It is mostly B.S.

You don't paint gallon by gallon. You buy what you need for the job. If you need three gallons for the job you mix the three together so there is no lot difference. You contractor is full of it.

As for shortages and trouble getting paint, yes. My husband is a paint contractor and he is waiting on supply frequently these days. He has a job now that is on hold until he can get the materials.

@bry911 - pics are attached so you can see the variation. We chose BM Chantilly Lace and it is NOT a creamy white.

@Sherry - the first about mixing paint didn’t sound legit. And if the paint shortage is a thing, he could have avoided it if he had ordered it for the cabinets and trim at the same time so they could be painted in parallel but true to form, he waited until the cabinets were installed to order the trim paint (and then we still need to have it painted) which makes zero sense. 🙄

He needs to repaint it all so it matches. Even if he buys multiple 5 gallon buckets he needs to mix the 5s so the paint is consistent. That is painting 101. I told my husband about your dilemma and his reactions was, "yeah, everyone thinks they can paint and it is so easy."

There should be NO variation in the paint color or finish. Whoever did this goofed and should redo it.

So, I see a few problems with the cabinets.

First, the easy stuff... if the second picture is for glass doors your painter should probably paint the inside of the cabinets. That should be standard for cabinets with glass doors unless you specifically wanted it different for some reason.

Next, this is definitely a redo, what that means depends on the specific products used and the situation you are in. The greatest thing about lacquer is that it is repairable and forgiving. So they can probably do a good tape job and respray the cabinets after installation with proper safety precautions. In my opinion you should not be occupying the home when sprayed and for a day or two after, but some believe me overly cautious. If you could get the actual products used I could get you a better opinion.

Blocking (mixing together different cans) of lacquer is only marginally effective. Blocked lacquer can still look different if sprayed in different conditions, so the preferred method is to shoot the entire topcoat at one time, which can usually be done out of the same gallon. Sometimes shop conditions make this difficult, which is why most shops are moving to poly's rather than lacquers because they are more tolerant of the environmental conditions.

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ETA: It doesn't matter why it happens, whether it is a mixing problem, a spraying problem, a prep problem, etc. It is not acceptable. If the cabinet shop can't get the product to look the same on doors and face-frames then they should not use that product. If they can't get any coating to match on doors and face-frames then they should stop making cabinets.

Appreciate it! I know this is going to be a fight...if I had to guess, some boxes came as a certain white (like the semi-custom) and then he had the others painted the white we requested. The only problem is that he doesn’t understand that “white” has hundreds of different shades. So he’s throwing the painter under the bus and making fake excuses - I don’t care how Chantilly lace is mixed, it is NOT a creamy white.

I appreciate the help...the glass boxes should have been painted on the insides so that will be another fun part of the discussion. 🙄

@User - I don't think any of these cabinets are site painted, they are all finished by the cabintmaker. They are likely all sprayed with the same coatings (so same chemistries), but don't match, as either the tint was off or the spraying conditions were significantly different.

Unexposed areas of cabinets are often painted differently. Certain styles are designed to be skinned (e.g. Ikea cabinets) in those cases the boxes will not match the doors and trim. That really only works well for frameless cabinets though. I assume this is the different mix of cabinets you are referring to.

They were ordered as custom (not ikea or the like)...I’m just noodling reasons how this happened. The cabinetmaker didn’t paint them - as I understand, the cabinets came unpainted and he had a painter paint them.

First, he said that they mix it as they go so there can be variation. Now he’s saying it’s Sherwin Williams’ fault. Wasn’t aware that he was using SW or paint matching BM, and I also know SW doesn’t guarantee color match. I can tell that some are the right color, but this white does not have creamy undertones - it’s almost a pure white with the lightest blue undertone. I have no idea what color he used on the creamy ones.

What product was actually used? I am fairly familiar with SW products so I might be able to give some insights if you find out the exact product.

