What Paint We Use on Our Cabinets —
And Why the Finish Matters
The finish is the part of your cabinets you touch every day. Here's the coating we spray, how it's different from cheap paint, and why it's built to last.
The Finish Is Where Cheap Cabinets Give Themselves Away
A cabinet can be built perfectly — solid box, tight joints, smooth drawers — and still look worn out in two years if it's coated in the wrong paint. The finish is the surface you open, wipe, and clean every single day, and it's the first thing to fail when a shop cuts corners.
Budget jobs chip at the edges, peel around the sink, show brush and roller marks, and yellow in the sun. That's almost always a paint problem, not a woodworking problem. So before you compare quotes, it's worth understanding what's actually being sprayed on the doors.
Not All Cabinet "Paint" Is the Same
"Painted cabinets" can mean very different things depending on the coating and how it's applied. Here's the ladder, from what budget jobs use to what a serious shop sprays.
Sherwin-Williams Conversion Varnish, Spray-Applied
Every painted cabinet we build is finished in Sherwin-Williams Sher-Wood conversion varnish — a catalyzed coating engineered specifically for cabinetry and millwork. We spray it in a controlled shop environment, not on-site, so it lays down dead-smooth and cures hard before the cabinets ever reach your home.
Because it's a tintable system, we can colour-match almost any shade you bring us. The doors in our recent kitchens, for example, are sprayed in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (OC-65) — a soft, warm white — but you're not limited to our palette. Bring a Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, or any paint chip and we'll match it, in a range of sheens from matte to semi-gloss.
The Finish Is the Difference Between "Still Looks New" and "Looks Tired"
Two kitchens can look identical the day they're installed. The difference shows up a few years in — when one still wipes clean and looks crisp, and the other is chipped at the edges and yellowed by the window. That gap is almost entirely the finish.
Spraying a catalyzed conversion varnish costs more in time and material than rolling on enamel — and it's exactly why our cabinets hold up. It's the same reason we don't sell thermofoil: we'd rather build something that lasts.
Get My Free QuoteCabinet Paint & Finish Questions
We finish every painted cabinet in Sherwin-Williams conversion varnish — a two-part, catalyzed coating made specifically for cabinetry and millwork. It cures into a hard, moisture- and chemical-resistant surface built for daily kitchen use. It's not wall paint or a brush-on enamel.
Yes. Our finish is a tintable system, so we can colour-match almost any shade. Bring a Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, or any paint chip and we'll match it. Our recent kitchens, for example, are sprayed in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (OC-65), a soft warm white.
Yes — that's exactly what it's designed for. Conversion varnish is catalyzed, so it cures far harder than wall paint or standard enamel and resists the moisture, steam, grease, and everyday cleaners a kitchen throws at it. It's the premium standard for painted kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
We spray it in a controlled shop environment, not on-site. Spraying lays the finish down dead-smooth with no brush or roller marks, and it cures hard at the shop before the cabinets are ever installed in your home.
A quality catalyzed finish like ours resists the yellowing and ambering that cheap oil-based and wall-paint finishes are known for. We use professional-grade cabinet coatings made to hold their colour far better than the budget finishes used on flat-pack and DIY jobs.
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