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What Is the Best Paint To Use on Kitchen Cabinets?

What Is the Best Paint To Use on Kitchen Cabinets?

If you're thinking about kitchen cabinet painting (and who could blame you?), it can be easy to focus on details like color, style, hardware upgrades, etc. Those are fun considerations!

But before you can get to the finish line, you need to make sure you're making the best possible choices along the way, setting your cabinet project up for success. Painting kitchen cabinets can be an awesome investment if it's done right, delivering tangible value right along with that fresh style.

Let's break it down with a few key questions about the products and process we use for kitchen cabinet painting.

Do You Need Special Paint for Kitchen Cabinets?

In short, yes. Most of the horror stories you hear about cabinet painting gone wrong are due to well-intentioned do-it-yourselfers buying a color they like off the shelf, but not really considering if it's the right type of paint for their cabinets. The wrong paint ruins the whole process.

Your cabinet paint needs to be beautiful, but it also needs to be a durable finish that can stand up to heavy use, washing, and more. Many of the standard paint products from your local home improvement store aren't designed for that - even the "premium" brands.

What Do Professionals Use To Paint Cabinets?

What is the best paint to use on kitchen cabinets? What Is the Best Paint To Use on Kitchen Cabinets?

Our first recommendation is to find a painter who is deeply experienced with painting cabinets, and doesn't just offer it as a side service. How can you tell the difference? Ask for photos of their past work, see if they can provide referrals, and ask questions about what they will use to paint your cabinet doors, cabinet frames, drawer fronts, etc. A professional cabinet painter can answer the tough questions without hesitation, using the opportunity to share details about their process and approach.

Trust us: that's the kind of pro you want handling your kitchen makeover!

With that said, different cabinet refinishers will have different products that they stand by: Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Kelly Moore... Each offers specific cabinet colors and cabinet finishes that they like to use.

Here at MB Jessee Painting, we typically use Kelly Moore DuraPoxy HP Acrylic Urethane, or Kelly Moore Epic (another enamel cabinet finish).

Kind of a mouthful, right?

Here's a breakdown of the benefits:

Fast-drying, with a factory-like finish for the smoothest cabinet doors and drawers (always nice to reduce that cure time!)
Ultra-durable (perfect for your hardworking cabinet pieces)
Dirt and mildew resistant
Hard finish (enamel is TOUGH!)

What Is the Most Durable Paint for Kitchen Cabinets?

The quality of the cabinet paint itself is important, but so is the sheen and the finish. For cabinet painting, it's really tough to beat an enamel paint. Since kitchen cabinets experience such extensive wear, the hard, almost shell-like surface that enamel offers is ideal. It gives your kitchen cabinet that factory-grade finish too, making your new color look like it was there since installation.

As a side note, don't be afraid that you're locked into glossy finishes for your kitchen cabinets either. The products we use are available in several sheens without sacrificing any durability for your paint job.

How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets

Bay Area kitchen cabinet painting What Is the Best Paint To Use on Kitchen Cabinets?

So, what will your kitchen cabinet painting project look like?

Depending on the cabinet refinisher you work with, here's what you can (and should) expect:

Thorough in-home estimate
Clear proposal
Extensive prep of the space (masking, protecting surrounding rooms and surfaces, etc.)
Drawer fronts and cabinets doors are removed
Deep clean to remove grease, dirt, and residue
Light surface repairs, as needed (wood filler, caulking, etc.)
Sanding all surfaces, including the cabinet boxes
Multi-stage priming and finish coat (we use high-quality spray equipment for an ultra-smooth finish without brush strokes or roller marks)

If you're covering a heavily-grained surface, like Oak cabinets, we can also use a stain blocking primer that ensures there is zero bleed-through. Refinishing cabinets is all about the details, laying the groundwork for a smooth color transition and durable finish.

Kitchen Cabinet Painters in Oakland, CA

Have any more questions about painting cabinets? Contact us at MB Jessee Painting! We would love to discuss your project with you.

