01
Before day one: photos and a quote
It starts with photos. You send a few pictures of the kitchen, your area and a rough count of doors and drawers through the photo quote form. I look at them myself and come back with a quote and next steps.
If something will add time, you know it before I start: a very large kitchen, repairs or an unusual material. Then we agree on the colour and on the start date.
02
Day 1: protect the home, take the kitchen apart
A factory-style finish starts with proper preparation. Floors, counters, appliances and the backsplash are covered with film and 3M masking, and a ZipWall dust barrier separates the kitchen from the rest of the house.
Then every door and drawer front comes off and gets a label, so each one goes back exactly where it was. You do not need to take anything out of your cabinets: the boxes are masked and protected with your things inside.
03
Day 2: degrease and sand
Years of cooking grease come off every surface, because paint does not stick to grease. Then everything is sanded: flat faces with Festool pads and dust extraction, profiles by hand.
Repairs happen now, before any primer: chips, dents, old silicone, loose trim, a damaged kick plate filled with 2K filler. On a thermofoil kitchen, this is also the day the loose film comes off.
04
Day 3: two coats of primer
Two coats of BIN shellac-based primer go on the doors and the boxes. Shellac locks in wood tannins and old lacquer, so dark cherry or oak never bleeds through a light finish.
The doors hang in the spray booth built in your kitchen, and the boxes are sprayed in place.
05
Day 4: sand the primer, spray the colour
The cured primer is sanded glass-smooth. Then Renner Italia 2K is mixed with its hardener on site and sprayed in two coats of colour, on the doors and on the cabinet boxes.
This is the day the kitchen changes. No brush marks, no roller texture.
06
Day 5: unmask, reinstall, inspect
The booth and the masking come down. Doors and drawer fronts go back on their labelled places, and the hinges are adjusted until the gaps line up.
The finish is checked door by door before the job is called done.
07
Living with it during the week
The kitchen is masked and sealed off while I work in it, so access is limited during the project. Plan simple meals in another room, and ask me how the week will look for your home: pets, access and timing are easier to sort out before day one.
The whole method, with a short video for every step, is on the 5-day process page. The cherry kitchen with white and sage was refinished in five days, in the home.