A Cabinet Painting Quote App for the Highest-Stakes Work in the House
Cabinet refinishing is the most profitable painting work most shops do — and the least forgiving to underprice. The unit is the door, the hours hide in prep and cure time, and the customer's expectations are set by a factory finish. Quoting it well means counting, grading, and itemizing — which is exactly what a phone is for.
Count first, always
Stand in the kitchen and count out loud: doors, drawer fronts, false panels, end panels, open boxes, and the island as its own scope. Speak it into FieldSquire with photos of the worst grease and any damage; the draft comes back with each unit type as a line you price at your rates.
Grade the prep, name the system
Two questions set cabinet pricing: what's on them now, and what finish system are you applying? Degrease-and-scuff over sound paint is one tier; stripping failing finish or sealing tannin-bleeding oak is another. Spraying doors in the shop while brushing boxes in place is the common hybrid — write it as lines so the customer sees the process they're paying for: removal and labeling, cleaning and deglossing, prime, two sprayed topcoats, cure, rehang and adjust.
Protect the schedule in the terms
Cabinet jobs occupy a kitchen. Put working days, cure windows before heavy use, and hardware decisions (reuse, new, customer-supplied) in the estimate terms. A signed scope with a deposit — FieldSquire tracks both on the quote — is the difference between a five-star review and a dispute over a soft-closed door with a fingernail mark.
A sane unit-pricing structure
Numbers are yours to set; the structure below is what keeps cabinet quotes consistent across kitchens:
| Unit | What the unit price covers | Tier it up when… |
|---|---|---|
| Door | Remove, label, degrease, scuff, prime, 2 sprayed coats, rehang, adjust | Raised panel detail, glass inserts, oak grain-fill |
| Drawer front | Same system, smaller surface | Attached false fronts needing masking in place |
| Box/opening | Mask, brush/roll or spray face frames and sides | Open shelving interiors, end panels visible |
| Island | Priced as its own scope | Two-tone color, furniture-style legs |
| Setup/teardown | Masking kitchen, spray booth/shop time | Occupied home, working around appliances |
Why itemizing wins these bids
A $4,000 kitchen refinish against a $9,000 lowball-to-luxury spread is normal. The itemized quote — 32 doors, 9 drawers, island two-tone, full spray system, named primer and enamel — reads like a professional process. The blended number reads like a guess. Try the painting estimating app free for 14 days and send the itemized version same-day.
Try it on a real job: FieldSquire's Solo plan is free for 14 days with no credit card — unlimited manual estimates and AI-assisted drafts you review line by line. Start the free trial or see the painting estimating app guide.