You can shift cupboard door colour by prepping, priming, and painting, or by wrapping or swapping the fronts.
Ready to give your units a new look without tearing out a single carcass? The three reliable routes are repainting, vinyl wrap, and refacing with new doors. Each route suits a different budget, timeline, and skill level. Below you’ll find a quick chooser, then clear steps with pro tips, so you can pick the method that fits your space and get a finish that lasts.
Methods At A Glance: Cost, Skill, And Time
Use this quick table to pick the path that matches your budget and patience. Costs are broad homeowner ranges and will vary by region and kitchen size.
| Method | Typical Cost Range | Time & Skill |
|---|---|---|
| Repaint Existing Doors | £150–£800 DIY; £1,200–£5,000 pro | 3–7 days incl. curing; patient prep; basic tools or HVLP |
| Vinyl Wrap | £250–£1,200 DIY; £800–£3,000 pro | 1–2 days; careful heat and squeegee work |
| New Doors (Refacing) | £4,000–£10,000+ | 2–5 days; measuring, drilling, hinge alignment |
Changing Kitchen Cupboard Door Colour — Step-By-Step
Painting gives the most colour choice and the best value. The secret is meticulous prep. Grease and slick factory finishes fight adhesion, so cleaning and priming matter more than the brand of topcoat.
1) Strip The Doors And Set Up
Take off every door and drawer. Bag hinges and screws by cabinet and label each piece. Set up a clean staging area with space to flip doors. Use painter’s tripods or blocks to lift them off the surface while coating edges. Mask the room if you plan to spray.
2) Degrease Thoroughly
Kitchen film can be stubborn. Wash with a strong degreaser, rinse, and let dry. Any residue will telegraph through your finish. Skipping this step is the top reason paint fails on doors near hobs and handles.
3) Sand For Tooth
Scuff sand to dull the sheen and knock down nibs. On wood or MDF, start around 120–150 grit and finish at 180–220. On laminate, keep pressure light; the plastic face is thin. Vacuum and tack off dust before moving on.
4) Prime For Adhesion
Pick a primer that bonds to slick surfaces and blocks stains. Shellac or dedicated adhesion primers grab glossy varnish and laminate and dry fast, which keeps the schedule moving. Brush into profiles, then roll flats with a high-density foam roller.
5) Sand Smooth And Spot-Fill
When the primer dries, sand again with extra-fine grit. Fill dings with a compatible filler, sand flush, and dust off. This extra pass removes grain raise and gives your topcoat that factory-like feel.
6) Pick A Durable Cabinet Paint
For a hard, washable finish, use an enamel meant for trim and cabinets. Waterborne alkyds and urethane-reinforced acrylics level nicely, resist blocking, and cure into a tough film. Satin to semi-gloss sheds splashes and finger marks better than matte.
7) Apply Thin Coats
Load lightly and work in long passes. Keep edges wet to avoid lap marks. Do the back first, then the face. Two to three thin coats beat one heavy coat. Let each coat dry fully and sand lightly between layers to keep the surface tight and smooth.
8) Cure And Rehang
Paints dry to the touch in hours, but full cure takes longer. Give doors gentle handling for the first week. Use bumpers on corners and adjust soft-close tension to protect fresh film. Reinstall hardware once the final coat is firm.
Brush And Roller Or Sprayer?
Spraying yields the flattest finish and speeds big jobs, but site prep and masking take time. Small kitchens or framed doors with lots of detail brush and roll well with foam sleeves and a fine synthetic brush for profiles. If you spray, practice on scrap first, keep the gun moving, and strain your paint.
Material-Specific Notes
Solid Wood
Spot-prime knots and tannin-rich species to prevent bleed. Fill open grain if you want a glass-smooth finish. Sand between coats until you lose the pore texture.
MDF
Seal the cut edges; they drink primer. A second prime on edges often evens sheen. Avoid soaking hinges holes; they can swell.
Laminate And Melamine
These faces are slick. Degrease, scuff, and use a primer rated for laminate. Keep coats thin and give extra dry time. A light cross-hatch sand between coats helps adhesion.
Vinyl Wrap: Fast Colour With Minimal Mess
Self-adhesive architectural film brings quick results and hundreds of finishes, from flat colours to woodgrains. The trick is a clean, smooth substrate and steady heat to relax and set the film around edges and profiles. Avoid stretching across deep bevels; use relief cuts where needed. Keep doors away from direct heat sources and add heat shields near ovens if clearances are tight.
Wrap Tips That Save Time
- Degrease twice, then wipe with isopropyl alcohol before laying film.
