Commercial kitchen painting · Kelowna, BC
Commercial Kitchen Painting in Kelowna
Few walls work harder than the ones in a commercial kitchen, which face fryer heat, airborne grease, dish-pit steam and a hard scrub with degreaser at the end of every shift. Pacific Painting Kelowna coats commercial kitchens across Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country with systems built for exactly that abuse. The goal is a smooth, sealed, washable surface that stays intact between health inspections and stands up to years of nightly cleaning.
We paint back-of-house spaces for restaurants, hotels, pubs, catering companies, bakeries, care homes, schools and other institutional kitchens. Our clients are owners, chefs, facility managers, property managers and general contractors building or renovating food premises. Because these kitchens cannot stop feeding people, we work overnight, on closed days or during planned shutdowns, and we leave every station clean before the morning prep crew walks in.
We have more than 15 years of commercial and residential painting experience. Our crews are licensed, insured and covered by WorkSafeBC, and every kitchen job carries a written 1-year labour warranty on our workmanship. We specify waterborne epoxy and high-performance enamel wall coatings from Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore, plus mould-resistant ceiling paints, and we explain exactly why each one suits the cookline, dish pit, cooler or storage room it goes on.
Health Inspections and Cleanable Surfaces
Paint does not pass an inspection on its own, but the condition of your walls and ceilings is part of what an inspector sees.
In British Columbia, food premises are regulated under the Public Health Act and its Food Premises Regulation. In general terms, the surfaces in food areas are expected to be durable, smooth, non-absorbent where needed, easy to clean and kept in good repair. In Kelowna and the rest of the Central Okanagan, Interior Health environmental health officers carry out food premises inspections.
- Peeling or flaking paint over prep tables, cooklines or open food is a contamination risk and an easy item for an inspector to note.
- Mould and mildew on ceilings above dish pits and steam kettles usually means the existing paint has failed or was never suited to the moisture.
- Bare drywall, unsealed wood and porous patches absorb grease and water and cannot be properly cleaned.
- Rough, textured walls trap grime, which is why kitchen walls are kept smooth.
Coatings for Heat, Grease and Steam
Ordinary wall paint is a soft film that grease soaks into and degreaser strips off. Kitchens need harder, more chemical-resistant systems, matched to each area.
| Coating | Where we use it | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Washable semi-gloss acrylic enamel | Dry storage, offices, low-splash corridors | Affordable and low-odour, but less chemical-resistant |
| Pre-catalyzed waterborne epoxy | Cooklines, prep areas, service corridors | One-part, low-odour and much tougher than enamel |
| Two-component waterborne epoxy | Dish pits, wash-down walls, high-splash zones | Hardest film, but slower to cure and more involved to apply |
| Waterborne urethane topcoat | Over epoxy where gloss and colour retention matter | Extra cost and an extra coat |
| Mould-resistant ceiling paint | Ceilings over dish pits, steamers and kettles | Protects the film, but does not fix poor ventilation |
Typical products include Sherwin-Williams Pro Industrial Pre-Catalyzed Waterbased Epoxy, Sherwin-Williams Pro Industrial Waterbased Catalyzed Epoxy and Benjamin Moore Corotech waterborne epoxies. For ceilings in humid areas we often use Zinsser Perma-White, a mould and mildew-resistant interior coating. Our paints and products page explains the brands we work with.
We use waterborne systems rather than solvent-based industrial epoxies because they are far lower in odour and can be applied in a building that has to reopen within hours.
Degreasing and Prep in Working Kitchens
In a kitchen, prep decides whether the coating lasts years or peels in months. Grease is invisible on a wall until new paint refuses to stick to it.
Protect equipment and surfaces
Ranges, prep tables, shelving and dish machines are covered or moved, and open food, utensils and packaging are cleared out of the room.
Degrease and rinse
Walls and ceilings are washed with a heavy-duty degreaser, then rinsed with clean water so no residue is left under the primer.
Repair and scuff-sand
Peeling paint is scraped back, damaged drywall is patched with a setting compound, and old glossy coatings are scuff-sanded for grip.
Prime
Bare spots and patches get a bonding or stain-blocking primer, especially around hoods, where heat and smoke leave stubborn staining.
Coat and clean up
Two finish coats go on, covers come off, and every prep surface is wiped down before your staff return.
