Glossy factory fronts accept new colour after hand scuffing and an adhesion primer built for plastic faces. Peeling thermofoil is different, so we strip or swap those fronts before cabinet painting starts.
White thermofoil and melamine kitchens arrived in Erin Mills with the homes built north of Highway 403 in the 1990s. They are also common in condo units along Eglinton Avenue West and in rental townhouses, where builders and landlords wanted a low-cost, easy-clean door.
Melamine, laminate and sound thermofoil can all be painted. Melamine is a hard plastic layer pressed onto particleboard. Laminate is a thicker plastic sheet glued to a core. Thermofoil is a vinyl skin heated and vacuum-pressed over shaped MDF.
The surface is the problem, not the core. Ordinary primer slides off these slick faces. A bonding primer, applied after a careful scuff sanding, grips the surface so the cabinet painting enamel has something to hold. Doors with chipped edges, swollen cores or loose skins need repair or replacement first.
Steam and oven heat weaken the adhesive holding thermofoil vinyl. That is why peeling starts on the doors beside the dishwasher, over the stove and next to the kettle. Once the skin lifts, paint cannot hold it down. It only hides the problem for a short time.
We check those doors first at every visit. A lifting skin can sometimes be stripped off, leaving MDF that can be primed and painted. Where that core has swollen, we order a fresh front and coat it alongside its neighbours. Ordering new fronts is explained under cabinet refacing and door replacement.
Slick doors need more steps. Each one is cleaned, scuff sanded by hand and coated with bonding primer before any colour goes on. In the Greater Toronto Area, bonding primer usually adds about $150 to $400 to a kitchen cabinet painting job.
That cost is worth it. Painted melamine that peels off in strips almost always went on without bonding primer. Your written quote lists it as its own line.
Rental units near the University of Toronto Mississauga often have melamine or thermofoil kitchens. Landlords want a finish that lasts through several tenants. We suggest a two-part polyurethane topcoat, which cures harder than standard enamel and resists scuffs and cleaning products.
We can schedule the work between leases so the unit is empty. A neutral colour and a satin sheen make touch-ups easier later. Townhouse rentals follow the steps on our townhouse kitchen cabinet painting page.
The edges of melamine doors and shelves are often covered with a thin plastic tape. Over time, that tape can lift or chip, especially near the sink. Before any cabinet painting, we glue down loose edge tape or trim and fill any chips so the edge is smooth.
Edges get the most wear in any kitchen. Hands, bags and vacuum cleaners hit them every day. We spray an extra light coat along the edges of melamine doors so the cabinet painting finish is thicker where it needs to be.
White melamine that has turned yellow near the stove is also common in 1990s kitchens. A good cleaning and bonding primer covers that discolouring completely under the new colour.
Fronts beside heat get checked first, then every edge on every other door. You learn which ones take paint and which need swapping, and the price comes on paper at no cost. Call +1 (289) 206-9908, send us photos of the doors, or go back to the Erin Mills main page.
The bathroom vanity, the laundry uppers and the hall shelving in a South Common town get the kitchen's exact coating system.
Kitchen cabinet painting puts fresh colour and a tough sprayed coat on the cabinets you already own, with counters, sink and boxes left in place. Doors come off, get cleaned, sanded and primed for their material, then return with two or three smooth coats.
See Kitchen Cabinets
Townhouse kitchens are compact, usually galley or L-shaped, and the cabinet painting work has to fit around shared walls, visitor parking and condo complex rules. The boxes stay in place, the doors leave for spraying, and the family keeps cooking.
See Townhouses
Oak cabinet painting begins with shellac primer, which locks brown tannin inside the wood so it never stains your new colour. After that, deep pores are either packed flat with filler or allowed to show as soft texture.
See Oak Cabinets
Cabinet refinishing keeps the wood grain in view by stripping or sanding the old clear coat, adjusting the stain and spraying a fresh protective finish. It is the right choice over paint when the wood itself is worth showing.
See Refinishing
Cabinet spray painting lays down thin, level coats of hard enamel that dry without brush marks or roller texture. In our cabinet painting work, doors get sprayed in a filtered booth and the boxes get sprayed at home behind plastic sheeting.
See Spray Painting
Cabinet refacing hangs brand-new fronts on the boxes you keep, and those boxes get coated or skinned to match. It suits kitchens where the boxes are solid but the doors are damaged, dated in shape or too worn for cabinet painting alone.
See Refacing and New Doors
Two-tone cabinet painting uses a darker colour on the island or lower cabinets and a lighter colour above. An island-only job brings in colour while leaving everything else alone.
See Two-Tone and Islands
A bathroom vanity gets the same degreasing, primer and sprayed enamel as a kitchen, with extra care for moisture and steam. No cabinet painting job in your home is smaller, and one or two days usually covers it.
See Bathroom Vanities
Condo kitchens are small, and the cabinet work schedule has to follow building rules for elevators, loading and working hours. The doors leave the unit for spraying, so odour stays low and the kitchen keeps working.
See Condo Kitchens
Pantry units, laundry uppers, mudroom lockers and fitted shelving receive kitchen-grade primer and sprayed enamel. Adding them to kitchen cabinet work lowers the cost per cabinet and makes the whole house match.
See Pantries and Built-Ins
Fresh pulls, knobs and quiet hinges complete a painted kitchen, and fitting them goes quickest with every front already down. Before cabinet painting, unused pull holes are packed and sanded so no trace survives under the colour.
See Hardware and Hinges
Choosing a colour is easier with a real sprayed door in your kitchen than with a small paint chip. We spray a sample in the colour you are considering and leave it in your room so you can see it in your own light before the cabinet painting starts.
See Colour ConsultationSomeone stops by, tallies each front, checks the material and lists the work in detail. The trip and the price sheet are free.
Fill in what you can about the kitchen, and we will phone to settle on a day. We just need a way to reach you. Or skip the form and call +1 (289) 206-9908.
