Kitchen Cabinet Painters — Staffordshire & Cheshire
A fresh kitchen for a fraction of the rip-out cost. We respray and repaint Shaker, slab, oak and melamine cabinets to a factory-quality finish — from £450 for a small kitchen. Spray or hand-painted, your choice.
Why paint your kitchen cabinets?
Save £6,000+ vs a new kitchen
Cabinet respraying typically costs 10% of replacing the kitchen — same visual impact, fraction of the cost.
Factory-quality finish
Doors come off and are painted on benches. Result: a flat, smooth, even finish you can't get on hung doors.
Tough, washable paint
Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell or Tikkurila Helmi — purpose-built for cupboards. Holds up 7–10 years.
Done in 3–5 days
Faster than a new kitchen install. You can use the kitchen evenings while doors cure on benches.
Our kitchen cabinet painting process
- 1
Free site visit
We assess the doors (material, condition, style), count units, talk colours, and quote a fixed price.
- 2
Remove doors & handles
Every door and drawer front comes off. Handles, hinges and any glass removed and labelled. Carcasses fully masked.
- 3
Degrease & sand
Sugar soap or Krudkutter to remove kitchen grease (this is critical — paint won't adhere to grease). Light sand to give the surface a key.
- 4
Prime
Zinsser BIN or Bullseye 123 — proper adhesion primers, not wall primers. Sealed with Bedec MSP for any tricky substrates.
- 5
Two top coats
Hand-painted with Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell, or sprayed with Tikkurila Helmi. Light sand between coats for the flattest possible finish.
- 6
Refit & sign off
Doors and handles back on once cured. Masking removed, kitchen cleaned, all rubbish taken away.
Kitchen cabinet painting prices (UK)
Includes all materials, masking, prep, two top coats, removal and refitting of doors and handles. Drawer fronts and end panels included. Multi-room discounts up to 12% if booked with other rooms. Final price confirmed after free site visit.
Get your kitchen cabinet quoteKitchen cabinet painters — towns we cover
Specialist kitchen cabinet painters across Staffordshire and Cheshire. Tap a town for local pricing and details.
Kitchen cabinet painting — FAQs
How much does kitchen cabinet painting cost in the UK?
Kitchen cabinet painting in Staffordshire & Cheshire typically costs £450–£700 for a small kitchen (around 8 doors), £700–£1,200 for a standard 12–15 door kitchen, and £1,200–£2,000+ for large or open-plan kitchens. That's roughly a tenth of the cost of a new kitchen, with the same visual impact. Final price confirmed after a free site visit.
Is kitchen cabinet painting actually durable?
Yes — when the prep and paint choice are right. We degrease with sugar soap or Krudkutter, sand back to a key, prime with Zinsser BIN or Bullseye 123 (a proper adhesion primer, not a wall primer), then apply two coats of Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell or Tikkurila Helmi. Those finishes are designed for cupboards — they cure to a hard, washable, fingerprint-resistant surface that holds up for 7–10 years.
How long does a kitchen cabinet respray take?
A typical UK kitchen takes 3–5 working days end to end — degrease, sand, prime, two top coats, plus cure time between coats. Doors and drawer fronts come off and are painted on benches; carcasses are masked and painted in place. You can use the kitchen during evenings (handles back on, doors leaning against the wall to cure).
Spray finish vs hand-painted — which is better?
Spray gives a glass-smooth, factory-style finish — best for slab or modern slimline doors. Hand-painted has a softer look with very fine brush texture that suits Shaker doors and country-style kitchens. We do both. Spray is around £100–£200 more on a typical job because of the extra masking and prep time, but it lasts longer and is more washable.
Can you paint melamine, MDF, oak, and laminate cabinets?
Yes — all four, with the right primer. Melamine and laminate need Zinsser BIN or Bullseye 123 for adhesion. Solid oak needs grain filler if you want a smooth modern finish, or knot block on any visible knots. MDF and pre-painted doors just need a key sand and a regular primer. We assess your specific cabinets on the site visit and tell you honestly whether it's worth painting or whether replacement makes more sense.
Do you remove the doors or paint them in place?
Doors and drawer fronts always come off — we paint them flat on benches, which gives a far better finish than spraying or brushing vertical doors. Carcasses and any fixed shelving are masked and painted in place. Handles, hinges and any glass are removed first, cleaned, and refitted on completion.
What paint do you use on kitchen cabinets?
Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell is our standard for hand-painted jobs — a tough water-based eggshell designed for trim and cupboards. For sprayed jobs we use Tikkurila Helmi (a Finnish kitchen-cabinet paint that's the trade standard for high-end work) or Bedec MultiSurface Paint depending on the substrate. All of these are washable, chip-resistant, and rated for kitchen use.
Will the kitchen smell after painting?
Modern water-based cabinet paints are low-VOC — there's a faint paint smell during application that's gone within 24 hours. You can use the kitchen the same evening. Older solvent-based paints (which we don't use anymore) had much stronger fumes and required ventilation for days.
Ready for a fresh kitchen for a fraction of the rip-out cost?
Free site visit, fixed-price quote, no obligation. Get yours in 60 seconds.