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zippity_do_dah

Which cabinet finish is long lasting? California

Zippity-do-dah
11 years ago

Hi Everyone

We are about to decide on painted kitchen cabinets for our rebuild/remodel. I have been to a couple of Kitchen Designers who order cabinets made out of state (we are in California) and they assure us that the catalyzed finish done in other states is FAR SUPERIOR to ANY cabinet finish done in California because of the strict rules.

Our General Contractor (whom we respect) recommends a local California custom cabinet maker over any cabinets coming in from out of the area. The cabinet maker says he uses a catalyzed lacquer which is equally good....insists it is already catalyzed etc.

So, here we are, about to spend 10s of thousands of dollars and not getting a clear answer. This is to be our "forever" home.

Some other threads here on GW talk about this. People who have had chipping of paint were told it wasn't primed correctly. Also, so many different points of view. Someone here must know the truth....I suspect it is not tricky for anyone in the cabinet industry who is nonbiased.

Which is better? Made out of state by a large cabinet making company or locally & custom with catalyzed lacquer?

Thank you!!

Comments (13)

  • belasea
    11 years ago

    Hi, I live in CA and had custom cabinets made for my very small kitchen two years ago. While I'm happy that I was able to get the cabinets the exact size that I needed, the paint is chipping off on the cabinet under the sink and the paint has cracks on the dishwasher cover. I'm very disappointed in the paint quality and if I had to do it over again I would order from out of state. When I contacted my contractor, he told me that he has seen a lot of paint fail, even on expensive brands. It didn't make me feel any better. The kitchen is only 2 years old and we will need to repaint before it is 5 years old! We do not have children, so it's not like we have been hard on them. One final note though, I don't think our cabinet maker was a master cabinet maker and I didn't think he put a lot of care in the cabinets, for example he didn't completely paint the inside of the fridge panel and said no one could see it. I can and thought this was lazy and not detailed on his part. I would ask for referrals from the cabinet maker from someone who has painted cabinets by him from at least a few years ago. Hope this helps.

  • dan1888
    11 years ago

    As part of your decision process get a sample door from each.

  • Zippity-do-dah
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks everybody for sharing your experiences and the great suggestion of a sample door from both.

    The custom cabinet maker was less than the Kitchen Designer by $8,000. I have seen his finished work....it's fabulous, sturdy etc etc.

    But I am still agonizing over the finish.

    Maybe I need to find another Kitchen Designer to compare prices.

  • mailfox7
    11 years ago

    Do yourself a favor and run from anything with a finish from CA! We made sure our cabinets were finished out of state. (yes, we live in the sunshine state) Four years now and our factory finished cabinets are holding up beautifully.

    BTW, wish we could get our (outside)house trim paint factory finished! Even with FPE (new formula), only get 2 years at most.

  • mailfox7
    11 years ago

    However, having said that, my mother's cabinets (also in CA) were finished with Fine Paints of Europe (old formula) and still look great today!

  • michoumonster
    11 years ago

    I am also in CA. I remember reading a thread a while back about a lady in southern CA going to an autobody shop for her cabinet finishes, which I thought sounded like a good idea (but I haven't tried it). If it is good enough for cars though, it probably will hold up well in a kitchen. Anyway, might be worth looking into for you?

  • Zippity-do-dah
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks everyone - sounds like factory baked finish is the way to go!

  • craezie
    11 years ago

    I am in California, and had my cabinets finished 2 years ago. There is serious chipping and scuffing along the edges already. Since the refinishing was only a temporary fix for me, and I'm about to replace the cabinets now I am over it. If they were new, I would be seriously angry. I agree that California finishes are unacceptable. The irony is that I am definitely an environmentalist and support laws that keep toxicity and pollution to a minimum. However, IMO the dumb paint laws in this state work against us because they just make you repaint or replace far more often than you ever would have otherwise.

  • msrose
    11 years ago

    Is this a California issue or a factory finish vs what a local cabinet maker can do? Just wondering since I'm in Texas.

  • Zippity-do-dah
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Msrose, This is a California issue. Texas doesn't have the strict environmental laws that Calif has. I'm certain all cabinet makers in Texas are able to use the longer lasting and baked finishes that are outlawed here. Everytime they offer any environmental issues on our election ballots, we all vote for them....me included. Can you believe, since we are doing a large remodel, we will have to tear out our perfectly fine cement driveway and change it over for a permeable one? I voted for that one, too....wanted our town to be proud that it was "green". LOL

  • zone10jane
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago


    We live in California. Within one year of buying our house we had a slab leak that ruined 1/2 the kitchen cabinets. We opted to reface the old and replace the damaged ones. It was dramatically cheaper to go this route. We got beautiful maple cabinets made by a local cabinet maker, and the raw wood cabinets were stained on site. The finisher took the drawers and doors to his shop for refinishing.

    Less than 10 years later the stained finish is gummy and worn away around many of the knobs and on areas that get touched a lot or are exposed to cleaners and water. I can scrape away the finish with my fingernail. We were warned the California finish would not be durable, but since this was not our forever house, budget was our #1 objective. My neighbor remodeled at the same time using out-of-state cabinets. Hers still look new.

    We stayed here longer than expected and I wish I had paid for better cabinets.

    A different neighbor had her wood banister re-done with a marine grade product. I'm not sure if it was legal, but her painter said it was the only way to make it last. As mentioned above, I also have a friend that owns a car body shop. They repainted their bedroom furniture at the shop and it looks great!

  • PRO
    JOHN DANCEY Custom Designing/Remodeling/Building
    3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    This is not a California problem. Finishes are water tight to different degrees. If water gets in behind the paint and cant get out it will pop the paint. Finish breathing letting moisture out helps. Around sinks is the worst and always peels first. If your paneled doors crack at the joints water will get in. Recommend maybe a carnauba wax to prevent moisture getting in. How well the material handles water also makes a difference.

    lets use siding as an example, Wood siding like cedar, mahogany, white oak, rarely peels paint. Wereas Yellow pine pops paint easily. Stucco rarely peels paint. but using paints that breathe is important. Water base poly on concrete floors to breathe,

    Hardness is a issue though. You want a hard finish on cabinets. But most hard finishes dont breathe as well.