Last updated: 15 July 2026
The Dulux Renovation Range is a five-product system that paints over kitchen cabinets, tiles, benchtops and floors instead of replacing them. A full set of kitchen cabinet doors costs $200 to $400 in product, against $5,000 to $15,000 for new cabinetry. The process is clean, prime, paint, and the finish needs 7 to 14 days to fully cure.
Key takeaway
The Dulux Renovation Range makes laminate, melamine and ceramic tiles paintable. Every product costs $78 to $110 per litre, covers 10 to 12m² per litre, and the whole system stands or falls on surface preparation.
What is the Dulux Renovation Range?
A collection of five specialty coatings designed for surfaces that standard house paint cannot grip: laminate, melamine, ceramic tiles and similar hard, non-porous materials. It is sometimes called the Dulux Transformation Range, but Renovation Range is the name on the tin.
| Product | What it is for | Surfaces |
|---|---|---|
| Primer | The bonding base coat under everything | Laminate, melamine, tiles, timber, MDF |
| Cabinet Doors | Hard-wearing cabinet topcoat | Cupboard doors, drawer fronts, panels |
| Tiles & Benchtops | Topcoat for tiled and laminate surfaces | Wall tiles, splashbacks, laminate benchtops |
| Floors | Tougher floor coating | Tiled and concrete floors |
| Clear Coat | Optional protective top layer | Benchtops and splashbacks exposed to heat or moisture |
The range is strictly interior. It is not for shower recesses, underfloor heated surfaces, natural stone like marble or granite, exteriors, or anything constantly wet such as sinks and baths.
How do you use the Dulux Renovation Range?
Clean, prime, paint. Wash with sugar soap, one coat of primer, two coats of topcoat, 16 hours between every coat.
- Clean. Sugar soap or a degreaser on everything. Kitchen cabinets carry years of grease that stops paint bonding, and skipped cleaning is the number one cause of peeling.
- Prime. One coat of Renovation Range Primer. This is the layer everything else grips to. Dry for 16 hours, then a light sand for the smoothest result.
- Paint. Two coats of Cabinet Doors, Tiles & Benchtops, or Floors, with 16 hours between coats. Roller on flats, brush on edges.
- Clear Coat (optional). For benchtops and splashbacks that cop heat, moisture or daily wiping.
The finish is touch dry in 2 to 4 hours but the full cure takes 7 to 14 days. No heavy objects, no cleaning products and no excess moisture in that window, or the surface will mark.
Dulux Renovation Range Primer
One coat is all the primer needs, dried for 16 hours before the topcoat. It bonds to laminate, melamine, tiles, timber and MDF, covers about 12m² per litre, and it is the one step you can never skip: without it the topcoat has nothing to hold and will peel within months regardless of how carefully it went on. The range is a matched system, so pairing the topcoats with a non-Dulux primer (or the primer with other brands’ topcoats) voids the performance the products are engineered for. Bunnings stocks the primer alongside the rest of the range.
Dulux Renovation Range Cabinet Doors
The most popular product in the range: a hard-wearing topcoat for laminate, melamine, MDF and timber cabinets, in gloss or satin. It handles the grease, steam and daily handling a kitchen throws at cupboard doors, drawer fronts and panels. It can be tinted to a range of Dulux colours, so a dated cabinet colour is as fixable as a dated cabinet finish.
Dulux Renovation Range Tiles & Benchtops
One product covers ceramic and porcelain wall tiles, splashbacks, floor tiles and laminate benchtops, in gloss or satin. It works in bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, and it is the honest alternative to a $3,000 to $8,000 retile. Benchtops should get the Clear Coat over the top for extra protection against hot pans and daily wiping. The one hard limit: nothing constantly wet, so shower recesses are out.
Dulux Renovation Range Floors and Clear Coat
Floors is the harder-wearing formula for tiled and concrete floors; Clear Coat is the protective final layer for benchtops and splashbacks. Painted floors handle normal foot traffic but will show wear faster than purpose-built floor coatings in heavy-traffic areas, so keep expectations honest in hallways and entries.
