Cabinet Painting for Belmont, MA homeowners.

A house's construction date says little about its kitchen. More than half of the homes in town (57.1%, per census estimates) date from 1939 or earlier, yet the cabinets in one of those houses could come from any decade since, depending on when the kitchen was last redone. Before talking about color, it helps to pin down what the cabinets actually are: solid wood, plywood boxes with wood doors, MDF, or a laminate or thermofoil skin.

That inventory decides whether paint is a good investment. Solid wood and MDF doors that are square and tight take a sprayed or brushed finish well. Thermofoil that is peeling at the edges, or particleboard boxes swollen from a leak under the sink, are better candidates for replacement.

Kitchens from the postwar decades

Census tables count 3,287 local housing units, 30.2% of the total, built between 1940 and 1979. That span includes the postwar split levels and ranches of the Winn Brook neighborhood, which a 2017 town historic district report describes surrounding the Federal-style Thaddeus Frost House on Brighton Street. If a kitchen from those decades has never been remodeled, the first step is checking whether its boxes and doors are solid wood or plywood, since either can be a sound base for paint.

Those same decades carry a caution. Cabinets finished before 1978 may have a painted or enameled coat containing lead under later layers. Sanding a door to scuff it for primer is exactly the kind of disturbance the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers, so older painted cabinets should be tested before prep starts. Details are on our lead-safe painting page.

Wood species and grain

Oak has open grain that shows through paint as a texture; if you want a smooth, furniture-like look, the grain has to be filled before priming. Maple and birch are tighter-grained and paint smoothly with less prep. Cherry and other woods with natural oils or a heavy factory topcoat need thorough degreasing and a bonding primer so the new finish grips instead of chipping at the edges.

Whatever the species, kitchens collect grease near the range and hands near the pulls. Cleaning with a degreaser, then sanding, then priming is what lets a cabinet coating hold up to daily use.

• Doors and drawer fronts removed, labeled and hardware bagged
• Degrease, scuff-sand and fill dents or open grain
• Bonding primer, then two coats of cabinet-grade enamel
• Cure time respected before rehanging and heavy use

Two kitchens under one roof

Units in two-unit buildings make up 29.7% of the housing stock, and each of those buildings has two kitchens to think about. Painting the cabinets in a rental unit while it is vacant avoids working around a tenant's dishes, and doing both units in one project can keep the colors and hardware consistent across the building.

Refinish or replace?

Our guide to refinishing vs. replacing kitchen cabinets lays out the trade-offs, and cabinet painting vs. replacement adds a second angle. The short version: paint makes sense when the layout works and the boxes are sound; replacement makes sense when the layout or the boxes are the real problem. To see the steps in order, read our kitchen cabinet painting process.

If the rest of the house needs work, see interior painting in Belmont. Neighborhood notes are on our Cushing Square and Payson Park pages.