2K Polyurethane on Doors
Doors and drawer fronts are sprayed in our booth with Renner 2K waterborne polyurethane. It crosslinks into a film that is harder and more chemical-resistant than any one-part paint, which helps against oil and washer fluid.
Garage and workshop cabinets
Garage Cabinet Painting in Kitchener
Plenty of garages end up holding the old kitchen cabinets, a mismatched set of base units and a workbench that has seen better days. Kitchener Elite Cabinet Painting & Refinishing paints garage storage cabinets, workbench bases and basement workshop cabinetry across Kitchener and Waterloo Region, so they match, wipe clean and stand up to real use.
A garage is the hardest room in the house for a cabinet finish. It swings from freezing to hot, collects oil, road salt and sawdust, and the cabinets get bumped by car doors, bikes and lawn mowers.
After 16 years and more than 1,700 jobs, we know which garages can be painted in January and which have to wait for May. Most garage cabinet jobs cost $900 to $2,400 before HST.
- Written fixed quote
- WSIB covered crew
- 1-year labour warranty
Garage conditions
What Garages Do to Paint
Garages attack paint with cold, moisture, chemicals and impact, often in the same week. A finish that lasts for years in a kitchen can crack, stain or chip in a single Kitchener winter if it was applied in the wrong conditions.
These are the conditions we plan around:
- Freeze-thaw swings in unheated garages from December to March
- Condensation on cold cabinet faces when a warm car pulls in
- Road salt slush dripping off the car and splashing the lower cabinets
- Motor oil, windshield washer fluid and gasoline spills on shelves
- Sawdust and fine grit settling on every flat surface
- Car doors, bikes, ladders and mowers bumping the corners
- Sun through garage door windows fading the cabinets nearest the glass
Our 1-year labour warranty covers peeling and adhesion failure from our prep or application, but not impact chips and dents. That is why we push for the hardest finish we can apply and a colour that hides the odd scuff.
Heavy-duty prep
Prepping for Oil, Dust and Bare Wood
Garage cabinets need more cleaning and sealing than kitchen cabinets before primer can bond. Oil and silicone sprays are the main enemies, and raw plywood or particleboard edges soak up moisture if they are left unsealed.
Our garage prep runs in this order:
- Vacuum sawdust and grit from every shelf, edge and hinge recess
- Degrease twice with Krud Kutter, with extra passes where oil or lubricant spray has built up, then rinse with clean water
- Sand with Festool sanders on HEPA extraction, using 120 to 150 grit where the old finish is failing
- Fill gouges, dents and old hardware holes with two-part wood filler
- Seal raw plywood, MDF and particleboard edges with primer, twice on MDF
- Prime with INSL-X STIX on melamine and old paint, or Zinsser B-I-N on oak
Particleboard that has already swollen from water or slush cannot be saved with paint. Swollen edges and split stiles can often be fixed through our cabinet repair service, and melamine boxes follow the method on our painting melamine cabinets page.
Coatings
Tough Finish Options for Garage Cabinets
The toughest garage finish is a shop-sprayed two-component polyurethane on the doors and a hard urethane-modified or alkyd enamel on the boxes. Both are waterborne and low odour, so the house next to the garage stays comfortable.
Urethane-Modified Enamels
When you choose a Sherwin-Williams colour, the boxes get Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, a hard urethane-modified enamel. With a Benjamin Moore colour they get ADVANCE, a waterborne alkyd that levels like oil paint.
Colour-Coded and Contrasting Doors
Some owners paint the tool cabinets one colour and the household storage another, so everyone knows where things go. A second colour is a $250 flat add-on, and darker base cabinets hide salt splash.
Semi-gloss, at about 50% gloss, is the easiest sheen to wipe clean in a garage. Satin hides dents better if your cabinets are older and bumped.
Temperature rules
Kitchener Weather and Garage Painting Schedules
We only paint garage cabinets when the garage stays at 15°C or warmer, day and night, while the coats dry. In an unheated Kitchener garage that usually means late spring to early fall.
