Cabinet Refinishing vs. Refacing: What's the Difference?

Cabinet refinishing in Vancouver gives you something factory refacing simply cannot — a fully custom, hand-finished result tailored to your exact colour and sheen. Refacing is another path that some homeowners consider. The two sound similar, but they are very different in scope, process, and results. Here is a clear breakdown so you can make the right choice.

What Is Cabinet Refinishing?

Cabinet refinishing means painting or staining your existing doors, drawer fronts, and frames without replacing anything. Shape of Paint completes most Vancouver kitchen refinishing projects in 3 to 5 days using HVLP spray equipment, bonding primer, and acrylic alkyd finish coats.

Refinishing means painting or staining your existing cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and frames. Nothing gets replaced. Your cabinet boxes stay in place. Your doors stay the same. Only the surface finish changes.

A professional refinishing project in Vancouver follows these steps:

1. Remove all doors, drawer fronts, and hardware
2. Clean and degrease every surface
3. Sand to create a bonding profile
4. Apply a bonding primer (BIN shellac or Stix)
5. Spray 2 coats of acrylic alkyd finish (like Benjamin Moore Advance)
6. Reinstall everything with new or existing hardware

The entire process takes 3 to 5 days for an average-sized kitchen. You keep your existing layout. You keep your existing doors. And because every coat is applied by a master sprayer — not a factory line — you get a smoother, more even finish with unlimited colour options.

What Is Cabinet Refacing?

Cabinet refacing replaces your doors and drawer fronts with brand-new factory-made pieces while keeping the existing boxes, which get covered with matching veneer or laminate. The process takes 3 to 5 days for installation but requires 3 to 6 weeks of lead time for custom door orders.

Refacing means replacing your cabinet doors and drawer fronts with brand-new ones while keeping the existing boxes. The boxes get covered with a matching veneer or laminate to create a uniform look.

A typical refacing project in Vancouver includes:

1. Remove existing doors, drawer fronts, and hardware
2. Apply veneer or laminate to all visible box surfaces
3. Install new doors and drawer fronts (custom-ordered to fit)
4. Install new hinges and hardware
5. Adjust and align everything

Refacing takes 3 to 5 days for installation, but the new doors need to be ordered first. That adds 3 to 6 weeks of lead time before work begins.

Cost Comparison

Refinishing costs 60% to 70% less than refacing for the same Vancouver kitchen. A medium kitchen runs $4,000 to $6,000 for refinishing versus $8,000 to $15,000 for refacing — and the hand-sprayed finish from Shape of Paint is smoother than factory-applied coatings on new doors.

Refacing costs 2 to 3 times more than refinishing for the same kitchen. The price jump comes from manufacturing new doors, ordering veneer, and the added labour of applying laminate to every visible box surface.

Pros of Refinishing

Refinishing offers 8 distinct advantages over refacing for Vancouver homeowners: superior hand-sprayed finish quality, unlimited colour selection, faster turnaround, zero waste, and an investment that runs 60% to 70% less than refacing for a finer result.

• Superior finish quality — a master sprayer produces a smoother, more even coat than factory-applied finishes
• Unlimited colour selection — any Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, or custom-matched colour, in any sheen
• Hand-sprayed finish — each door is prepped, primed, and sprayed individually for a custom result
• Fastest turnaround — 3 to 5 days, no lead time for ordering parts
• Zero waste — nothing goes to the landfill
• Keeps your existing door style and layout
• Easy to update the colour again in 8 to 12 years
• More efficient investment — 60% to 70% less than refacing for a finer finish

Cons of Refinishing

Refinishing is not suitable when doors are severely damaged, warped, or made of thermofoil or vinyl-wrap materials. It also cannot change the door profile style — a raised panel stays a raised panel after painting.

• Does not change the door profile or style (raised panel stays raised panel)
• Doors with severe physical damage cannot be painted over
• Thermofoil or vinyl-wrapped doors may not be good candidates
• Deep grain on oak doors may still show through paint (though grain filler helps)

Pros of Refacing

Refacing makes sense when you want a completely different door style or when existing doors are physically damaged beyond what paint can repair. You get brand-new doors and hardware while keeping the existing cabinet boxes.

• You get brand-new doors and drawer fronts
• You can change from one door style to another (raised panel to Shaker, for example)
• New doors have no wear, scratches, or damage
• Includes new hinges and hardware

Cons of Refacing

Refacing costs 2 to 3 times more than refinishing, requires 3 to 6 weeks of lead time for custom door orders, and limits your colour and finish options to what the manufacturer stocks. Veneer applied to cabinet boxes can also peel over time.

• Costs 2 to 3 times more than refinishing
• 3 to 6 weeks lead time for custom door orders
• Veneer on cabinet boxes can peel over time if applied poorly
• Limited colour and finish options compared to paint
• If one door gets damaged later, you need a custom replacement to match

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose refinishing if your cabinet boxes and doors are structurally sound and you want a hand-finished result with unlimited colour options in under a week. Choose refacing only if your doors are physically damaged or you want a completely different door style.

Choose Refinishing If...

• Your cabinet boxes and doors are in good structural condition
• You like your current door style and layout
• You want the job done in under a week
• You want a hand-finished result that factory doors can't replicate
• You want to choose from unlimited paint colours

Choose Refacing If...

• Your doors are physically damaged, warped, or delaminating
• You want a completely different door style
• Your cabinet boxes are solid but the doors are beyond repair

Why Most Vancouver Homeowners Choose Refinishing

About 8 out of 10 cabinet projects Shape of Paint sees in Vancouver are refinishing, not refacing. Most cabinets built in the last 25 years have solid boxes and structurally sound doors where only the surface finish has worn out.

About 8 out of 10 kitchen cabinet projects we see in Vancouver are refinishing, not refacing. The reason is simple. Most cabinets built in the last 25 years have solid boxes and structurally sound doors. The finish has worn out, but the cabinets themselves are fine.

According to the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), cabinet refinishing has grown steadily as a percentage of kitchen renovation projects across North America, driven by homeowners seeking custom colour options and faster project timelines compared to full replacement or refacing.

A professional spray finish from a skilled painter actually surpasses factory coatings — finer atomization, more even coverage, and a colour palette that is not limited to a manufacturer's catalogue. For a deeper look at why spray finishing outperforms other methods, read our spray vs. brush cabinet painting comparison.

The Bottom Line

For 80% of Vancouver kitchens, refinishing delivers a superior, fully customized finish with a faster timeline and more efficient investment than refacing. Shape of Paint recommends refinishing whenever cabinet boxes and doors are structurally sound.

Refinishing delivers a superior, fully customized finish — and the timeline and investment are both more efficient than refacing. Refacing makes sense only when your doors are physically damaged beyond what paint can fix. For 80% of Vancouver kitchens, refinishing is the smarter choice.

Ready to see what refinishing can do for your kitchen? Explore our cabinet painting in Vancouver service to get started with a free estimate.