For Recent Homebuyers
Just closed on your Southern California home? Your cabinets are next.
Don't live with the previous owner's finish. Refinishing doesn't mean replacing — it means your cabinets get a sprayed finish on a clear timeline that depends on the size and scope of your kitchen. The coating is a two-component (2K) polyurethane system.
Your cabinets have more life than you think
Most of what made the kitchen look like theirs is surface-level. The cabinet boxes, the layout, the built-in storage — that's yours now. What you're looking at is a layer of finish: stain, paint, or lacquer that someone else chose in a year that wasn't yours. That's all Parallel Painting changes.
Cabinet refinishing retains the existing cabinet boxes and updates their color, sheen, or texture. Replacement removes the existing cabinets and installs new units. The cost and scope depend on the cabinet condition, layout, and selected work; a written estimate can help compare the options. Each full refinish includes a 5-year written warranty.
For many new homebuyers, the easiest time to refinish is early — before furniture locks things in, before you've "gotten used to it," and while the renovation budget is still in place. Acting early tends to make it simpler to get the kitchen you want.
Replace vs. Refinish: Scope and Planning
Full Replacement
- Typically costs much more than refinishing
- Longer lead times typical
- Demo, disposal, re-plumbing, repainting
- Risk of hidden wall damage on removal
- Warranty terms for replacement work depend on the provider and scope
Refinishing (Parallel Painting's method)
- Retains existing cabinet boxes
- Timeline depends on size and scope
- Cabinet structure stays — no demo risk
- Two-component (2K) polyurethane system
- 5-year written warranty; Tyler Fowler handles each project personally
Real Results
Real kitchens. Same cabinets, finished in sprayed 2K polyurethane.
The 2K polyurethane system used on cabinets
Parallel Painting's cabinet-finishing process uses a two-component (2K) polyurethane system. No finish is immune to wear.
Read the full technical breakdown of 2K polyurethane →A fan draws air through a regular filter and vents outdoors to help control airborne dust, overspray, and fumes within the work area.
Parallel Painting's Cabinet Refinishing Process
How long a cabinet refinishing project takes depends on the size and scope of your kitchen. Grain filling, repairs, cabinet interior painting, specialty finishes, added color changes, scheduling constraints, and drying time all factor into the timeline, which Tyler confirms on the in-home estimate.
Protect and prepare
The doors and drawer fronts are prepped at Tyler's shop. The cabinet boxes get the same prep in your kitchen, where you can see it done.
Prime and smooth
The finish only lasts if the surface underneath is right, so this is where most of the hands-on hours go.
Build the finish
The topcoats go on the same way as the primer: doors in the shop's spray booth, boxes in your kitchen's sealed, negative-pressure work area. While the doors dry at the shop, Tyler works on the boxes in your kitchen, so neither waits on the other.
Back together
Required drying time, reinstallation, alignment, and the final walkthrough.
Questions from new homebuyers
We just moved in — how soon can you start?
Parallel Painting can typically schedule a free in-home estimate within a few days of your call. Project start dates depend on Parallel Painting's current schedule, but Tyler will give you a clear timeline on the estimate visit.
Can we live in the house while you refinish?
Often, yes. Parallel Painting works from the kitchen outward, removes the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and keeps the kitchen sealed under negative pressure from the first pass of sandpaper through spraying. Doors are sprayed in the negative-pressure booth at Tyler's shop, with the exact length depending on the size and scope of your kitchen. While the boxes are being sprayed, family and pets stay out of the sealed, negative-pressure work area until Tyler gives the all-clear; he goes over the plan for your household before work starts. A fan draws air through a regular filter and vents outdoors to help control airborne dust, overspray, and fumes within the work area.
What if we want to paint the walls at the same time?
Good timing. Parallel Painting recommends sequencing wall painting after cabinet reinstall so colors can be matched precisely. Tyler can walk through a paint-color consult at the same estimate appointment. Cabinet refinishing and interior painting are separate scopes with separate quotes — but Parallel Painting can coordinate staging to minimize disruption.
Do you work on homes when the owner is away during a project?
Yes. Before you leave, Tyler confirms color, scope, and timeline at the in-home estimate, and key access is arranged through a direct hand-off or lockbox code. If you use a property manager, Tyler coordinates access with them during the project. Documentation, warranty, and invoice details are reviewed with you as part of that planning.
How is refinishing different from painting?
Refinishing the way Parallel Painting does it involves full surface prep (deglossing, sanding, priming) and a dedicated cabinet coating applied by HVLP spray. The coating is a two-component (2K) polyurethane system. When comparing services, compare written scopes rather than relying only on labels. No finish is immune to wear, but it's a sprayed refinish, not a quick paint job.
Ready to make the kitchen yours?
Free in-home estimate and written quote. Melissa handles the schedule and the phone, and you can always ask for Tyler.