How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets in Central Florida? (And Why Quotes Vary So Much)

Ask five painters what it costs to paint a kitchen and you will get five different numbers. Homeowners on Reddit report the same spread: around $2,500 for a smaller kitchen, $5,000 to $7,000 for a medium to large one, and $10,000 or more for a high-end finish. A few report $1,000 jobs, usually for a very small space or very simple work. None of them are lying. The price is not one number, because the job is not one job.

Here is what actually sets the price, so you can read a quote and know what you are buying.

The count is the price

The fairest way to price a kitchen is by the count: how many doors and how many drawer fronts. A kitchen with 12 doors is not the same job as a kitchen with 35 doors, and a flat per-kitchen price hides that. Each door is removed, labeled, cleaned, sanded, primed, sprayed twice, and reinstalled. Each drawer front goes through the same steps. More pieces mean more hours, more paint, and more shop time. That is why a good quote starts with your count, not with a guess.

Ask any painter for the count they used. If two quotes are far apart, the first thing to check is whether they counted the same kitchen. One may have missed the pantry, the island, or the bathroom vanity you mentioned in passing.

Prep is most of the job, and most of the price difference

Labor is 70 to 80 percent of a cabinet painting job, and prep is most of that labor. A proper job includes removing and labeling every door and drawer front, degreasing years of cooking grease, scuff sanding, filling dents and old hardware holes, priming with the right primer for the wood, spraying two thin finish coats, and reinstalling with the doors adjusted level. A cheap quote usually skips part of that list. It may skip the degrease, use a wall primer instead of a bonding or shellac-based primer, or spray one thick coat instead of two thin ones. It looks fine on day one and fails in months, usually as peeling around the handles.

A quote that lists prep, primer, topcoat, coat count, and hardware in writing can be compared with another quote. A single number cannot. Ask for the list.

Condition changes the price

Three things raise a quote, and they should. First, tannin and grain. Oak cabinets need a shellac-based primer to block tannin bleed, and grain filler if you want a smooth finish. That is extra material and extra hours. Second, damage. Water damage at the sink base, peeling latex paint that has to be stripped, or gummy grease on cabinets twenty years or older all need extra cleaning or stripping, and a good painter prices that separately instead of hiding it. Third, size and detail. Cathedral panel doors, grooves, and detailed trim take longer to sand and spray than flat shaker doors.

DIY, pro, and replacement, side by side

A DIY job costs $200 to $600 in materials for a typical kitchen: primer, paint, sandpaper, tape, and degreaser. Homeowners who do it report 40 to 60 hours of their own time, spread over two to four weeks of evenings and weekends, because of drying time between coats. The result is usually a brushed finish with visible brush marks and roller texture, and it lasts two to four years before it needs attention.

A professional job in Central Florida usually runs $1,200 to $7,000 for a full kitchen, with a medium kitchen at $4,000 to $7,000, depending on the count and the condition. It takes three to five days, the doors are sprayed for a factory-smooth finish, and a good job lasts five to eight years or more.

Full replacement runs $5,000 to $25,000 or more installed, and takes four to ten weeks. Painting is the clear winner when the boxes are solid and the layout works. Replacement is the right call when the boxes are damaged, the layout is wrong, or you are moving plumbing anyway.

How to compare three quotes without getting fooled

Get three quotes, give each painter the same scope, and compare them line by line. Red flags are a single lump sum with no count, no product names, no prep list, and no coat count; a price far below every other quote with no explanation; a large deposit up front, or pressure to sign today; and no written contract, no proof of insurance, and no warranty in writing.

A good quote will name the door and drawer count, the primer and topcoat by name, the number of coats, what is included and what is not, and the payment schedule. At Retrodern, a quote is free and same-day from photos and your count, and it lists those things so you can compare it fairly with anyone else.

What Retrodern quotes, and how

We quote from photos and your door and drawer count, with a free same-day quote. We paint cabinets only, doors sprayed in our Longwood shop, frames sprayed on site, B-I-N shellac-based primer and Sherwin-Williams Gallery Series topcoat, in a five-day process. Interiors are not included in the standard price, and new hardware is quoted separately. If your cabinets need stripping or extra cleaning, we price that separately and tell you before the job starts, not after.

Browse our furniture finishes at retrodern.com, or send photos and your count to 321-385-7314 for a free same-day quote. We serve Longwood, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Quick answers

How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in Florida? It depends on the count and the condition. Small kitchens start around $1,200 to $2,500, medium kitchens usually run $4,000 to $7,000, and large or detailed kitchens can reach $7,000 to $12,000. A quote from your door and drawer count is the only honest number.

Why do quotes vary so much? Because prep, primer, coat count, and condition vary. A quote that skips degreasing, uses wall primer, or sprays one thick coat will be cheaper, and it will fail sooner.

Is painting cheaper than replacing cabinets? Yes, by a lot, when the boxes are solid and the layout works. Replacement means new boxes and doors and weeks of work; painting changes the surface of what you already own.