Cabinet Painting in Dedham, MA.

Two out of five Dedham housing units (40.9%) were built from 1940 through 1969, according to Census estimates, and 2,178 of today's units date from the 1950s alone, more than from any other decade since 1940. Another 29.7% of units are older than 1940. Census data records when a house was built, not when its kitchen was last redone, so a Dedham kitchen today could hold anything from site-built wood cabinets to 1990s oak to a 2010s flat-panel box.

That is why the first step is identifying what the cabinets are made of, not picking a color. The construction decides whether paint will bond and how long it will last.

What paints well and what doesn't

Solid wood doors and face frames are the best candidates. Open-grain species like oak show their grain through paint unless the grain is filled first, which adds steps; closed-grain woods such as maple and birch give a smoother result with less work. MDF doors take paint well on their faces but need their edges sealed. Thermofoil and some laminates are poor candidates because the plastic skin can peel away from the core, taking the paint with it.

Boxes matter too. If the cabinet sides are particleboard that has swelled near the sink or dishwasher, paint won't fix that, and replacing those units may be the better call. Our comparison of refinishing versus replacing kitchen cabinets walks through the decision.

Prep is where cabinet jobs succeed or fail

Kitchen cabinets collect cooking grease, and paint will not hold over it. The work starts with removing doors and drawer fronts, labeling each one to its opening, and degreasing every surface. Then comes scuff-sanding, filling dents and old hardware holes if you're changing pulls, and a bonding primer suited to the existing finish. The topcoat should be a hard-curing cabinet enamel rather than wall paint.

Doors can be finished off site or in a set-up area so they can dry flat, while the frames are painted in place with the kitchen masked off. Full details are in our article on the kitchen cabinet painting process.

• Kitchen cabinets, islands and pantries
• Bathroom vanities
• Built-in hutches, bookcases and window seats
• Hardware changes with filled and redrilled holes

Original built-ins in older Dedham houses

In a house from before the 1940s, the cabinets worth saving are sometimes not in the kitchen at all: a pantry, a dining room china cabinet or a built-in bookcase. Those pieces may carry many layers of paint, and with 75.7% of the town's housing built before 1980, there is a real chance some of those layers contain lead. Sanding painted built-ins in a pre-1978 home is regulated work that requires lead-safe methods. See our lead-safe painting page before deciding whether to strip, sand or simply prime over sound old paint.

Living with the kitchen during the job

Cabinet work takes longer than a room repaint because each coat needs to dry and the enamel needs time to cure before doors are rehung and used. Plan for a period when the kitchen is usable but doors are off, and ask for a schedule in writing that shows when doors go back on.