Color matching between brands is tough. If I have a color that is being custom color matched I usually go to both SW and BM and have each create a sample and then pick the one that is closest to correct and tweak it till I am satisfied with the result. Whites are the toughest because their is very little color to start and the slightest difference changes the undertone of the white.

It sounds like they bought one gallon or maybe 2 and then found that they needed another to finish and went back to SW and got another gallon, but didn't take the formula with them and they did another color match.

The color match systems read the color using a light beam and measuring the reflected light attributes. You can read the same color 10 times in a row and get 10 slightly different readings.

Bri911 is right that many things can cause slight variation in color - temperature, humidity, spray density will change the lightness/darkness of a color, but doesn't change the hue or chroma. Getting two cans of paint from the same manufacturer, mixed with the same formula, will produce a slight variance in color - the drop of colorant was a micron larger or smaller in one can than the other. Pros mix the gallons together or purchase 5 gallon buckets to reduce the impact of these slight differences.

Your pictures do not represent what I would expect to see for either environmental changes or from not boxing the color (mixing the gallons). These look like they were painted with two gallons that had different color formulas.

To know what amount of yellowing you can expect we would need to know what product is being used.

Our GC had a rep from Sherwin Williams here yesterday. When you say the product used - is it a line (like Emerald is for regular wall paint)? Are there limited choices for the paint types? I need to know what I’m asking so I don’t sound like a dufus. :-)

This could be the problem - we have the GC who said to color match BM because BM doesn’t offer whatever this paint type is. Note: we were asked what color we wanted for the cabinets, and it was never suggested that we only had SW to choose from. 100%, if I had known they were color matching, I would have just picked a SW color because they have similar whites to what we chose. I really wish that had been done so this could ALL have been avoided. Anyway - the other two “players” are the SW guy who mixed the color, and finally, the painter who painted them. The GC was saying that whatever this paint it, it’s impossible to find. So he bought two gallons and had the boxes painted (they arrived before the faces), and then bought two more when the doors arrived. Three people in this mess, and I’m not sure which one really screwed it up.

Anyway, whomever was mixing got it wrong along the way (SW at fault)- and perhaps they should have just all been painted at once (GC at fault). But aside from the color, the texture also feels different (painter fault). Almost like the cabinets with the milky look is almost thicker or something. Like the texture of the actual paint feels different. I don’t know.

They’re going to fix them, but that requires taping off the kitchen, leaving the house (with two dogs and three cats) for at least a full day, taking off the hardware, throwing plastic up everywhere, etc. More of a general FUBAR to add to the 6-8 week timeline that will be 14 weeks next week with at least another month and now probably longer.

When you say the product used - is it a line (like Emerald is for regular wall paint)? Are there limited choices for the paint types? I need to know what I’m asking so I don’t sound like a dufus. :-)

It would be best if you could get the product number, tell them (Sherwin Williams) you want to look up the safety data sheet before having it sprayed in your home.

I am expecting either T77F32 or T77C30 if that helps.

You need to know exactly what you are paying for

The product data sheet for CC-F21 SHER-WOOD® Catalyzed Lacquer Full Gloss..T77C30 Medium Rubbed Effect .T77F32 includes the following statement:

• Natural wood will change color by itself and clear wood finishes will not keep this from occurring. This finishing lacquer and all other nitrocellulose based lacquers will yellow over time, with wood tone stains, this yellowing actually makes a warmer, softer appearance. Where white stains, pickled finishes, or white basecoats are used, nitrocellulose lacquers should not be used because the yellowing of the sealer and topcoat may be considered objectionable. For these applications, Sher-Wood Acrylic Conversion Coating is recommended.

If this is what you got it will yellow. The manufacturer is saying it will yellow.

Again, all three layers of your team should know this (if any of them can read).

Sadly, in this day and age you cannot trust anyone to do the right thing and need to educate yourself on every step of every project. Sucks, but it is reality.