We paint the walls and ceilings around the hood, not the hood itself or its ductwork. If your hood cleaning is due, booking it just before our visit gives us cleaner walls to work on.
Walk-In Coolers, Dish Pits and Storage Rooms
These are the rooms where kitchen coatings fail first. Each one needs a different approach to moisture and temperature.
Walk-In Coolers
Coatings cannot cure on cold, sweating surfaces. The cooler has to be emptied, shut down and allowed to warm and dry to the temperature the product needs, so we plan cooler work around a delivery gap or planned shutdown.
Factory-finished metal panels need thorough cleaning and a primer rated for metal, or the new coat lifts off in sheets.
Dish Pits
Dish areas get hot water, steam, sanitizer and splash from the sprayer all day. We use a two-component waterborne epoxy on the walls and a mould-resistant coating on the ceiling above.
Gaps where walls meet sinks and counters are sealed so water cannot get behind the coating.
Dry Storage and Corridors
Storage rooms and service halls take impact from carts and cases more than moisture. A washable semi-gloss enamel or pre-catalyzed epoxy gives good durability at a lower cost.
Kitchen Floors
Fresh walls above a cracked, stained concrete floor still look tired. Seamless resin floors have no grout lines to trap grease, and an aggregate can be added for slip resistance in wet areas.
Not every floor system suits a kitchen. Areas with hot-water wash-downs and heavy thermal shock are hard on standard epoxy, so we talk through the right system for your cookline, dish pit and walk-ins before you commit.
Commercial floor coatings typically run $5 to $12 per sq ft depending on the system. Our epoxy floor coatings page covers the options in detail.
Scheduling Without Losing Service
Kitchen painting is planned backwards from the time your first cook needs the line. Cure time is the part most people underestimate.
Overnight and Closed-Day Shifts
Most kitchens are painted in one or two overnight shifts, or on a closed day. Large or institutional kitchens are split into zones so part of the line keeps running.
Cure Before Heavy Cleaning
Waterborne coatings are dry to the touch in hours, but most need several days to fully cure. We ask your team to wipe walls gently and avoid strong degreasers for the first week.
For planning tips that apply to any business, read our guide to painting your business without closing.
Commercial Kitchen Painting Costs
Kitchen quotes are written and itemised after a walkthrough, usually done after service. These ranges include materials.
| Item | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen walls and ceilings | $2.00 to $4.00 per sq ft of wall and ceiling area | Coating system, grease load, repairs, equipment to work around |
| Commercial floor coatings | $5 to $12 per sq ft | System type, concrete condition, slip-resistance |
A two-component epoxy in the dish pit costs more than enamel in dry storage, so most kitchens use a mix of systems. Overnight scheduling can add to the price, and our painting costs in Kelowna page covers other commercial work.
Commercial Kitchen FAQs
Do you coat commercial kitchen walls?
Yes. Depending on the area, we use pre-catalyzed or two-component waterborne epoxy, washable semi-gloss enamel and mould-resistant ceiling coatings. Every wall is degreased, repaired and primed first, because the coating is only as good as the surface beneath it.
Will fresh paint help us pass a health inspection?
It helps when the problem is peeling paint, mould or surfaces that cannot be cleaned. The inspector is looking at whether surfaces are intact, smooth and cleanable, so a properly prepared coating addresses those items, but it cannot fix plumbing, equipment or food handling issues.
How soon can we cook after painting?
With the waterborne, low-odour products we use, most kitchens are back in service the next morning once surfaces are dry and wiped down. Full cure takes several days, so avoid heavy scrubbing and strong degreasers on new coatings for about a week.
Do you paint institutional kitchens in care homes and schools?
Yes. Institutional kitchens cannot miss a meal service, so we plan zones around meal times and work evenings, weekends or school breaks. We follow the facility's sign-in and safety rules on every visit.
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Walkthroughs after service
Book a Kitchen Painting Quote
Call 778-946-5725 or send the form to book a walkthrough when the kitchen is quiet. We bring 15+ years of experience, WorkSafeBC coverage and a 1-year labour warranty to every kitchen we coat.
- 15+ years experience
- Licensed & insured
- WCB coverage
- 1-year labour warranty
Mon to Fri 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. · Sat 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. · Sun 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Or call 778-946-5725 or email info@pacificpaintingbc.com.