Update your kitchen for a fraction of replacement cost. We sand, prime, and spray cabinet doors and frames for a smooth factory-style finish. No brush marks, no drips. Cowboy Painting LLC has 30+ years on cabinet work in Minnesota. Free on-site quote.
Painting kitchen cabinets is the highest impact upgrade in any kitchen, dollar for dollar. A full repaint costs about a quarter of replacement and the difference is real. White cabinets, dark blue, sage green, or any color you want, the kitchen looks completely different in a week. The catch is that cabinet painting is harder than wall painting, and most DIY jobs fail because the prep is wrong or the wrong product gets used.
Cowboy Painting LLC has been painting kitchen cabinets in Minnesota for over 30 years. We do full kitchen repaints, color changes, and refresh jobs on existing painted cabinets. Most jobs are residential kitchens, but we also paint bathroom vanities, built-in cabinets, mudroom storage, and basement bars. Anything cabinet-style with doors and drawers is in our wheelhouse.
The right cabinet paint job lasts 10 to 15 years before showing wear. The wrong one peels at the corners within a year. The difference is in the prep, the primer, and whether the finish is sprayed or brushed. We spray every cabinet job, which is why ours look like new cabinets instead of painted ones.
A full cabinet paint job starts with removing every door and drawer front. We label them, take them to a controlled work space, and clean them with degreaser. Kitchens have years of cooking grease on cabinet surfaces, even when they look clean. Skipping the degreaser is why most DIY paint jobs peel. After cleaning, we sand every door and frame to break the existing finish, vacuum the dust, and tack-cloth the surface before primer. The frames in your kitchen get the same prep, just done in place with the room masked off.
Primer is the most important step. We use a bonding primer made for cabinets, not regular wall primer. Bonding primer grips slick surfaces like factory laminate, sealed wood, and old paint without needing to strip everything down. After primer cures, we sand again with fine grit, vacuum, and prep for finish coats. Most cabinets get two coats of finish, sometimes three on white or very light colors. Each coat sands lightly between for a smooth final surface.
Spraying gives the smoothest finish. We use HVLP sprayers for cabinet work because they atomize the paint into fine particles for an even coat with no brush marks. Doors are sprayed off-site or in a controlled room, then dried on racks. Frames get sprayed in place with the kitchen completely masked off and ventilated. The finish coats are usually waterborne alkyd or acrylic urethane enamel, both of which cure hard, clean easy, and resist the daily abuse of kitchen use.
Color changes on cabinets are the most common request we get. White, light gray, dark blue navy, sage green, and forest green are popular right now. Going from natural wood to a painted finish is a bigger job than going from one painted color to another, since the wood grain has to be sealed properly to prevent telegraphing through the topcoat. We use grain filler on open-grained woods like oak before primer, otherwise the grain shows in the final finish even with three topcoats over it.
Two-tone kitchens are popular too. Upper cabinets in white with lower cabinets in a dark color is a common combination, or island in a contrasting color from the perimeter. We tape and mask carefully to keep the colors crisp at the edges. Painted cabinets next to a stained wood island also works, where we paint perimeter cabinets and leave the island in its natural finish. We help clients pick combinations that work with their countertops, flooring, and fixtures rather than just picking colors that sound good in isolation.
Glazing and distressing add character to painted cabinets. Glaze is a tinted topcoat applied selectively to recessed areas and edges to add depth and an aged look. Distressing involves light sanding through the paint to expose the underlying material at corners and edges. Both are added effects on top of a standard paint job. They cost more in labor but produce a custom furniture-quality look. Not every kitchen suits this style, but when it fits the home, it transforms the space significantly.
Kitchen cabinets take more daily abuse than any other painted surface in your home. Hands open them constantly, water splashes from the sink, grease comes off the stove, and the doors slam thousands of times a year. Cheap cabinet paint chips at the door edges, peels around the handles, and yellows over time. Quality cabinet paint cures hard, cleans easy with a damp cloth, and holds its color for over a decade. The product matters, and we never use wall paint on cabinets, no matter how durable the wall paint claims to be.