What colours does the Dulux Renovation Range come in?
The topcoats come in white plus a range of Dulux colours through tinting, in gloss and satin finishes. Cabinet Doors offers the widest colour choice; Tiles & Benchtops and Floors have more limited palettes. The current colour chart is on the Dulux Renovation Range page or at the paint desk, and stockists tint in store. Sample pots are worth it here, colour reads very differently on a full run of cabinets than on a chart.
How much does the Dulux Renovation Range cost?
Every product sits between $78 and $110 per litre at 2026 retail and covers 10 to 12m² per litre. A standard Melbourne kitchen with 15 to 20 cabinet doors runs roughly $200 to $400 in product for primer plus two topcoats. For the full job priced with labour, see what it costs to paint kitchen cabinets in Melbourne.
| Product | Price (1L) | Coverage | Finishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primer | ~$78 | 12m²/L | N/A |
| Cabinet Doors | $82–$110 | 12m²/L | Gloss, Satin |
| Tiles & Benchtops | $89–$108 | 10–12m²/L | Gloss, Satin |
| Floors | $89–$107 | 10–12m²/L | Gloss, Satin |
| Clear Coat | ~$89 | 12m²/L | Gloss, Satin |
Is it cheaper to paint or replace?
Painting cabinets costs $200–$400 DIY or $1,500–$4,000 professionally, against $5,000–$15,000+ to replace. Painting tiles costs $150–$300 DIY or $800–$2,000 professionally, against $3,000–$8,000+ to retile.
| Kitchen cabinets | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Paint (DIY, Renovation Range product) | $200–$400 |
| Paint (professional painter) | $1,500–$4,000 |
| Replace (new cabinetry + install) | $5,000–$15,000+ |
| Bathroom tiles | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Paint (DIY, Renovation Range product) | $150–$300 |
| Paint (professional painter) | $800–$2,000 |
| Retile (remove + supply + install) | $3,000–$8,000+ |
What goes wrong with the Dulux Renovation Range?
Almost every failed Renovation Range job traces back to one of four preparation shortcuts. The product has mixed DIY reviews online, and the pattern in them is consistent:
- Grease left on the surface. Kitchen cabinets carry an invisible film of cooking residue. Primer cannot bond through it, and the finish peels in sheets months later.
- Primer skipped. The topcoats are not designed to grip laminate or tile on their own. No primer, no adhesion, no exceptions.
- Coats laid on too thick. Heavy coats trap solvents and bubble. Two thin coats always beat one thick one.
- The cure rushed. Touch dry is not cured. Stacking plates on a benchtop or scrubbing a splashback in week one leaves permanent marks.
None of these are product faults, but the product does nothing to save you from them. Budget as much time for cleaning and sanding as for painting and the odds change completely.
What results should you expect?
A well-executed Renovation Range job reads as a new kitchen from a metre away, but it is a painted finish, not a factory finish. Look closely at a repainted cabinet door and you may pick brush marks or a slight texture that a factory two-pack spray finish would not have. Spraying gets closest to factory-smooth, which is why it is worth understanding the difference between spray and brush finishes on kitchen cabinets before starting. On tiles, the grout lines paint over in the same colour as the tile face, so the checkerboard look of contrasting grout disappears; a grout pen can redraw the lines afterwards if you want them back.
Colour choice does a lot of the heavy lifting in the before-and-after. Dated orange-toned timber or beige laminate repainted in a current white, sage or deep green changes the age of a kitchen more than any other single trade, and it is the reason the range keeps winning makeover budgets.
Should you DIY it or get a painter in?
If you are confident with preparation and patient with drying times, DIY is genuinely viable. If the finish has to be spot-on, a professional costs far less than stripping a failed finish and starting again. The honest test: have you sanded and painted doors before, and can the kitchen be out of action for the coats and the cure? If yes, the products are forgiving enough in careful hands. If no, a professional interior painter brings the surface preparation discipline that decides the result, and professional cabinet painting at $1,500 to $4,000 still lands at a third of the cheapest replacement quote.