Cabinet refinishing in Atlanta keeps the wood showing instead of covering it with paint: doors and drawer fronts come off and are cleaned, sanded or stripped, restained to an even color and sealed with a clear coat, while the cabinet boxes are done in place. It suits solid wood cabinets in good shape and usually takes four to six working days.
Updated September 2026
When refinishing beats painting
Most stained cabinets that look tired are not damaged. The clear coat has worn through around the sink, the handles and the trash pull-out, grease has darkened the finish near the range, and the color has gone orange or uneven over the years. Under that, the wood is usually fine.
Refinishing cleans off the grime, takes the worn finish back far enough to restain evenly, and puts on a new clear coat that is harder than what was there. You keep the look of real wood and the cabinets you already paid for. When the wood is veneer that has worn through, or the goal is a completely new color, painting is the better route, and we will say which one fits after looking.
What a refinishing quote includes
- Hidden-spot finish test
- Door and drawer removal with labels
- Kitchen masking and dust control
- Degreasing every surface
- Sanding or stripping per the plan
- Stain sample on a door back
- Even stain on all pieces
- Two or three clear coats
- Rehang, hinge adjustment and hardware reset
What decides the cost of refinishing cabinets
Refinishing is priced by the number of doors and drawer fronts and by how far back the finish has to go.
- Door and drawer count. Each piece is removed, finished on both faces and rehung.
- Refresh or full strip. Stripping to bare wood takes far longer than scuffing and recoating.
- Color change. Going darker is simpler than going lighter, which needs a full strip.
- Wood species. Open-grain oak takes stain differently from maple, cherry or birch.
- Condition of the finish. Grease buildup, water damage near the sink and worn edges need extra prep.
- Built-ins and islands. Extra cabinet runs, islands and bookcases add boxes to finish in place.
- Hardware. Reusing existing hardware or installing new pulls changes the reset time.
Refinish, paint or replace
| Factor | Refinish (stain and clear) | Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Wood grain | Stays visible | Covered by color |
| Best for | Solid wood in good shape | Veneer, oak you want hidden, full color change |
| Color range | Wood tones only | Any color |
| Touch-ups later | Blend well with stain | Need exact paint match |
| Compared with replacement | A fraction of the cost | A fraction of the cost |
Restain and clear coat
When the existing stain is sound and only the clear coat is worn, cabinets can often be refreshed without stripping. We degrease every surface, scuff-sand the old finish, touch up worn edges with a matching stain, and apply a new clear coat over everything. This keeps the original color and grain, costs less than a full strip, and suits kitchens where the wood tone is still liked but the surface looks dull or feels rough. Doors and drawer fronts are sprayed flat in our setup, which gives an even finish without drips, and the boxes are done in place with the kitchen masked.
Strip and refinish
A full strip is for cabinets with an old finish that has yellowed, flaked or gone blotchy, or when you want a different stain color. Doors are stripped back to bare wood, sanded, conditioned so the stain takes evenly, stained in the chosen color and sealed with two or three clear coats. Oak and other open-grain woods take stain differently than maple or cherry, so we test the color on the back of a door first. A full strip takes longer than a refresh and costs more, but the result looks like new finished wood rather than a touch-up.
Built-in and shelving refinishing
Built-in bookcases, window seats, bar cabinets and mantels usually carry the same finish as the kitchen and wear the same way. They are refinished in place because they cannot come out, so the room is masked and dust is controlled with vacuum sanders. Shelves are pulled and finished flat where possible. Built-ins in older homes sometimes turn out to have paint under a later stain, which changes the approach, and we check a hidden spot before quoting. Matching a built-in to newly refinished kitchen cabinets in the same color is common when the two are visible from the same room.
What we see on Atlanta homes
Two local conditions shape how we run cabinet refinishing here. Atlanta's hot, humid summers slow how fast stain and clear coat cure, so we keep doors in a controlled drying area and plan extra time between coats from June through August instead of rushing the finish. And in homes built before 1978, cabinets that were painted and later stained can hold lead-based paint under the surface, which puts stripping and sanding under federal lead-safe work practices, so we test before any stripper goes on.
How a cabinet refinish runs
- 1
Look and test
We check the wood, the finish and a hidden spot to choose refresh or strip.
- 2
Remove and label
Doors, drawer fronts and hardware come off and are labeled by location.
- 3
Mask the kitchen
Counters, floors, appliances and walls covered; dust control set up.
- 4
Clean and prep
Degreasing, then sanding or stripping depending on the plan.
- 5
Stain
Sample on the back of a door first, then even coats across every piece.
- 6
Clear coat
Sprayed doors and brushed boxes, sanded lightly between coats.
- 7
Rehang and adjust
Doors back on, hinges adjusted, hardware reset and a final walk with you.
Questions about cabinet refinishing in Atlanta
The boxes stay in place. Doors and drawer fronts come off so both faces get an even finish.
Going darker is usually straightforward. Going lighter requires stripping to bare wood, which takes longer.
A refresh often is. A full strip and restain can cost as much as painting because of the labor.
You can use the kitchen with care during the job; doors are back on at the end, with the finish hardening over the next week.
Thin veneer that has worn through cannot be sanded much, and painting is usually the better option.
Yes. See our kitchen cabinet painting page for the painted finish option.