Painting Thermofoil Cabinet Doors

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Painting thermofoil cabinet doors.

The cabinet boxes and faceframes can be repainted to match. First i lightly sanded all of the cabinet doors drawer fronts and vanity frame with sand paper. Thermofoil is a versatile pvc vinyl coating that gives the look and feel of a finished cabinet door. Thermofoil is a thin pvc vinyl material that is applied to mdf under both vacuum pressure and heat.

Painting thermofoil cabinet doors although thermofoil cabinets are easy to maintain they can be difficult to paint. How to prep thermofoil cabinets for paint. Repainting mdf cabinets use a quality mdf primer spray over the sanded and cleaned thermofoil cabinet surfaces or roll on a liquid primer. If your cabinet doors are in really rough shape peeling you may want to consider having new doors made.

While the bond between the thermofoil and mdf has short term integrity over the longer term this bond can fail. These types of cabinets are durable and keep their color for the long haul. Enamel paints are also a good choice because they are extremely durable and will last a long time without chipping and scratching. Although thermofoil is typically not meant to be painted you can successfully complete this job with a handy instructional guide and some basic painting tools.

This will seal the underlying porous mdf and create a protective layer. They are extremely strong and durable but they can also begin to peel over time. The material is usually not meant to be painted but it can be done with proper preparation. Repaint the doors in a few steps after facing a virtual rainbow of color choices to complement your décor.

Before applying your paint and primer you will need to remove any dust dirt or debris from your thermofoil cabinets. But thermofoil cabinets are especially prone to delamination. Unfortunately you really can t paint over thermofoil. Choose a satin finish latex paint if you aren t interested in a high gloss finish.

Step 1 wash your cabinets. Thermofoil cabinets have a thin layer of vinyl covering mdf. This is a good example of the thin layer of thermofoil coating and what the cabinet looks like below that layer. Thermofoil is created by heat fusing a thin layer of laminate vinyl.

The primer is also needed for the overlying slick of paint to adhere well to the surface and cut down on chips and cracks. Enamel is typically very glossy. This would give the kitchen a whole new look derrek holland of the closet doctor added. If you don t want to replace all of the cabinets we usually suggest replacing just the thermofoil on the doors and drawer fronts.

You can choose to use any water based latex paint for the thermofoil cabinet doors. I paid special attention to the cabinet door that had peeled.