Newton, MA
Kitchen Cabinet Painting in Newton, MA
A Newton kitchen with a long run of cabinets and a peninsula. The doors came off, the boxes were painted in place, and the finished kitchen has white cabinets with brass pulls.
See the photos →Cabinets · Plainville, MA
Cabinet Painting serving Plainville and Metro West MA.
Kitchen and bath cabinets cleaned, sanded, primed and sprayed or brushed with a hard enamel, after checking what the boxes and doors are made of.
Cabinet painting, Plainville MA
Painting kitchen cabinets in a town built mostly between the 1970s and 2000s
Census figures show that the 1970s were the busiest single decade for local home building, at about 16% of today's 4,470 units, and that another 38% followed between 1980 and 2009. A house from those years may still have its original kitchen cabinets or a set from a later remodel, and the boxes can be sound even when the finish looks tired.
Painting keeps the existing layout, hinges and countertops in place and changes the color and sheen. Whether that is the right call depends on what the cabinets are built from and what shape they are in.
Figure out the material first
Opening a drawer and looking at the raw edge of a door or the inside of a box usually tells you which one you have. When it is unclear, testing adhesion on the back of one door settles it.
- Solid hardwood doors and face frames, such as oak, maple or cherry: sand, prime and paint well; open-grain oak needs grain filler if you want a smooth look
- Wood veneer over plywood or particleboard: paints well if the veneer is tight, but peeling edges have to be glued down first
- Thermofoil (a vinyl film over MDF): poor candidate, since heat from ovens and toasters can release the film and take the paint with it
- Plastic laminate: can be painted only with a specialty bonding primer, and edges chip more easily than on wood
How a durable cabinet finish is built
Grease left on cabinet surfaces keeps primer from bonding. Every surface gets degreased, rinsed and dried, then scuff-sanded so primer can grip. Doors and drawer fronts come off, are labeled, and are finished flat to avoid runs; boxes and face frames are masked and finished in place.
A bonding primer goes on first, followed by two coats of a urethane-modified or alkyd enamel made for cabinets and trim. These products level out brush and roller marks and cure harder than wall paint, though full hardness takes a few weeks. Our article on the kitchen cabinet painting process goes step by step.
Older kitchens and lead
About 53% of local housing units were built before 1980, the closest Census break to the 1978 lead paint ban. In a house that old, cabinets or built-ins that have been painted before may have lead in their lower coats. Sanding them is a dust hazard, and federal RRP rules require certified lead-safe practices for paid work. See our lead-safe painting page. Original stained or varnished cabinets with no paint layers are a different case.
Refinish, reface or replace
Painting makes the most sense when the boxes are square, the doors close properly, and you are happy with the layout. If the boxes are water-damaged under the sink, the drawers are falling apart, or you want to move the range or add an island, new cabinets may be worth the expense.
Townhouses, small multi-family buildings and manufactured homes together make up over a quarter of local housing. Kitchens in those units can be compact, which keeps the door count down, but cabinets in some manufactured homes are laminate or vinyl-wrapped and need the material check above. The comparison of cabinet painting versus replacement covers the trade-offs.
Plainville at a glance
| Housing units built in the 1970s | 16.4% (734 of 4,470, ±207), the largest single decade (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B25034, Plainville town (computed from table counts)) |
| Housing units built 1980–2009 | 38.2% (1,707 of 4,470) (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B25034, Plainville town (computed from table counts)) |
| Single-family attached units | 7.1% of housing units (316 of 4,470, ±126) (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B25024, Plainville town (computed from table counts)) |
| Units in 2–4 unit buildings | 13.2% of housing units (590 of 4,470) (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B25024, Plainville town (computed from table counts)) |
| Median value of owner-occupied homes | $476,000 (±$35,369) (U.S. Census ACS 2024 5-year, Census Reporter profile) |
Real project photos & video
Recent cabinet painting projects
These jobs were in other towns, not in Plainville. Each card names the town where the work was done.
Plainville FAQ
Answers from Plainville homeowners.
Our oak cabinets came with the house. Will the grain show through paint?
Oak has deep, open pores, so the grain pattern will show as texture under the paint unless it is filled. That texture suits some kitchens; for a smooth finish, a grain filler is applied and sanded before priming, which adds time.
Can the kitchen stay usable while the cabinets are being painted?
Partly. Boxes are masked and painted in place, so the sink and appliances stay reachable, but shelves and counters near wet surfaces should be kept clear. Doors are away being finished for several days, so plan for open shelving in the meantime.
Our townhouse kitchen has white cabinets with a plastic-looking coating. Can those be painted?
If the coating is thermofoil, painting is risky because heat can loosen the film later. If it is plastic laminate, a bonding primer can work, though edges will need care. A close look at a door edge and an adhesion test tell you which applies.
How long before we can use the cabinets normally?
Doors can usually be rehung within a few days once the finish is dry to handle. Cabinet enamels keep hardening for weeks, so go easy on scrubbing and avoid slamming doors for the first month.
What determines the cost of painting cabinets?
The number of doors and drawer fronts, the material, whether grain filling or repairs are needed, and whether the cabinet interiors are included. The cabinet painting cost guide explains these factors with Massachusetts market data.
Should we paint the walls before or after the cabinets?
Cabinets usually come first, so any overspray or touch-up near the boxes lands on walls that still need painting. If you plan a full kitchen refresh, the interior painting page covers the wall side of the work.
Find out whether your cabinets are good candidates for paint
AJ Painting Services, based in Ashland, is licensed and insured. Call (508) 258-4325, Mon–Sat 7AM–6PM, to set up a free on-site visit and written estimate.
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