Cabinet refinishing and repainting is the middle path between a full cabinet replacement and a quick DIY touch-up. Instead of tearing out boxes and doors, a painter strips or scuffs the existing finish, fills dents and nail holes, sprays or hand-brushes new color and sheen, and reinstalls hardware (or fits new pulls if you're updating the look). Done right, it can make a dated kitchen or bathroom look new for a fraction of the cost of replacing cabinetry, and it's one of the more finicky jobs in residential painting because the finish has to hold up to daily hands, grease, steam, and cleaning.
What the job actually involves
Most cabinet projects follow a similar sequence: doors and drawers come off and get labeled, surfaces are cleaned of grease and degreased again, everything is sanded or deglossed, wood filler goes into dents and gaps, primer goes on (often a bonding primer for laminate or previously varnished wood), and then two or more coats of paint or a hybrid enamel are applied. Boxes usually get painted in place while doors and drawer fronts are sprayed off-site or in a garage setup for a smoother, factory-like finish. The whole process typically runs 3 to 7 days depending on kitchen size and drying time between coats.
What to look for in a cabinet painter
Ask whether they spray doors separately (this matters a lot for finish quality versus brushing everything in place), what primer and topcoat products they use, and whether they've handled the same cabinet material as yours, since laminate, oak, MDF, and thermofoil all behave differently under paint. Get a clear answer on how they protect the rest of the kitchen from overspray and dust, and ask about their warranty on chipping or peeling. A written scope that lists the number of coats and where spraying versus brushing happens is a good sign you're dealing with someone who does this regularly rather than as a side job.
We've scored the 6 cabinet refinishing and repainting businesses we track in Shelton on the things that tend to separate a durable finish from one that chips within a year: process detail, material choices, communication, and how consistently past customers describe the results. See the full breakdown and rankings in our best painters in Shelton guide, and read how we score every business on the methodology page.