Primed Cabinet Doors

Cabinet Doors During Priming Process

Whether it’s interior painting, exterior painting or kitchen cabinet refinishing, at Vermont Paint Craftsmen we provide our clients with a high quality finished product. Our goal is to deliver the best possible finish for your project. With any painting project, meticulous prep work creates the best and longest lasting finish. We take careful steps to accurately prepare all surfaces before the first spray or brush stroke is taken. Our staff is professional, fully insured and values customer service.

Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing

Refinishing your kitchen cabinets will modernize your kitchen, without the cost and time expense of cabinet replacement. On average, the cost of refinishing is 20 to 25% the product cost of new cabinets. This percentage does not take into consideration the installation costs of new cabinets or disposal costs of the old units. Generally as long as your doors and frames are wood, your cabinets can be refinished.

We offer many different refinishing options; ranging from completely stripping the old finish off and staining or reapplying a clear finish to solid colors and glazed or antiqued finishes. The finishes we offer are listed in order from least to most durable: Hybrids (alkyd modified acrylics), Alkyds (commonly known as oil based), Water based Lacquers, as well as Catalyzed Conversion Varnishes. Acrylics (latexes) are not recommended as they are porous, don’t wear or wash well and are prone to blocking: which means they want to stick together or to other materials, no matter how long they have cured.

Lacquers and Conversion Varnishes cannot be brushed and need to be sprayed due to their very fast drying properties. These are the same finishes used in our shop and by cabinets manufacturers on new cabinets. We have been applying these finishes in residential homes for 15 years we and are the only company in the area to successfully do so.

Generally the process of finishing a kitchen takes 5 days from start to finish with limited access to the kitchen for two of those days. A quick overview of the general process we use is as follows:

– Remove the door and drawers from the kitchen-these are finished at our shop

– Separate the kitchen or cabinets away from the rest of the house to contain dust or spray fumes with a plastic

– Sand all surfaces to be finished-this provides a smooth finish and provides a mechanical “key” for the primer to grip

– On site frames being sprayed will have the interiors masked off as well as the surrounding walls and appliances

– Apply one coat of primer- on oak this is done by brush to fill in the heavy grain

– Sand all surfaces-this is to ensure a very smooth finish

– Apply first on site finish coat-by brush or spray depending on the process chosen

– Sand all surfaces between finish coat-again this promotes adhesion and ensures a smooth finish

– Apply second on site finish coat

– The same sanding processes are used during the shop finishing, but the doors and drawers are generally always sprayed

– The masking and plastic are removed and the doors and drawers are reinstalled

– Some customers choose to update the hinges & handles and this is done at this time.

Shop Services 

Custom Metal Finishing Project - Prep Process.

Custom Metal Finishing Project – Prep Process.

After seeing the need for a space dedicated to offsite finishing, 17 years ago we built a small spray booth, it was the first of its kind for a painting contractor in the area. In 2012, we moved to a brand new 4,000 sq ft facility in Williston, designed by using the knowledge I had gained while finishing in our old space.

The new shop has a state of the art spray booth and air makeup unit that brings fresh air into the booth and filters contaminants before they exit the booth. Our solvent “still” re-condenses used solvents, allowing us to recycle; reducing costs and the hazardous waste we need to dispose of.

Finishes are applied in the shop by brush, roller and spray using convention, HVLP, airless or air assisted airless depending on the application. The controlled environment of the shop allows us to create the finest finishes in the industry.

Finishing:

– Cabinets

– Furniture

– Architectural mill work

– Doors-interior and exterior

– Marvin Windows through Windows & Doors By Brownell

– Metals

– Plastics

Some of the products we apply:

– Acrylics

– Alkyds (oil based)

– Epoxies – polymide, polyamide

– Conversion varnishes

– Fluropolymers-we are the only certified applicators of Fluropon in the area

– Shop primers

– Lacquers

– Stains-complete stain matching services

– Industrial enamels