Cabinet Painting for Dorchester, MA homeowners.

Kitchens in Dorchester sit in buildings of very different ages. Across the four ZIP codes that make up most of the neighborhood, 52.9% of housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, while 7.1% went up in 2010 or later; in ZIP 02125 the newer share reaches 11.6%.

The building's age doesn't date the cabinets, since a kitchen may have been redone since the house went up. What it does tell you is what might be under them and around them: older painted trim and built-ins in a 1910s flat, or a newer factory-finished kitchen in a recent building. Both can be repainted. They are prepared differently.

Identifying the cabinet and its finish

Before anything is sanded, the cabinet material and existing coating are identified, because adhesion is the whole job.

Solid wood doors such as oak or maple take primer well once cleaned and scuffed; oak's open grain shows through paint unless it is filled first. MDF and plywood boxes are stable, but raw MDF edges soak up primer and need sealing. Factory catalyzed finishes and thermofoil-wrapped doors are slick, and paint will peel off them unless the surface is properly deglossed and a bonding primer is used; peeling or bubbling thermofoil is usually a sign the doors should be replaced, not painted. Older painted cabinets may carry an oil-based coat that latex will not grip without sanding and the right primer.

• Degreasing doors, drawer fronts and boxes
• Removing doors and hardware, labeling every piece
• Sanding, filling grain or dents, and bonding primer
• Sprayed or brushed finish coats in a durable cabinet enamel

Paint or replace?

Repainting makes sense when the boxes are solid, the layout works and the doors are flat or simple Shaker profiles. Replacement makes more sense when boxes are water-damaged under the sink, the doors are failing thermofoil, or you want a different layout. Our article on cabinet painting vs. replacement weighs both.

In a flat in a two- to four-unit building, which describes 55.6% of homes across these ZIPs, a full tear-out can mean carrying old cabinets and counters down a stairway other households use. Painting leaves the counters, sink and plumbing where they are.

Lead and older kitchens

Three in four housing units in the area (76.1%) were built in 1979 or earlier. Cabinets installed after the 1978 ban won't carry lead paint, but original built-in cupboards, pantry shelving, window casings and door trim in the same kitchen may. If those painted surfaces are being sanded along with the cabinets, the prep has to follow the EPA RRP rule, with the kitchen sealed and cleaned under lead-safe methods. See the lead-safe painting page for the steps. Newer factory-finished cabinets in a recent building don't carry that concern.

Living with the kitchen during the job

Doors and drawer fronts are usually taken out for finishing while boxes are painted in place, so the kitchen is partly usable but crowded for several days. Cabinet enamel feels dry quickly but takes longer to cure hard, and the kitchen cabinet painting process explains the stages. If the walls and ceiling need repainting too, the interior painting page for Dorchester covers plaster and trim.