A kitchen of solid wood cabinets is one of the most expensive things in your home, and when the finish wears out it’s tempting to assume the whole kitchen needs replacing. It almost never does. Cabinet refinishing in Atlanta restores the cabinets you already own — restaining, recoloring and resealing them to look new — at a fraction of the cost of tearing them out, and we do the work on-site in your home. There’s no storefront and no hauling your kitchen across town. Most projects are finished in a matter of days, not the weeks a full replacement demands.
With over 15 years refinishing wood across Metro Atlanta, we’ve brought back kitchens of every era — honey oak from the ’90s, builder-grade maple, dated cherry, and tired bathroom vanities. The cabinet boxes are usually sound; it’s the finish that has failed. That’s exactly what refinishing fixes.
What cabinet refinishing includes
A real refinish is a full strip-and-recolor, not a quick wipe-on coat over failing finish. Our kitchen cabinet refinishing typically includes:
- Removing doors, drawer fronts and hardware, and labeling everything for exact reinstall
- Stripping old finish from doors, fronts and the fixed boxes back to sound wood
- Sanding through progressive grits for a smooth, even surface
- Minor repairs — filling dings, worn edges and small damage
- Restaining or recoloring to your chosen tone (matched or refreshed)
- Sealing with durable, kitchen-grade protective topcoats
- Reinstalling doors and drawers, adjusting hinges, and rehanging hardware
We mask and protect your countertops, floors, appliances and backsplash before any work begins, and we manage dust throughout. When we leave, your kitchen is cleaner than we found it.
Our on-site cabinet refinishing process
Refinishing cabinets correctly is a sequence, and the steps most handyman jobs skip are exactly why those finishes peel within a year.
1. Document and remove
We photograph and label every door and drawer front so each piece returns to its exact opening. Hardware comes off and is set aside. The fixed boxes stay in place and get refinished where they are.
2. Strip to sound wood
Old polyurethane, lacquer or worn finish is removed completely. We don’t sand over a failing topcoat — that traps the failure underneath the new finish. Getting back to sound wood is the only way to a uniform, lasting result.
3. Sand and repair
Doors, fronts and boxes are sanded through multiple grits. Worn edges, dings and small damage are filled and feathered so every surface is smooth and even before color goes on.
4. Stain or recolor to your choice
We apply color by hand, controlling depth and tone for a rich, consistent look across dozens of doors and drawers — which is where experience really shows on a kitchen. You approve the color before we seal.
5. Seal with kitchen-grade protection
We build durable protective topcoats engineered for the abuse a kitchen takes: daily handling, grease, steam, splashes and frequent cleaning around the sink and stove. This is what makes the finish last.
6. Reinstall and inspect
Doors and drawer fronts go back to their labeled openings, hinges are adjusted so everything sits flush and closes cleanly, and hardware is reinstalled. We walk the finished kitchen with you in daylight.
Signs your cabinets need refinishing
- Finish worn through around handles and pulls
- Dark, blotchy wear or water damage under and beside the sink
- Yellowed, cloudy or “alligatored” clear coat
- Faded or dated color you’ve stopped loving
- Sticky or rough patches near the stove from heat and grease
- Doors that look tired even after a deep clean
Catching it early matters. Once the finish wears through to bare wood, moisture and grease soak in and staining sets, which makes refinishing harder and replacement more likely.
Stains and finishes we use
We work with premium penetrating stains and gel stains to get even, rich color on oak, maple, cherry, alder and other common cabinet woods — including the blotch-prone species that need careful technique. For the topcoat, we use durable, kitchen-grade protective finishes chosen specifically for cabinetry, where surfaces are touched constantly and cleaned often. Because cabinets are interior wood, the priority is everyday durability, scuff and moisture resistance, and a finish that wipes clean — not the marine-grade UV protection we reserve for exterior wood like doors and decks. Matching the right product to the job is part of why our work holds up.
Refinish, restain or paint?
Most homeowners come to us wanting one of three outcomes. Refinishing keeps your natural wood and restores the existing tone — ideal when you love the wood but the finish is shot. Restaining changes the color of the wood itself, perfect for taking honey oak to a richer walnut or espresso. Painting gives a fully different, opaque look — popular for going to a clean white or a bold color. We’ll talk through which fits your kitchen, your wood, and the look you want, and quote accordingly. Send a photo and tell us the direction you’re leaning.
Why refinish instead of replacing your cabinets?
Replacing a kitchen of cabinets routinely runs $15,000 to $30,000 or more once you factor in demolition, new boxes, installation, and often new countertops disturbed in the process — plus a kitchen torn up for weeks. Refinishing the cabinets you have typically costs a fraction of that and is usually done in a few days. As long as the boxes and doors are structurally sound, refinishing preserves quality wood and the exact layout you already know works, while giving you a finish and color that look brand new. We’ll always be honest if your cabinets are truly past saving, but far more often, refinishing is the smart, cost-effective choice.
Pricing guidance
Cabinets are priced per project, because a galley kitchen with a dozen doors is a very different job from a large kitchen with an island, a pantry, and forty doors and drawers. As realistic guidance:
- Small kitchen: from around $1,800
- Larger or more involved kitchens: roughly $3,000–$6,000
- Bathroom vanities and smaller standalone jobs are quoted accordingly
Condition, the number of doors and drawers, the wood species, and whether you want a stain, restain, or paint all factor into the final number. The fastest way to get an accurate price is to text photos of your cabinets to (470) 333-6655 — a few wide shots plus a close-up of the worn areas. We’ll review and send an exact quote, usually the same day.
Get your free quote today
Don’t replace a kitchen that just needs refinishing. Our on-site cabinet refinishing in Atlanta restores your kitchen and bath cabinets in days, with a durable kitchen-grade finish and a one-year craftsmanship warranty. We serve Marietta, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Roswell, Johns Creek, Dunwoody, Decatur, Brookhaven, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Duluth and Norcross. Licensed, bonded and insured.
Text photos of your cabinets to (470) 333-6655 for a free, no-pressure quote.