The doors are always sprayed in our shop, which we hold at 18 to 24°C and 40 to 55% relative humidity. Only the boxes depend on the temperature in your garage.
| Garage or workshop | When we can paint | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Unheated attached or detached garage | Late spring to early fall | Cold nights stop the coating from curing properly |
| Insulated garage that can hold 15°C or warmer | Year-round | Only if the heat is safe to run during spraying |
| Heated garage or shop | Year-round | Temperature is already controlled |
| Basement workshop | Year-round | Usually 15°C or warmer; we may ask for a dehumidifier |
If you book in winter, we can paint the doors in our shop now and finish the boxes once the garage warms up. Spring fills fast, so it pays to get on the list early.
How it works
Garage Painting Timeline
Most garage cabinet jobs take 2 to 4 days, similar to a laundry room or mudroom, with the doors in our shop for part of that time. Plan to park outside from day 1 until the walkthrough.
The stages match the rest of our work, laid out on our cabinet painting process page.
Car Out, Cabinets Empty
You move the car out and empty the cabinets. We cover the floor, set up zip walls and remove doors, drawer fronts and hardware.
Clean, Seal and Prime
Boxes are vacuumed, degreased, sanded, filled and primed, with raw edges sealed before any topcoat goes on.
Spray Shop and Garage
Doors get two coats of Renner 2K in our booth, and the boxes are sprayed in place in your garage.
Rehang and Walkthrough
Doors are rehung and adjusted, new hardware is fitted and you get the care sheet and warranty.
Pricing
Garage Cabinet Painting Prices
Painting garage cabinets costs $900 to $2,400 before HST for most garages. A few base units under a workbench sit near the low end, and a full wall of tall storage cabinets sits near the top.
- Garage cabinets: $900 to $2,400
- Cabinet doors: $110 to $150 each, drawer fronts $75 to $95 each
- Tall storage doors: $160 to $220 each
- Second colour for colour-coding: $250 flat
- Repairs to swollen edges or split stiles: usually $40 to $150 per item
- Smallest jobs: $650 minimum
Heavy oil build-up, raw plywood and repairs add prep time, and the written quote lists each one. Our cabinet painting price guide explains how pieces are counted.
Clearing out
What to Do With Old Paint Cans in the Garage
Old paint and stain cans belong at a hazardous waste depot or a paint return site, not in the garbage. Emptying the garage cabinets before we paint is a good time to clear them out.
We take our own empties and leftovers away at the end of every job. For your older cans, these are the local options:
- Region of Waterloo household hazardous waste depots at 925 Erb St W in Waterloo and 201 Savage Dr in Cambridge
- Guelph's household hazardous waste depot at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre on Dunlop Drive
- Product Care paint return sites at many paint stores across Ontario
FAQ
Garage Cabinet FAQs
Garage owners mostly ask about cold weather, metal cabinets and where to park.
Can you paint cabinets in an unheated garage in winter?
Not the boxes, unless the garage can be held at 15°C or warmer safely during the job. We can spray the doors in our heated shop during winter and finish the boxes in spring.
Can you paint metal garage cabinets?
Most of our garage work is wood, MDF, plywood and melamine. Metal cabinets need different primers, so we quote them case by case after seeing photos.
Can I park inside during the job?
No, please park outside from day 1 until the walkthrough. Car heat, exhaust and road slush near fresh paint can mark the finish, and we need the space to work.
When can I load the cabinets again?
Light items can go back at the walkthrough. Wait 7 days for heavy tools and paint cans, and keep oily rags and solvents off the shelves until the finish is fully hard at about 30 days.
Will the paint hold up to oil spills?
Yes, if you wipe them up soon. The 2K finish on the doors resists oil and most automotive fluids, but solvents such as acetone or lacquer thinner left standing will soften any paint.
Free estimate
Book a Garage Cabinet Estimate
Send us a wide photo of the garage cabinets and tell us whether the garage is heated, and we will reply with a fixed written quote within 1 business day. Booking now gets you on the list for the first warm weeks of spring.
- Garage cabinets from $900 to $2,400 before HST
- Doors in Renner 2K, boxes in a hard urethane-modified or alkyd enamel
- Painted only when your garage holds 15°C or warmer
- Shop
- 330 Gage Ave, Kitchener, ON N2M 5C6
- Monday to Saturday
- 7:00 am to 9:30 pm
- Sunday
- 9:00 am to 9:00 pm