Slick factory surfaces such as thermofoil, melamine and laminate shed ordinary paint, so this kind of cabinet painting starts with an adhesion primer that grips them, followed by a sprayed enamel topcoat that holds for years.
These surfaces fill London condos along Richmond Street, the rental houses of Old North and Broughdale, and the builder kitchens of Hyde Park and Summerside from 1995 to 2010. Each one can be painted if it is sound. Doors that are already peeling belong on the refacing and door replacement page instead.
Melamine And Laminate Hold Cabinet Painting Once An Adhesion Primer Is Down
Melamine and laminate are paper or plastic sheets bonded to particleboard, and nothing sticks to them without help. Ordinary primer beads up, then comes away in one sheet. A waterborne adhesion primer designed for glossy surfaces bites into them, is fully bonded after three or four days, and gives the enamel something to hold.
Prep follows the same order as every other cabinet painting job: degrease, scuff-sand until no sheen remains anywhere, wipe down, bond-prime, sand the primer, then spray on enamel in two or three light passes. Edges get special care, since a chipped melamine edge is the one spot where a finish can lift, so chips get filler and sanding ahead of the primer.
Intact Thermofoil Can Be Painted, And Peeling Thermofoil Cannot
Thermofoil is a vinyl skin vacuum-pressed over a shaped MDF door. Where the vinyl is still tight, the door is degreased, scuffed, bond-primed and sprayed like laminate, and thermofoil cabinet painting lasts as long as any other. Where the vinyl has lifted, most often along the top edges of the doors flanking the range and over the dishwasher, paint cannot fix it. Paint does not glue vinyl back to MDF, and the heat that lifted it will keep lifting it under the new colour.
There are two honest answers for a peeling door. Heat can strip the vinyl down to the MDF, which then gets sealed, primed and sprayed along with everything else, or a new door in a matching profile can take its place and be painted to match. The quote lists each peeling door by position and prices both options, and we say which one we would pick.
Cabinet Painting In Condo And Rental Kitchens Is Mostly Melamine Work
London condos and student rentals were fitted with melamine because it was cheap and wipeable, and it has held up better than its reputation. A ten-door galley in a tower off Wonderland Road or a twelve-door kitchen in a rental near Fanshawe takes two days of cabinet painting, its doors at the booth and its boxes sprayed where they are. Building logistics are covered on the condo kitchen page.
What The Bonding Primer Adds To A Cabinet Painting Quote
Ontario market figures put the bonding primer step at a few hundred dollars over a plain wood kitchen, because the primer costs more and the scuff-sanding takes longer. Stripping peeling thermofoil is priced per door, and replacing a door is priced per door. The written quote shows each of those as its own line beside the standard cabinet painting price, so a kitchen with two bad doors is not priced as if every door were bad.
Ask Whether The Doors Can Be Painted In London
Photograph the worst door, send it, and we will say whether cabinet painting, stripping or replacement is the answer. Use the form or call +1 (226) 271-3465. The London Cabinet Painting home page covers every other service we run.
Thermofoil, Melamine and Laminate Cabinet Painting Questions
Can peeling thermofoil be painted?
No. Paint does not glue vinyl back onto MDF, and the heat that lifted it will keep lifting it under the new colour. The vinyl can be stripped to bare MDF, then sealed, primed and sprayed, or the door can be replaced with a matching profile and painted to match.
Why does ordinary primer fail on melamine?
Melamine and laminate are paper or plastic sheets bonded to particleboard. Ordinary primer beads up and comes away in one sheet. A waterborne adhesion primer made for glossy surfaces bites into them and is fully bonded after three or four days.
How long does a melamine kitchen take?
A ten-door galley or twelve-door kitchen takes about two days in the home. The doors go to the booth for priming and spraying, and the boxes are sprayed in place inside plastic containment. Chipped edges get filler and sanding before the primer.