How Much to Charge for Cabinet Refinishing
Cabinet refinishing typically runs $75–$150 per door and $40–$90 per drawer front, plus $30–$60 per linear foot of box face, putting a standard 30-door kitchen at roughly $3,500–$7,000. Heavy prep — grease, previous coatings, or damaged finish — adds a band above standard, box interiors are priced separately, and new hardware runs $4–$15 per piece supplied and installed.
The working rates
- Per door — $75–$150
- Per drawer front — $40–$90
- Box face — $30–$60 per linear foot
- Standard 30-door kitchen — $3,500–$7,000
- Box interiors — priced separately
- Hardware — $4–$15 per piece supplied and installed
Prep is most of the labor
- Degreasing — kitchens above ranges are genuinely worse
- Sanding and deglossing — every surface, by hand where needed
- Previous coatings — a badly brushed prior repaint means more removal
- Grain filling — on oak, if a smooth finish is wanted
- Repairs — chipped edges, delaminated veneer, loose joints
Band your prep pricing — light, standard, heavy — and photograph anything that lands in the heavy band at estimate time.
Position against refacing and replacement
Refinishing runs roughly a third of refacing and a fifth to a tenth of full replacement.
Present all three numbers together. Customers with solid boxes are usually pretty relieved to learn the cheapest option is also the right one — and you come across as the honest advisor instead of the person just selling the one thing you offer.
Charge for spraying, and explain it
Sprayed enamel over proper prep is really the whole product here. A brushed finish on cabinet doors shows every stroke on a surface people touch twenty times a day — it’s the one quality difference customers can genuinely see, so make sure they know that’s what they’re paying for.
Don’t undersell oak
Oak grain telegraphs through paint. Grain filling is real, slow, additional work — price it, show a sample, and let the customer decide for themselves. Skip that conversation and you get disappointment on a job you actually executed perfectly.
Frequently asked questions
Should I price per door or per kitchen?
Per door, drawer, and linear foot. Two kitchens of the same size can differ by thirty doors, and a per-kitchen price means the customer with tall uppers and a pantry gets the same number as the one with six base cabinets.
How does refinishing price against refacing and replacement?
Refinishing is roughly a third of refacing and a fifth to a tenth of full replacement. Presenting all three with their numbers is a stronger sales position than defending refinishing alone — most customers are relieved to find the cheapest option is also the right one for solid boxes.
Is spraying worth the extra over brushing?
Yes, and it's the main quality difference in this trade. A sprayed enamel with proper prep looks factory-finished; a brushed one shows every stroke on a surface people touch daily. Price for spraying and say why.
Should I ever refinish oak?
You can, but the grain telegraphs through paint unless it's grain-filled — which is real extra labor. Price grain filling as its own line and show a sample, because a customer expecting a smooth finish on unfilled oak will be disappointed by good work.