agree that the cabinets looked
good but on close examination there are a large number of defects that where
simply undetectable as the darker color hid the flaws in the clear top coat.

There are runs, sags and drips and areas where the
topcoat was failed and separating. There are cracks in the door styles and rails,
gaps between cabinets, chips and dents and the list goes on. The crown molding
was poorly installed and the miter joints mismatched.

The purpose of pointing this out in this thread is this…

Some folks don’t realize how bad there cabinets really
are until the day they say “hey – Lets paint them white (or any light shade)”.

Every single blemish right down to the tiniest pin hole
will show up like a comet shooting across a pitch black sky.

Every professional painter will have their own approach
to painting this kitchen and anyone can come along and say “hey, I can paint this for a fraction of the
price”…and they will.

Here is what I do for $6200

First, all the doors and drawers are removed and I take
them to my shop.

The cabinets are then vacuumed, degreased and scrubbed
clean, scraped and sanded where necessary, vacuumed again, de-glossed, large
holes filled and gaps caulked.

Where necessary styles and rails of the face frame
are repaired or replaced and we spend a great deal of time cleaning under the
toe-kick (dust, cobwebs, grease, unidentifiable substance and so on).

Vacuum again, cover floors then mask off interiors of
cabinets, walls, appliances then build temporary inlet filtration to keep new
dust from getting sucked in and a filtered exhaust system to move out as much
overspray and fumes as we reasonably can.

Finally, bring in the spray equipment and set up for the
first coat of primer.

Vacuum again.

Spray on primer, allow to dry then inspect the entire
kitchen.

Patch and fill those additional blemishes that are hard
to detect until they are white then sand the primer if necessary.

Vacuum again and apply the final coat of primer.

At this stage the island cabinets are masked off to
protect from overspray as they will be painted a different color.

Spray first coat of paint, let it set up and inspect.

Repair the sag in the paint where I over sprayed –
confession: even a pro can get snared in the paint hose now and again : (

Vacuum the floor and any loose overspray that landed on
top of cabinets.

At last –spray the final coat of paint.

Reverse the masking process and paint the island.

The job isn’t nearly done.

Remove all the masking, paper, plastic and tape, sweep
and clean again and head on back to the shop to start the same process on the
doors and drawers.

Build 4 additional doors to cover open cabinet at
island and remove door panels for upper cabinets in Butler’s Pantry then repair
and prep to receive glass panels.

Clean, degrease, repair patch and prep for paint.

Return to the project site, install new knobs and pulls,
hang doors and drawers and adjust hinges.

Install new pull-out hardware for in-cab waste and
recycle bins.

Rough-in electrical and Install new puck-lights, glass shelves and glass panel
doors at butler’s pantry.

Pack up the tools and equipment, clean one more time and
meet with the client and make certain they are absolutely thrilled with their new
kitchen… and yes, I will ask - Did you get what you paid for?

The moral of the story…

You can “pay the cost” one time and get it right, or…

You can “pay the price over and over again” because you
chose to go with the low-ball quote.