The finish curing time matters too. Most cabinet paints reach about 30 percent hardness in 24 hours but take 21 to 30 days for full cure. During that window, the cabinets need gentle handling. We tell clients to close doors carefully, avoid stacking heavy dishes against painted edges, and not to wipe with abrasive cleaners for the first month. After full cure, the finish takes daily kitchen wear without showing. Skipping the cure-time advice is why some painted cabinets show damage early, even with quality paint.
Spraying versus brushing is the biggest factor in cabinet appearance. Brushed cabinets always show brush marks, even with high quality brushes and self-leveling paint. Sprayed cabinets look like factory finished new cabinets when done right. The equipment, the work space, and the technique all matter. We invested in proper HVLP equipment and a controlled work area years ago because cabinet painting is a regular service for us, not an occasional add-on. The setup pays off in finish quality every job.
Cabinet painting is the highest impact kitchen upgrade per dollar spent. Done right, it lasts 10 to 15 years. Here is what comes standard.
Full degreasing of every cabinet surface to remove cooking residue that causes paint to peel later
Door and drawer removal, labeled and prepped off-site for cleaner work and better finish quality
Bonding primer designed for cabinets, not generic wall primer that fails on slick or sealed surfaces
HVLP spray application on doors and frames for a smooth factory-style finish with no brush marks or drips
Two to three finish coats of waterborne alkyd or acrylic urethane enamel, depending on color and coverage
Light sanding between coats for the smoothest possible final surface, not just paint stacked on paint
Hardware reinstallation with new screws if needed and door alignment checked before final walkthrough
Cabinet painting transforms a kitchen for less than a quarter of replacement cost. Tell us what you have and we will quote it.
Recent basement paint jobs from homes in the Twin Cities metro. Click any photo to view full size.
Doors and frames sprayed with HVLP equipment for a smooth factory-style result. No brush marks. No drips. No DIY look.
Bonding primer designed for cabinets, not wall primer. This is why our cabinet paint stays on for over a decade.
Degreasing, sanding, vacuuming, and tack cloth before any primer goes on. Skipping prep is why DIY jobs peel fast.
Cabinet painting includes door and drawer removal, full degreasing, sanding, bonding primer, two to three finish coats of cabinet-grade paint, and reinstallation. Hardware can be reused or replaced. Surface protection of countertops and floors is standard.
A standard size kitchen runs $3,500 to $7,500 depending on cabinet count, color choice, and prep needed. Larger kitchens with islands or two-tone color schemes run $6,000 to $11,000. We quote each job after seeing it.
No. Cabinet painting is cosmetic and does not require a permit. The cabinets stay in place, no plumbing or electrical changes happen, and no structural work is done. Permit-free for homeowners.
A standard kitchen takes five to seven working days from first day to final reinstall. Larger kitchens or two-tone color jobs run seven to ten days. The kitchen is partially usable during the job, fully usable after final cure.
Yes. We use bonding primer made for slick or sealed surfaces. Stained wood, sealed factory finishes, and old painted cabinets all paint well with the right prep. We do not need to strip cabinets down to bare wood for a quality result.
We do cabinet painting work in the Twin Cities metro and the towns around it. Most jobs are within a 45 minute drive of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Below is where we work most often.
Your town not on the list? Call us anyway. We travel for cabinet jobs since the work is specialized.
On-site visit. Written quote with cabinet count and color details. No fees, no pressure. Antonio gets back the same day. Tell us about your kitchen.
Walls, ceilings, doors, and trim inside the house. Drywall patching, sanding, primer, and two coats of paint, standard on every job.
Learn MoreSiding, fascia, soffits, and exterior trim. Power wash first, scrape loose paint, and use products built for cold winters in Minnesota.
Learn MoreStucco needs the right paint or it cracks. We use elastomeric coatings that flex and seal, plus chip patching before any paint application.
Learn MoreBaseboards, crown molding, doors, and window casing. Caulking, filler, light sanding, and clean cut lines on every edge every time.
Learn MorePressure wash, light sand, and apply solid stain or deck paint. We work around the weather so the finish actually cures correctly.
Learn MoreWhen cabinet boxes are still solid, refinishing saves money over replacement. Strip, sand, prime, and recoat in your color choice.
Learn More