The rage today is to use painted cabinets not stained.  Is this just to spend money?

Cleaning is painted or stained easier to clean?

Repair is painted or stained easier to repair?

Most painted cabients are in the light zone because they tend to hide dirt better.

What are your thoughts?

For me it may not be the grainy oak but maybe a less figured wood.

Or maybe oak stained to highlight the grain.

 

 

Painted cabinets usually cost a little more as well, so I'm not sure what the attraction is.

Glossy paint may be easier to clean. Paint works well on mismatched wood....MDF, even. Nicks and dings would be easier to hide with paint. 

But, stained wood is still my preference. 

I have never bowed to fashion when it comes to wood.  Wood should never be painted unless it is outdoors or if it is to be used for kids furniture and thrown away when they are done with it.  They can be hard on furniture.

45 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

Wood should never be painted

Amen!

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

Wood should never be painted

 

you got that right...

BUT: it may be necessary to keep the peace in a household ! Mine are still stained

Paint hides any minor imperfections, as well as cheap (particle board) construction. BUT.... the look is "IN", so the manufacturer can charge more for it. All MY wood is stained and varnished! Fortunately, the LOML agrees with me on that point.

John

Edited March 27, 20188 yr by HARO50

I like paint in the kitchen, And I better have liked paint ,because My wife did. And she cleaned them, and she painted them, and she liked White, did you know that there are more than one white? there are many whites. and every 2-3 years the whites change, and so did her kitchen white. The walls were white, the bathrooms were white, all the doors and casings were whit and the vinyl windows were white,the outside of the house was white, and the trim was a different white. The curtains were white, the towels were white,the bedding was all white,the cat was white , my truck was white, and the carpet was off white.

 

Herb

39 minutes ago, Dadio said:

I like paint in the kitchen, And I better have liked paint ,because My wife did. And she cleaned them, and she painted them, and she liked White, did you know that there are more than one white? there are many whites. and every 2-3 years the whites change, and so did her kitchen white. The walls were white, the bathrooms were white, all the doors and casings were whit and the vinyl windows were white,the outside of the house was white, and the trim was a different white. The curtains were white, the towels were white,the bedding was all white,the cat was white , my truck was white, and the carpet was off white.

 

Herb

WHITE ON MAN!

1 hour ago, Dadio said:

there are many whites.

I learned that many years ago in one of my previous positions in manufacturing. I had to spec out a specific white paint (by Dupont) for a customer...I seem to recall 46+ shades of white could be used and over 30 shades of gray. Most of the white shades I couldn't tell the difference especially under varying light conditions. Some of the women I worked with would tell me, "oh no that one is lighter or darker or creamier or..." I think they just liked messing with me.

10 hours ago, Michael Thuman said:

The rage today is to use painted cabinets not stained.  Is this just to spend money?

To your question Michael, IDK, but you are correct it is the "flavor of the month" using my terms. I will admit it worked out OK for my daughter when we remodeled her kitchen on a budget getting the house ready for sale.

 

We found some great used cabinets (Golden Oak finish) on CL and some almost identical at one of the local Habitat for Humanity ReStores plus purchased a couple new contractor grade to finish.  It would have taken a lot of work to strip, sand, stain, finish to a like finish. She bought a "kit" from Menard's specifically to prep and paint cabinets. Her color of choice was white. They came out far better than I would have every imagined and looked new. Her realtor loved them, couldn't believe they weren't new and said it was a big plus as a selling point.

 

I'm old school I guess and prefer the natural look of wood for cabinets, floors, trim, doors etc. "Course I still like the look of shiny brass door knobs, hinges, bath & kitchen fixtures too. By today's standards, that's nearly grounds to have me committed' so be it I guess. Eventually, the pendulum will swing back and it will all be in style again...shoot, look how people are going crazy for claw foot bath tubs now. We used to take those out and turn them in to horse & cattle water troughs.  Who would have guessed?

36 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

I'm old school I guess and prefer the natural look of wood for cabinets, floors, trim, doors etc.

Of course though Gramps, really old school is painted cabinets. The Shakers routinely painted their woodwork, as did much of old America. I find painted wood quite attractive actually, in a historical sense. I do find it interesting when folks claim that wood should never be painted, personally I like it.

 

Shaker Inbuilt furniture at Enfield Shaker village, New Hampshire

 

I really love a mix of painted and natural for a single piece.

 

One of my all time favorite Chair Makers Curtis Buchanan paints many of his chairs as our colonists did as well.

Curtis does a wonderful undertone of red and overtone of black, and sands through, then finishes with clear.

 

Not trying to force my own tastes on anyone, but to say wood should never be painted under any circumstance, for interior items, I don't know, just seems a bit arrogant. Not you Gramps! You're not arrogant by any means! Actually nobody here is arrogant, it just seemed like an arrogant statement, as I arrogantly write this, I sound arrogant too.

I just got a chuckle out of the "Old School" comment you made, I was thinking well, depends how far back you want to go to school!

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Dadio said:

And I better have liked paint

 

WHEW!!!!

3 hours ago, John Morris said:

personally I like it.

 

there must be a clinic that can help you w/ that...

I will admit, painting is expedient. Well, certainly more so than achieving a great finish on nature's work. If she wanted painted wood, she'd have grown painted trees. However, MDF does take paint quite well.

40 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

I will admit, painting is expedient. Well, certainly more so than achieving a great finish on nature's work. If she wanted painted wood, she'd have grown painted trees. However, MDF does take paint quite well.

Yes and mdf is cheap and heavy and harder on tools.

Also if the comprssed sawdust ever see water it expands quite drastically too.  Think of the wet fingers constantly grabbing the knob.  Eventually the fingernails will where thru the paint and then MDF gets wet.:(

When that happens with stained you just sand if off recoat and you are good for the next 10 or so years.

 

6 minutes ago, Michael Thuman said:

Eventually the fingernails will where thru the paint and then MDF gets wet.:(

That's why you would not use MDF

A pain-table ply, or if you want solid wood, I love working with poplar for painted projects.

I like to paint poplar, but not work with it as well. It tends to have the fuzzys,even when sanded.

I like to work with Alder and paint it, birch,beech and maple paint well. MDO plywood paints really well. I don't use any MDF.

Herb

On 3/26/2018 at 10:40 PM, Grandpadave52 said:

I learned that many years ago in one of my previous positions in manufacturing. I had to spec out a specific white paint (by Dupont) for a customer...I seem to recall 46+ shades of white could be used and over 30 shades of gray. Most of the white shades I couldn't tell the difference especially under varying light conditions. Some of the women I worked with would tell me, "oh no that one is lighter or darker or creamier or..." I think they just liked messing with me.

Yep. I think white (next to green) is a hard color to match.    I have about a dozen white toners to match touchups and I usually have to blend two or three of them.   Green is hard because the human eye can detect more variances of green than any other color (unless you are color blind).

 

A lot of white (and other paint colors) is glazed.   When you have to fix that, you have to do the whole piece because you can't blend it.

But as far as paint vs. clear finish -- all current fads.    I read this week that granite is no longer a current top choice for countertops.   Before granite it was Corian, now it's ??? (quartz?)