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Customer Reviews

“The painters at MB Jesse are top notch! Cesar's team was super friendly and helpful. They were very polite and accommodating. Their expertise in everything painting related was evident in their attention to detail and efficiency painting tricky spaces. The apartment looks brand new!”

— Adam Swisher

“In September, MBJessee finished painting two sides of our 3-story condominium building (six owners). We were impressed by the professionalism of the company and every one of its workers, Matt Jessee couldn't have been more helpful in planning the project. His painters were well-trained, easy to communicate with and eager to please. In addition to painting the stucco, they made extensive repairs on windows and frames, which will save us considerable money in the future. They finished earlier than anticipated, with as many as five men working on the job, and the scaffolding came down the next day. All of us were delighted with the results. Now my husband and I are looking forward to having MB Jessee paint our own apartment later this month. Matt and Gustavo (who will be our crew leader again) have explained how they will work to make the painting proceed smoothly while we're living here, and they have been endlessly patient with our protracted decision-making process. If you look at their website, you'll learn that MB Jessee is an exemplary company that takes good care of its workers as well as its customers, and contributes public service projects to the community. All in all, we can't recommend MB Jessee highly enough.”

— Jayne W.
San Francisco, CA

“I had my wooden kitchen cabinets painted white. Anabal and Danielle were doing the job. I have nothing but praise for them. They came on time, cleaned up every day, were respective, friendly and helpful. If the rest of Jessee's crew are as great as Anabal and Danielle, this company will go far.”

— Anni S.
Oakland, CA

“It was a great experience working with MB Jessee. The crew was careful and thorough as they painted the house, sealed stucco cracks, repaired dry-rotted wood, stained the deck, etc. Robert, Gersson, Jose, and all of the people involved in the process from the estimate to the job completion were friendly and professional.”

— Mike C.
Livermore, CA

“High quality work from a pleasant and qualified staff. Thank you!”

— Paul Markovich

“Richard and crew have been great, for sure. As much as I look forward to having the job done and my house back in order, I really enjoyed having them around. You should feel really good about how they represent your company.”

— Jessica Dodson

“The people at M.B. Jessee are great – from the painters to the office staff to Matt. Talk about leadership from the top.”

— Kevin Ames, Mark Becker Homes

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walkthrough experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3-year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch-up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua J.
Oakland, CA

“Very easy to work with, they did an outstanding job with our project of re-painting our painting our kitchen cabinets. Given the scope of the job and that our kitchen is roughly half of our upstairs living area they did a fantastic job of minimizing the mess. Workmanship was top notch, would definitely recommend.”

— Vince Scola

“Julie, by the way, I have never been so impressed with the service of a painting job before! It was like magical elves came and painted our walls without us having to do a thing! It looks amazing and just wanted to let you know how happy we are. Thanks”

— Anja
Piedmont

“Just had MB Jessee paint the interior of our house and they did a wonderful job. They tackled some crazy wallpaper as well as painted some very high ceilings and walls. The whole process was quick and they did a great job! We are very pleased. I was also very impressed by the crew. They were very personable, kind and actually took pride in the work they were doing. In one of our conversations with the lead Ricardo, he actually told me he was very proud of how the rooms had turned out. I agree sir! It turned out great and it's not often you hear someone thinking of your home like they would theirs, and putting that level of work and quality into it. That made a huge difference in how I viewed this company. Ricardo, you were fantastic and thank you for the great job, we will be using you again.”

— Jeff M.
Danville, CA

“I loved working with M.B. Jessee from start to finish on a relatively small paint job that grew a bit. I felt in very good hands from the moment Matt Jessee came out to give me the estimate and talk about my job. He was very easy to talk to and he handled my changes very well. Then the actual work done by Rigoberto and Mario was impeccable. They were neat and meticulous and the paint job looks beautiful. I could not have asked for more and when I did, they accommodated me 100%. I will not hesitate to call M.B. Jessee again and to refer them to friends.”

— Nancy Kurkjian

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