7 Questions for Kitchen Cabinet Painters in Delta
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Spraying, prep, primer, the written estimate, cure time, the warranty and WorkSafeBC: here is each question to put to a Delta cabinet painter, what a good answer sounds like and how we answer it.
A kitchen cabinet finish takes grease, moisture and a lot of wiping, so most of these questions are about process. We at Texora Painting & Drywall are one of the kitchen cabinet painters Delta homeowners can call, so read our answers as one painter's answers.
The questions are the useful part. Put them to anyone who quotes on your kitchen, us included.
1. Will the cabinet doors come off and get sprayed?
Brushing or rolling cabinet faces leaves visible texture and brush marks, so ask whether the doors and drawer fronts come off to be sprayed. Ask about the hardware too, because taped-over hinges and handles are a common way to end up with a rough edge once the tape is pulled.
A good answer covers the doors, the frames and the hardware one at a time. Our post on spraying or brushing kitchen cabinets goes further into that split.
Our doors and drawer fronts come off and are sprayed in a controlled environment, and the frames are sprayed or carefully brush-finished with a levelling primer. The hardware goes back on when the work is finished.
On our Ladner Village kitchen the doors, drawer fronts and hinges were labelled with their exact cabinet position, so every door returned to its place. See the Ladner Village kitchen cabinet repaint for the full job.
2. What does the cabinet prep involve?
Cabinet prep means degreasing, sanding off the sheen and an adhesion primer before any topcoat. Kitchen cabinets carry a film of grease, oils and residue, and a slick factory sheen stops paint from bonding.
Cabinet paint usually fails when the degreasing, the sanding or the right primer gets skipped. A good answer names all three in order. If all you hear is that the cabinets get cleaned and painted, ask again.
Every surface we do is degreased thoroughly, sanded to remove the existing sheen and finished with an adhesion primer before any topcoat goes on. On the Ladner Village kitchen the boxes were degreased with a TSP substitute and scuff-sanded, and the doors were sanded at 120 grit and then 180 before a two-component adhesion primer was sprayed on.
3. Which primer and topcoat will you use on my cabinet doors?
Laminate, melamine, thermofoil and previously varnished wood do not grip a topcoat the way bare, sanded wood does, so they get an adhesion primer and the painter has to know what your doors are made of. Ask for the primer, the topcoat and the sheen by product name. Our guide to satin or semi-gloss for kitchen cabinets in Delta compares gloss numbers and drying times from two makers' data sheets.
We use waterborne alkyd or catalyzed urethane topcoats in place of standard wall latex. They are harder, more resistant to moisture and grease, and cleanable without marring the finish. We check your door material at the quote visit, and the Ladner Village kitchen got two coats of Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel.
4. Who looks at the kitchen, and what does the written estimate name?
With us, one of our two partners visits the kitchen, and the free written quote names the scope, the topcoat and your warranty term.
Quotes only compare when every painter prices the same job, so settle a few choices first. Are the doors and drawer fronts the whole scope, or the frames and the inside of the boxes too? Is the hardware reused, replaced or moved?
Does the colour change? What are the doors made of? The price follows those answers, so a number from someone who has not seen the kitchen is hard to rely on.
Check that the quote describes painting. Refacing replaces the doors, and paint cannot change the shape of a door.
Our guide to painting vs refacing kitchen cabinets in Delta sets out what each option keeps. Moving the sink or changing wiring raises a separate permit question, covered in our post on whether you need a permit to paint kitchen cabinets in Delta.
The inside of the boxes can be painted on request for an additional cost. If the colour is still open, the colour consultation step brings swatches and helps you choose a palette for your lighting and furnishings.
5. How long will the kitchen be out of use?
One Ladner Village kitchen of ours was out of use for three days from doors off to doors reinstalled, and your written estimate sets out your own schedule. Cabinet paint can feel dry within hours, but the topcoat needs longer to harden before it can take a heavy pot lid swinging into a door. A good answer gives a schedule for removal, spraying, curing and reinstallation, and says when normal use can start.
Our written estimate sets out that schedule. We phase the work so doors are spraying while frames are curing, which shortens the time the kitchen is out of commission. Go gently with doors and drawers for a while after they are rehung.
6. What does the cabinet warranty cover, and who do I call about a touch-up?
Our workmanship warranty runs up to five years depending on scope, stated on your estimate, and you call us for any touch-up. Read the exclusions as closely as the term.
On a cabinet job it covers doors and frames where the paint fails because of how it was prepped or applied, such as peeling, blistering or loss of adhesion. It does not cover everyday scuffs in a working kitchen, or damage from harsh cleaners used later.
Before the job counts as finished we go through the kitchen with you and fix anything inside the agreed scope. If something needs touching up afterward, call us and we come back to it under the warranty. The warranty page has the full terms.
A Google reviewer named Jenny wrote in August 2026: “Came back for minor touch ups when asked without issue.”
7. Are you registered with WorkSafeBC and insured for cabinet painting?
WorkSafeBC's page for homeowners recommends making sure a business is registered and making payments as required before you hire it. If the business is not registered and paying, the page says you could be held responsible for its premiums. The clearance letter tool shows whether a business is registered with WorkSafeBC and paying its premiums as required, and you can print the letter.
We are fully insured and registered with WorkSafeBC. Put the same question to every painter on your list and write down what each one says.
Sources for these kitchen cabinet painter questions
The facts in this article come from WorkSafeBC and our own service pages, listed below.
- WorkSafeBC, Homeowners and Clearance Letter, read October 30, 2026.
- Our own pages: cabinet painting, the Ladner Village kitchen cabinet repaint, the workmanship warranty, our FAQ and our reviews page.
Get a cabinet painting quote in Delta
One of our two partners looks at your cabinets and door material with you, and the written estimate names the scope, the topcoat and your warranty term of up to 5 years. Or call (778) 907-9846.
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