When it comes to refacing and refinishing your kitchen cabinets, there are many things you will need to consider before starting the process. Some include what areas of my cabinets need to be updated? Do I DIY my cabinets or hire Cabinet Cures to update them for me? Is this a job to replace my cabinet doors or to just refinish or reface them? Would solid wood be better than thermofoil for my kitchen?
Why Cabinet Cures uses wood vs thermofoil
These are important questions to consider as they have their own set of cons and pros. A very important question to consider is choosing between thermofoil or solid wood.
Thermofoil is a vinyl material that is compressed to MDF, particle board, or any other engineered wood with pressure, heat, and a vacuum system. This produces a smooth and seamless surface of a faux wood texture or solid color.
Medium-density fiberboard, MDF, is a combination of glue and wood molded into a specific kitchen cabinet drawer or door shape. MDF is less expensive than wood, while still giving the impression of wood. This is why it’s a popular choice for cabinets. Engineered wood is made of adhesives, resin, veneers, real wood, and fibers. Particle board and MDF are considered engineered wood. Due to its composition, thermofoil is only used on MDF or another engineered wood. It peels off quickly when applied to solid wood.
Now that thermofoil is has been defined and explained, let’s check out the pros and cons of wood verses thermofoil.
Pros of Thermofoil
There are various solid colors and wood textures to choose from for your kitchen. Thermofoil is an easy to clean, non-porous plastic vinyl that won’t stain and chip or crack in high humidity, just as long as it’s not damaged. Compared to the normal painted surfaces, it is more chip resistant and compared to bare wood and MDF, it is more water resistant. Thermofoil is less expensive than solid wood, which is one of the reasons why it’s very popular.
Next week we will cover Part 2 and discuss the cons of Thermofoil.