- Pre-fit and hinge the panel with tape, then peel backing as you squeegee.
- Warm the film gently to conform; post-heat edges to lock the bond.
Swapping Doors: When New Fronts Make Sense
If the boxes are sturdy but the fronts are dated or damaged, new doors and drawer fronts shift the style in days. You can keep the boxes, fit matching panels, and add new soft-close hinges. Measure hinge cup spacing, order a sample first, and check colour in your room’s light. This route costs more than paint or wrap, but it solves edge wear, swelling, or heavy damage.
Colour Planning That Works In Real Kitchens
Grease, hands, and steam are real. Mid-tone neutrals hide marks better than pure white in busy homes. Dark colours show dust but look sharp on smooth slabs. Two-tone schemes stretch budgets: paint the lowers a deeper shade and keep the uppers light. Always sample on an off-cut or the back of a door and check in morning and evening light.
Colour Testing And Finish Sheen
Paint chips lie under shop lights. Brush a sample pot on the back of one door in two sheens, then live with it for two days. Satin hides minor dings and wipes down easily. Semi-gloss reflects more light and looks crisp on flat-panel styles. If you have heavy texture on frames, satin keeps the look calm. If your kitchen is dim, a slightly brighter sheen lifts the room without going mirror-shiny.
Check light reflectance values when choosing whites and off-whites. A higher LRV will bounce light around the room; a low LRV reads moodier. Pair the tone with your counters and splashback instead of chasing trend photos from other homes. Hold a painted sample against tile and worktop in daylight and under task lighting to catch undertones before you commit.
Pro-Level Finish, DIY Budget
Results come from process, not gear. Clean well, sand evenly, choose the right primer, and lay thin coats with good lighting.
Cabinet Paints And Where They Shine
Here’s a compact guide to common coatings used on doors. Pick based on durability needs, odour tolerance, and recoat speed.
| Paint Type | Use Case | Pros & Trade-Offs |
|---|---|---|
| Waterborne Alkyd | Most kitchens; smooth, hard film | Levels well; soap-and-water cleanup; cures faster than standard acrylic |
| Urethane-Reinforced Acrylic | High-traffic families | Tough, block-resistant; quick recoat; low odour |
| Shellac Primer + Enamel Topcoat | Stain blocking; tricky substrates | Locks stains; grips glossy faces; strong odour during priming |
Drying, Curing, And Handling
Dry time and cure time are not the same. Touch-dry lets you flip a door. Cure is when the film reaches full hardness. Plan the week with that in mind. Fit soft bumpers and open doors gently for the first few days to avoid print-through at the handles. Warmth aids cure speed. Good airflow helps.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Skipping the degreaser. Paint will not stick to cooking film.
- Heavy coats that sag or stay soft. Thin layers win.
- Rushing recoat windows. Respect the label.
- Not labeling hardware. Rehanging turns messy fast.
- Ignoring edge sealing on MDF. Fuzzy edges ruin the sheen.
Tools And Materials Checklist
- Degreaser, clean water, lint-free rags
- Sanding block, 120–220 grit papers, tack cloth
- Adhesion primer or shellac primer
- Cabinet enamel (satin or semi-gloss)
- High-density foam rollers and a fine synthetic brush
- Painter’s tape, masking paper, and tripods or blocks
- HVLP sprayer and respirator if spraying
- Vinyl wrap, felt squeegee, heat gun, knife (for wrap route)
Safety And Ventilation
Open windows, set fans to move fresh air across the work zone, and wear a proper mask when sanding or spraying. Keep solvents and primers away from flames. Dispose of rags safely, especially those soaked with solvent products.
When To Call A Pro
Hire out when the kitchen is large, doors are heavily profiled, or stain blocking is heavy. Shops can spray off-site for a dust-free result.
Sample Weekend Schedule
Day 1: remove, label, clean, sand. Day 2: prime, sand, fill. Day 3: first coat. Day 4: second coat. Day 5: light use and gentle rehanging.
Picking Reliable Guidance
If you want a printed process to follow, review professional cabinet painting steps from a major paint brand, then adapt to your tools and space. For wrap users, check the installation guide for your film line to confirm heat and post-heat recommendations.
You can cross-check a brand-neutral method with a trusted manufacturer’s guide to cabinet painting steps, and, if you plan to wrap, review the DI-NOC installation guide for heat and post-heat notes.
Bottom Line
Repaint for broad colour choice at modest cost, wrap when you need speed and low mess, and swap doors when the fronts are beyond saving. With patient prep and the right products, your cupboards can look new without replacing the boxes.