Kitchen Cabinet Painting in Longwood and Lake Mary, FL: What the 5-Day Process Actually Looks Like

Longwood, Lake Mary, and Heathrow are full of kitchens that need paint, not replacement. The houses were built in the 1980s and 1990s, the boxes are solid, the layout still works, and the cabinets are honey oak gone orange, dark wood from the early 2000s, or worn paint from a first try. A new kitchen costs $25,000 or more and takes weeks. A painted kitchen takes five days and changes the same room.

Here is what those five days actually look like, in our shop and in your home, so you know what you are hiring before anyone touches a door.

Who this is for, in Longwood, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs

This is for the homeowner who just bought a 1980s or 1990s house and is living with the old kitchen, the seller listing in thirty to sixty days who needs the kitchen to photograph well, and the long-term owner who wants a fresh color before the holidays. It is for solid boxes with a dated finish, not for warped boxes, water-damaged sink bases, or cabinets that need a new layout. We paint cabinets only. We do not stain, reface, or replace them.

Day 1: protect, label, and remove

We protect the floors with heavy paper, cover the counters and appliances in plastic, and seal the kitchen entries with plastic and a zipper door. Then every door and drawer front comes off, gets a numbered label, and its hardware goes in a labeled bag. We photograph the kitchen before anything is removed, so every door goes back to its own hinges. The doors and drawer fronts leave the house and go to our shop in Longwood to be sprayed. The frames stay in the home. Your fridge stays plugged in and reachable, and we leave a clear path to the back door and the breaker panel.

Before Day 1, you empty the cabinets and clear the counters. Tell us if anyone in the home has asthma, and tell us the year the house was built. If it is pre-1978, we talk about lead-safe rules before any sanding. Keep kids and pets out of the kitchen while we work.

Day 2: degrease and sand

Day 2 is the day the finish depends on. Every surface is degreased, because kitchen cabinets carry years of cooking grease, even when they look clean. Paint over grease fails in months. Then every surface is scuff sanded, dents and old hardware holes are filled, and we vacuum and damp wipe. Heavy sanding happens on the doors in the shop, and only light scuff sanding happens on the frames on site.

Day 3: prime

Day 3 is primer day. We use B-I-N shellac-based primer, which seals tannins in oak so they cannot bleed through light paint as yellow or pink blotches, and seals in old smells. On slick or previously finished surfaces we use a bonding primer instead, because the primer has to match the wood, not the other way around. Primer goes on in thin coats, is sanded lightly once dry, and is the bond between the old finish and the new paint. A standard wall primer will not do this job, and a painter who uses one is setting up a yellow kitchen six weeks later.

Day 4: spray the finish

Day 4 is spray day. The doors are sprayed in our shop, flat, in thin coats of Sherwin-Williams Gallery Series, sanded lightly between coats. The frames are sprayed on site, behind plastic containment, with the room empty and a fan exhausting out a window. Gallery Series is a waterborne topcoat made for cabinets; it levels smooth, cures hard, and cleans up without the fumes of an oil paint. We spray only Gallery Series on site, never B-I-N, and never a 2K coating in an occupied home. Two thin coats beat one thick coat every time. The kitchen will have paint smell on spray day, and the sink is covered, so plan to use a bathroom sink and a microwave in another room that day.

Day 5: reinstall and walk through

Day 5 is reinstall day. The doors and drawer fronts come back from the shop and go back on their own hinges, adjusted level, with the hardware tight. We walk the kitchen with you, door by door and drawer by drawer, and check that every door closes and every drawer glides. We hand you the care sheet in person and say it out loud: the finish feels dry in hours but is not fully hard yet. Gentle use for seven days, no heavy plates or cast iron until after day seven, and full cure in about thirty days. No harsh cleaners, no scrub pads, no ammonia or bleach, no shelf liner for thirty days, and do not hang wet towels over the doors. We photograph the finished kitchen with you present, and we note any tiny touch-ups still owed, with a date.

How to get a quote, and what it includes

A quote is free and same-day, from photos and your door and drawer count. Send wide-angle photos of every wall of the kitchen, your door count, your drawer count, and the condition, and we will quote from that. Regular jobs are quote-only, built from the count, because a kitchen with twelve doors is not the same job as a kitchen with thirty-five. We are opening first pilot kitchens at a pilot price, in exchange for before and after photos and a review if you love the work. The quote lists the count, the primer and topcoat by name, the number of coats, what is included and what is not, and the payment schedule. Interiors are not included in the standard price, and new hardware is quoted separately. We stand behind the work with a one-year workmanship warranty.

What Retrodern does differently

We started with custom refinished bedroom furniture in Longwood, and we bring the same sprayed finish to kitchen cabinets. We paint only, we spray, we do not brush, and we tell you the cure time in writing. Our shop is in Longwood, our service area is Longwood, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs, and our phone is 321-385-7314. Our own kitchen photos are coming, and our sample doors are being sprayed in the shop this week, so you can see the finish before your kitchen starts.

Browse our furniture finishes at retrodern.com, or send photos and your door and drawer count to 321-385-7314 for a free same-day quote. We are happy to tell you honestly whether your kitchen is a paint job, a repair job first, or a replacement.

Quick answers

How long does kitchen cabinet painting take? Five days for most kitchens, from protect and remove on Day 1 to reinstall and walkthrough on Day 5. Larger kitchens, or a kitchen plus bathrooms, take longer, and we quote the real timeline in writing first.

Can I use my kitchen during the five days? Partly. The fridge stays reachable, and the sink is usable on non-spray days. On spray days, use a bathroom sink and a microwave in another room, and do not fry food or use the oven while the frames are drying.

How long before the finish is fully cured? It feels dry in hours, needs gentle use for seven days, and fully cures in about thirty days. No harsh cleaners, no scrub pads, and no shelf liner for thirty days.