Why do some painted wood cabinets look plastiic?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I’ve seem some painted finishes where they look like painted wood, and others that look a little shiny, more like plastic. Shiloh kind of has that plastic look, as well as some I’ve noticed at homedepot. Even knocking on them, they sound plastic. But they are wood except for the center panel. Why is this? Is it a different paint finish? Anyone have and love the more “plastic” looking kind? Thanks!

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Anglophilia

5 years ago

I have Shiloh cabinets in my kitchen and that was my initial impression, too! I later realized that it depends on the STYLE of the cabinet and the paint finish. The showroom sample was a raised panel door and it truly looked like it was molded out of plastic. It also had a glaze on top of the paint - yet another thing that looked "fake/plastiky". When I finally saw MY color (SW Repose Gray) on a Shaker door, it did not. Yes, the finish is very hard - far harder than even an oil-based enamel finish - so ones nails on it do sound "different".

If one is accustomed to a hand-painted finish on cabinets, it takes some getting used to! At one point, I considered ordering my cabinets UN-painted and having my painter hand-paint them for me. I've very glad I decided to NOT do that. Their finish is VERY easy to keep clean and really does not show finger smudges the way my hand-painted ones did. I very much doubt I could have afforded a painter who could have done such a good hand-paint job that I would have not regretted going that way. That's why cabinets like Plain English and Smallbone in the UK are so very expensive - all are hand-painted by people who are truly skilled artisans. I don't know about painters in your neck of the words, but "artisan" is not a word that would describe most of the painters where I live. The best one can hope for is "sober" when they show up!

The center panel on a Shaker door is usually MDF as it is less sensitive to changes in humidity and will not crack at the seams as easily as a wood panel.

I've had my Shiloh cabinets now for over 2 years and I'm very happy with them. And as anyone who has been on GW for very long knows, I'm VERY picky about just about everything!

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Comments (11)

artistsharonva
5 years ago
They may be thermafoil.

Avoid Foil cabinets. They will peel and cannot be repainted. Junk.

Get solid wood or MDF cabinet doors.

Make sure to see a door cut in half to know the material.

See a whole cabinet before purchasing a whole cabinet project.

If no whole assembled cabinet samples available, then avoid.

Or, order just 1 of the cabinets, inspect it, then order the rest it passes your expectations. That way you won't get stuck with a bunch of subpar cabinets & save a huge $$ headache.

Hope that helps; )
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Hillside House
5 years ago
Thermofoil vs. paint. Thermofoil today is very different than the thermofoil of the past, and a much higher quality. It's like comparing paint vs stain, or poly vs oiled finish. Apples and oranges.
jmm1837
5 years ago
I think we're talking thermofoil vs paint vs catalytic finish. Here in Australia, where I live, and in Europe what is called a two-pac finish is very common - it's almost like an auto paint process on cabinetry. Very hard, very shiny - not plastic at all - but I don't think it's caught on in the US yet.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago
I think my Ikea high gloss cabinets are a foil type finish I have had the same finish in my last 2 houses it has never failed me and I have a very busy kitchen all the time since I have a catering biz I run from my home. My kitchen now is 11 yrs old not one problem even around my wall ovens where I use the cleaning cycle quite often . Mine in this house are pure white and in my last one red.
HelloMarion
Original Author
5 years ago
I’m pretty sure the Shiloh ones I saw that had this finish are wood with m d f panel. I believe it’s their 16 step sprayed painting process which is so thick that it looks and sounds like plastic when you knock on it. Maybe it’s super durable, but it looks shiny and almost fake to me.
H202
5 years ago
Agree with jmm above - you may actually be looking at something that's far superior to paint. Or you may be looking at a cheap finish. I am amazed at all the painted cabinets in the US that literally are just done with two coats of oil or water based paint. There's just no way this is going to last 15 years at the kitchen sink without touch up. The two layer finish is, like described above, more like an automotive/marine paint that will last forever.
Caroline Kelly Kryger
last year
She’s not looking at thermofoil, she’s looking at painted wood like you would see at the Kraftmaid display in Home Depot . Looks like plastic, doesn’t look like wood. Do better lines have better more wood looking finishes ?
jvickycamp
last year
Pretty sure that latex and acrylic paint is plastic?
Caroline Kelly Kryger
last year
I guess that would make sense!
jvickycamp
last year
Ha. idk:)