If you’ve started getting quotes for a kitchen remodel in South Florida, you already know the sticker shock. Brand-new cabinets — material, hardware, installation — routinely run $15,000 to $40,000, and that’s before countertops or appliances. Cabinet refinishing is a different story. Done right, it delivers a factory-smooth finish, a fresh color, and another decade of life from your existing boxes for roughly 20–30% of replacement cost.
Our team brings 25+ years of combined experience refinishing cabinets across Palm Beach, Broward, and the Treasure Coast — here’s an honest breakdown of what determines the price and what you’re actually paying for.
What Does Cabinet Refinishing Actually Cost?
In most South Florida homes, a full kitchen runs $1,800–$4,500 for professional cabinet refinishing. A few factors push you toward the lower or upper end of that range.
Size of the kitchen. A galley kitchen with 10–12 door fronts costs less than an open-plan kitchen with 30+ doors and a large island. Most of our estimates count linear feet of cabinetry and the total door count separately, because doors are the most labor-intensive part of the job.
Current condition. If your cabinet boxes are solid — no warped frames, no water-damaged particleboard — we prep and refinish in place. Damaged areas need patching or replacement before any coating goes on. We’ll flag this during the estimate rather than surface it as a surprise line item mid-project.
Paint or stain. Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel is our standard cabinet finish. It’s self-leveling, scrubbable, and holds up to Florida humidity far better than brush-applied latex. A stain-and-glaze technique (popular on raised-panel oak cabinets) adds a step and costs slightly more.
Color change vs. same color. Going from a dark stain to a light painted finish takes additional sealer and primer coats to block tannin bleed-through. Budget an extra $200–$400 for significant color changes.
Why Florida Kitchens Have Extra Demands
South Florida’s climate isn’t kind to painted surfaces. High humidity, salt air near the coast, and air conditioning cycling on and off all day create expansion and contraction cycles that can crack a poor-quality paint film in under a year.
That’s why we use an oil-modified alkyd primer under every cabinet job, not just a water-based primer the day of the shoot. The alkyd bonds better to silicone-contaminated surfaces (common in older kitchens) and gives the topcoat something solid to grip. Our cabinet refinishing service page goes deeper on the prep process if you want the full technical breakdown.
The Difference Between “Respray” and a Full Refinish
You’ll see offers around South Florida for $600–$800 cabinet “resprays.” What you’re typically getting is a light scuff and a single coat of paint — minimal prep, no primer, no surface repair. It may look fine in photos the day it’s done. By the time the Florida summer humidity peaks, you’ll see paint peeling at the hinge points and corner joints.
A full refinish means:
- Degreasing and cleaning all surfaces — grease from cooking embeds into cabinet surfaces and will cause adhesion failure if it isn’t removed.
- Sanding to scuff the existing finish and open the surface.
- Filling any dings, nail pops, or router marks with two-part wood filler.
- Priming with an oil-based or shellac-based product appropriate to the substrate.
- Spraying topcoat in a minimum of two finish coats with a light cut between them.
That process takes a day longer and costs more. It also lasts 7–10 years with normal care, versus 1–2 years for a rushed respray.
What Happens to Your Kitchen During the Job?
We remove all doors and drawer fronts and take them to our spray setup off-site. Cabinet boxes stay in place — we mask the interiors and spray the frames in your kitchen. Most households have full kitchen access back within two days; the doors typically return on day three. We ask that you avoid putting heavy items back in the cabinets for 72 hours while the enamel fully cures.
How to Get an Accurate Number
Phone quotes for cabinet refinishing are nearly useless without seeing the kitchen. The difference between 15 doors and 32 doors, or between solid wood and thermofoil, matters too much. Our free estimates include a door count, a condition assessment, and a written line-item quote — no pressure, no expiration date.
We serve homeowners throughout Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Jupiter, and across the Treasure Coast. If you’re ready to get a real number, request a free estimate and we’ll schedule a time to walk the job.
KB Painting & Refinishing — founded in 2019, with a crew bringing 25+ years of combined experience — serves South Florida with our own crew — no subcontractors — and backs every cabinet refinishing project with a 5-year warranty on labor and materials.
