Sorry - on my monitor I can't see anything.

I can see the spots on my ancient iPad- but not my antique MacBook. As for the provenance of the spots I am clueless. Your kitchen is beautiful btw.

yes it's got flecks. the mixing of the materials or something came out of solution.....it's a problem with the chemicals in the batch they used because it's all over...or something along those lines. It will be up to you to pursue any avenue you feel you need to pursue because it maybe an unknowing /unintentional outcome and hard to exactly know at which step of the process, and exactly why, this happened. Talk to a supervisor or manager or field technician. Bypass the designer for this issue. This, to me, is something you should not accept.

I'm pretty sure that is thermofoil. Plastic wrap. Not paint. There is no "mixing" of anything for thermofoil.

If there is any variation in color, which I can't see in that picture, the #1suspect is a cleaning solution and cloth used to clean it with leaving microscopic lint behind. What did your cabinet company instruct you to clean it with? Describe what your care routine has been.

These are lacquer painted MDF cabinets. They are not thermofoil. They are from a very reputable kitchen company in my city. The specks have been there from the very beginning of getting the doors. Before any sort of care routine.

Hmm, single piece routed doors are usually reserved for thermofoil wraps. Painted mdf is usually a 5 piece door, so that it resembles actual wood construction. A painted single piece routed door is an unusual choice. But, again, what has been the care routine that they recommended? What products have been used? Also what type of varnish was used? PreCat? PostCat? Brand? Was the paint fully cured?

No products have been used on the doors (if something like pasta sauce got on a door, I have used a cloth with water to wipe it off). This has been there since the initial installation. It is not attributable to a product that has been used.

Maybe a more close up shot would help to see what I am talking about?

I can see it....and it would bother me too. You need to have someone visit your home to see the gray specks and figure out a resolution that will work for you. You did a beautiful job on your kitchen!

Forward that last picture to YOUR designer who handled your job. This is defective and will be covered by the cabinet manufacturer. He may want to repaint or replace. It's not important to figure out what the cause is. It could be improperly mixed paint not put in the shaker long enough or anything. Improper prior gun cleanout after a grey color or same for the cup or hose if they use a remote container. Take your door and place it next to a sample door. Get both in the same picture. Compare at magnification. One will be defective unless they are both identical. Have your designer contact the CS rep and get that picture to them. Keep all your correspondence.

It shows up in the closeup. That looks like it was sprayed on site and not in a clean room. Or, they didn't have a clean clean room! This is a local "custom" shop, right? Not a national manufacturer? I would still like to know what exactly was used. That might narrow down the issues.

Yes, your are correct. It was a local custom shop in Canada (Ottawa). It was sprayed in their shop. None of their doors that I looked at in their showroom today looked like that...

The finish is smooth. When our doors were initially installed, I thought it was dirt/dust and was trying to wipe it off. Then I realized that was how the door was - it was not dirt.

@Lily'smom - I know what you mean about the designer not being able to see it. My question to her when I went was whether it was normal or not. And then she was like, I do not see anything. She repeated that many times. My husband can see it, I can see it (without my glasses and my vision is not awesome) - it almost made me rage-y for her to say she saw absolutely nothing. Lol. She was like "oh, maybe there is a shadow." No, there is no shadow. I compared to doors at their showroom, and the doors there were fine.

My one door that had to be repainted at initial installation is fine. For comparison purposes, here is a close up photo of my one door that is fine (bottom) and an example of all the rest:

I can see it. You have a problem with the finish. I have lacquer painted MDF cabinet doors. They are raised panel one piece units. They do not look like this. I also have some thermofoil cabinets in the laundry room. They look nothing like these.

I suggest you have the designer come to your house to look at it. Or, you can take one of the doors into the showroom to show her the problem. Insist that she contact the manufacturer for a warranty consultation. If she refuses, get her boss to do it.

This is a manufacturer error. Decide what it will take to make you happy. Then, insist upon it.

If it was clean room contamination, then the debris could possibly be sanded out and another coat applied. If it was due to the catalyst acting too slowly (maybe too cool?) and the paint being still soft when wiped down, I don't think it can be fixed enough to be blemish free and starting over would be best.

Since they replaced a door after the install with the correctly finished door you pictured the problem was likely episodic, maybe limited to your job. Go directly to the local cabinet shop owner if you have to. This won't put him out of business. Stuff happens. He'll step up I'm sure. This is not typical.

Whichever person repeatedly denied the problem I wouldn't want involved in or recommended for any future work.

Thanks for your comments everyone. It makes me feel better that I am not the only one that sees it and it is good to know that this is not "normal". I have sent photos to my designer for her to see. She has been really great to work with, so hopefully she will help me resolve this. The cabinets were locally made at the place where I boght them, so it would just be a matter of re-spraying them there, I think. (They already re-sprayed the one door). I will update with the outcome of this.

Yes, can definitely see the spots in the closeup. NOT right at all!

Well, the fact that you have one door that doesn't have the specks, is further proof that it's not "normal."

I paint MDF doors all the time (doing it right now in fact). Raw MDF has a speckled look. Can't tell from a picture if the MDF is telegraphing through do to insufficient coverage or some contaminate in the paint or spraying environment. Either way that is not your problem to figure out. This is not an acceptable paint finish so they have to decide whether the cost of redoing it out weighs the negative press they will get if they don't. You need to put that in front of someone who has a financial interest in the outcome not a sales person who obviously needs to update their eyeglass perception.

I totally see the specks. I would go above the designer's head, that isn't right.

Although I do agree I would go directly to the cabinet guy if possible. If you need to involve the designer, bring a magnifying glass and ask her to quit playing games.

That's great!