Respray, new doors or a new kitchen: how to decide

When a respray is the right call, when new doors are, and the few times ripping the kitchen out really is the answer.

Updated 28 October 2026 · The Kitchen Resprayer

The short answer

Respray if the layout works, the cabinets are solid and dry, and it's only the colour you can't stand.

Fit new doors if you want a different door shape. Rip it out only if several units are water-damaged or falling apart, or the layout itself has to change.

Four ways to change a tired kitchen

Each option keeps a different amount of what you already have. That, more than the paint or the door, is what sets the cost and the disruption.

Option	What changes	What stays	How long (as firms state)
Respray	Colour and finish of doors, drawers, panels and plinths	Cabinets, worktops, sink, appliances, layout	From a day plus 24 hours to harden (SKR Specialists) to about 5 working days (Colourhaus, Ultimate Decor)
New doors	The door style itself	Cabinets, worktops, layout	As little as 2 to 3 days fitted (Dream Doors)
Vinyl wrap	The surface of the doors	Everything else	1 to 3 days (Kitchen WrapCo, Ultimate Decor)
New kitchen	Everything, including the layout	Nothing	6 to 10 weeks from order, 1 to 2 weeks fitting (Spray Vision)

Each firm's own statement, read 28 October 2026. Spray Vision's new-kitchen figure is a respray firm's estimate.

Go by what's actually wrong with it

The colour has dated, the doors are fine

A respray. This is the job it is for: the layout works, the boxes are sound and you like the door shape.

You want a different door shape

New doors. A respray changes the colour, never the style. Spray Vision suggests a mix: respray the units and replace only the doors.

Vinyl is peeling, usually by the oven

Strip and spray, or new doors. Which? says paint won't fix peeling vinyl. A door maker's care sheet says vinyl doors must stay under 70C and need a heat shield next to an oven.

One swollen unit under the sink

One unit, not a whole kitchen. Ask whether that box can be swapped and the rest resprayed. Howdens' guarantee treats swelling from leaks and moisture as damage, so paint won't hide it.

A hinge sags or a drawer sticks

Hardware, and replaceable. Blum, which makes kitchen hinges and runners, says its components carry a lifetime guarantee. Chameleon notes respray quotes can exclude hinges, so ask.

Several units are swollen, rotten or loose

A new kitchen. Revitalize Resprays and ColourMy both say a new finish can't fix units that are water-damaged or failing.

The layout, sink or cooker is in the wrong place

A new kitchen. Only a refit can move plumbing, sockets or the cooker.

What paint can and can't fix

Which?'s advice on painting kitchen doors is a fair test for a respray too. Wood and painted wood are the easiest to paint. Laminate can take paint over a good shellac-based primer. Vinyl-wrapped doors need the vinyl stripping off first, or the paint won't last.

Which? is blunt about the rest: paint won't cover faults, so the doors need to be in almost perfect condition first. Revitalize Resprays says swollen door edges need close inspection rather than a blanket yes, and SKR Specialists builds a suitability check into its quote. Send clear photos of the worst doors and edges and you'll find out early.

Painting them yourself instead? How to paint kitchen cupboards properly covers the primer for each door type and how long the paint takes to harden.

Disruption, and what tends to go wrong

With a respray the doors usually go to a workshop and the fixed parts are sprayed in place. The Premiere Kitchen Painting Co. says the sink, cooker and fridge stay usable each evening, and Matt Finish says the kitchen is out of use for one to two days.

A new kitchen is a bigger project with more to go wrong. In a Which? survey of more than 1,500 members who had a kitchen fitted, 30% had delays and 14% had problems with their fitter. In Which?'s 2025 survey of installation services, between 42% and 49% of customers reported an issue with their installation, depending on the firm.

Guarantees: read what they cover

Option	Guarantees published
Respray	2 years (Matt Finish, The Premiere Kitchen Painting Co.) to 10 years (Kitchen Respray Blackpool, Ultimate Decor, Spray Vision); Colourhaus 5 years on the coating
New doors	6-year manufacturer guarantee on the doors The Premiere Kitchen Painting Co. fits
Vinyl wrap	None published by the wrap firms read; ask for it in writing
New kitchen	Howdens: 25 years on cabinets, 5 on doors, 1 on standard worktops. IKEA: 25 years on its METOD system

As each firm publishes it, read 28 October 2026.

A long guarantee on a new kitchen's cabinets is not a long guarantee on its doors. Which? reported a case where new Howdens doors bowed after six months and the claim was first turned down for "unsuitable site conditions", before Howdens agreed to replace them. Whatever you choose, read the exclusions.

Cost, in short

UK respray firms publish whole-kitchen prices from £600 to £3,500. Which? found cabinets alone for a 12-unit kitchen cost £1,500 to £9,000, before the worktop, sink, appliances and fitting, with labour roughly another 20 to 30% of the spend.

The Premiere Kitchen Painting Co., which does both, gives its own typical ranges of £2,000 to £5,000 for a respray and £2,500 to £8,000 for replacement doors. For what drives a respray price and how to read a quote, see how much a kitchen respray costs.

If you're selling soon

A kitchen builder told Which? that replacing a very dated or unusable kitchen adds more value than refreshing one that works. Which? suggests checking comparable local sales on Zoopla or Rightmove, or asking a surveyor, before you spend money to sell.

Where this comes from

All read 28 October 2026. Firms change their prices and terms; check the current position with them.

Common questions

Respray them if the layout works for you, the cabinets are solid, square and dry, and you like the shape of the doors but not the colour. Replace them if several units are swollen, rotten or loose, there is widespread water damage, or the sink, cooker or layout needs to move.

Respraying is far cheaper. UK respray firms publish whole-kitchen prices from £600 to £3,500, while Which? found cabinets alone for a 12-unit kitchen cost £1,500 to £9,000 before the worktop, sink, appliances and fitting.

What UK firms charge for a kitchen respray

None of the sources read for this page measures a lifespan in years. The guarantees firms put their name to range from two years (Matt Finish, The Premiere Kitchen Painting Co.) to ten (Kitchen Respray Blackpool, Ultimate Decor, Spray Vision). Ask what the guarantee covers as well as how long it runs.

Which? does not recommend painting over vinyl-wrapped doors without stripping the vinyl completely, and says paint will not fix a finish that is already peeling or bubbling. So peeling vinyl means stripping the doors and spraying them, or fitting new doors.

Yes. Which? says kitchen cabinets come in standard sizes, usually 500 or 600mm wide, so any brand of door fits any brand of cabinet, as long as you check the measurements. Spray Vision also suggests a mix: respray the units and replace only the doors.

Often, if the cabinets are sound. Revitalize Resprays checks whether the boxes are solid, square and free from serious water damage. On old solid timber, ask what the guarantee excludes: SKR Specialists says it cannot be responsible for cracks in wood in kitchens 20 to 30 years old.

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