Painting /spray painting kitchen units

I am looking to change the look of my kitchen units, but without the upheaval and price tag of actually buying new units.

Two options that I'm considering are kitchen unit door paint and having the kitchen cupboards professionally spray painted in a white/cream colour.

I want a good smooth finish without the look of brush marks, so I'm a bit apprehensive about this option...

The other option that I'm thinking about is having them professionally spray painted, which I'm sure would give a superior finish... but then is more expensive...

Anyone with experience of either of these? If you've had experience of having them professionally spray painted, how much did it cost? Is it worthwhile paying that extra?

Never had experience of painting doors and drawers so can't comment on that but have you considered just getting new doors and drawer fronts?

Probably bit more expensive than painting but not as expensive as replacing all the units.

When we moved into our house, it had 2 types of kitchen units fitted

As we couldn't / still can't afford a new kitchen we decided to paint all the existing doors brilliant white and get some new handles. We looked into getting new doors, but as our kitchen is very old, we would have had to get custom made doors which were nearly as expensive as a new kitchen!!

You can get a special primer for melamine and then you can paint over this any colour you like. We got a paint specifically for kitchen/bathroom areas but in hindsight this was a bit of a con (see below).

Obviously getting them profesionally sprayed will result in a much better finish, but as you righly pointed out the cost will be much greater. We used a small foam roller to avoid brush marks and if you persevere with wet wet & dry paper and re-coats, you can get the finish as smooth as the proverbial baby's backside.

The only disadvantage apart from the time it takes is that if anything we spill isn't cleaned up immediately, it leaves a mark on the paint (so much for the "special" paint we bought!!

If I were to do it again, I'd possibly spray a coat of clear laquer onto the doors to help resist stains, but apart from that it worked a treat in our kitchen (so much so that we had to buy a new oven as the existing one looked shabby next to the "new" units!!)

I painted some around 8 years ago, I had all the kit and space to do it, Most wont have all this and it is not worth purchasing it. as you will need a good spray gun.

the doors were MDF, and they were sealed, then primed. the kitchen door wanted to be black, so I purchased Ford Diamond black 2 pack paint.

It was nice and still is today.

I would try to approach someone and see the cost first, a car painter will get a perfect finish.

Darren

Thanks for the replies... so quick!

I did think about replacing the doors but they are in very good condition so I'm reluctant to spend too much money.

I forgot to say that the doors are actually wood (not sure what it is - but they are mid-tone in colour) and the kitchen itself isn't old - just three years. Absolutely nothing wrong with them, but once we redecorate to our chosen scheme, they probably wouldn't 'go' as well as they do currently.

If I were to paint them/spray paint them, would it be best to sand them first and then paint?

If they were spray painted, would it be possible to achieve a very glossy finish (like laquered)?

Any further help appreciated!

sorry... duplicate post