Cabinet painting cost is mostly a count: the number of doors, drawer fronts and boxes, multiplied by the steps each one needs. Degreasing, deglossing, priming, two enamel coats with 16 hours between them, and reinstallation make cabinets more labor-intensive than painting a whole room.
Each door has two faces and four edges, each drawer front has its face and edges, and each must be removed, labeled, prepared, painted flat, cured and rehung. A kitchen with many small doors and drawers takes longer than one with fewer large panels, even with the same wall length. Glass-front doors and decorative profiles add detail work.
Benjamin Moore lists Advance at 4 to 6 hours to touch and 16 hours to recoat at 77°F and 50% humidity, and says shelves and tabletops should not return to heavy use for at least 5 to 7 days. Doors are often painted in rounds while they cure, which spreads the work over several days. Cooler or more humid conditions extend each step.
Material is a small part of the cost. Advance is listed at 400 to 500 square feet per gallon and Fresh Start 046 primer at 400 to 450. Even a large kitchen's doors, drawers and frames usually need only a gallon or two of each, because cabinet surfaces are narrow frames and panels.
The number of doors and drawer fronts, whether boxes and interiors are included, the cleaning and deglossing method, the primer and enamel products, how doors are painted (in place or removed), the cure plan and hardware handling. Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires the contract to describe the work and materials, with specifications that cannot change without a written change order.
Joseph Assise III Painting is based in Easton and serves towns across eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey, centered on the Lehigh Valley. Town pages:
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Local guides with housing-age and climate data: Lafayette College, Easton | St. Luke's Easton Campus | Lehigh University, Bethlehem | SteelStacks, Bethlehem | Wind Creek, Bethlehem | Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest | Dorney Park, South Whitehall.
Painting keeps the existing boxes, doors and countertops in place, so it avoids demolition, new cabinetry and countertop work; replacement includes all of those. If the cabinet boxes are sound and the layout works, painting is the less invasive project. Damaged or poorly built doors may justify new doors with painted boxes.
Several days, mainly because of dry and cure time. Benjamin Moore lists its Advance enamel at 16 hours between coats and 5 to 7 days before heavy use. With removal, prep, priming, two coats on both sides of doors, and reinstallation, a typical kitchen takes a few working days, with gentle use for the first week.
Quotes differ in scope and process: whether doors are removed and painted flat, whether surfaces are degreased and deglossed, whether a bonding primer and a cabinet-grade enamel are used, whether interiors are included, and how cure time is handled. Pennsylvania requires the contract to describe the work and materials, so compare those details, not just the total.
Yes, a hard enamel made for cabinets. Benjamin Moore lists its Advance waterborne alkyd for interior doors, trim and cabinets and describes a tough finish that stands up to repeated washing. Wall paint stays softer and tends to stick and chip on doors that are handled daily.
Sources: Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Interior Alkyd Semi-Gloss (793) technical data sheet; Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Interior Alkyd Satin (792) technical data sheet; Benjamin Moore Fresh Start High-Hiding All Purpose Primer (046) technical data sheet; Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Undercoater and Primer/Sealer (032) technical data sheet; Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (Act 132 of 2008), Section 7; EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart E. Figures checked October 2026.
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