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Shop Talk with Amiel Mesner

The most common question people ask us is: Are Painted Kitchen Cabinets Durable? Yes they are – if they are painted by Arteriors!

As long as you have quality cabinets worth saving, Arteriors can paint your cabinets for less than the cost of replacing them!

If your kitchen’s oak or cherry panels look dated and dreary, solid colors, antique glazes and accents (like darkened corners or detailed edges) can update cabinets and reinvigorate your whole kitchen!

Many clients are concerned that paint on slick and hard cabinets might wear off.  This is a very relevant question because paint doesn’t like to stick to hard and slick surfaces.

And kitchen cabinets get a lot of abuse from being touched all the time.  But with the right products and application method, our painted finishes can be just as durable, smooth and free of imperfections as a factory finish.

Along with our artistic skills and quality work, we only use water-based paint—because it’s much friendlier to the environment.  Arteriors has a long standing commitment to use only healthy and sustainable materials. We won’t compromise our principles for any job – and that has led us to be a leader in the field.  Recent advances in water based paints now allow us to use products that are both durable and non-toxic.

Cabinets are commonly mass produced by spraying on toxic oil-based lacquer.  Spraying is so horrible for the environment that it’s illegal inside homes because of the Clean Air Act to control emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs).   Arteriors uses only low- or no-VOC water-based paint and primer.

Some factory finishes can vary and have subtle and not-so-subtle defects, including how they chip easily and frequently need repair. Lacquer doesn’t fully adhere to raw wood without a primer – a step which sometimes is skipped.

In fact, durability isn’t about hard or thick paint.  As I learned from my father, a paint chemist: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.  The real secret to durability is adhesion.  The strongest bond and highest durability is created by meticulous preparation and application of an adhesion primer.

Our method is this:  first, we degloss all surfaces.  Then we sand areas with that will get heavy use, like around the handles or knobs and the cabinets under the sink.  Other spots that are touched frequently include areas for trash disposal and dishwasher panels.  Carefully prepping these high-touch surface ensures that the primer will adhere well.  After a coat of primer we use a superior product such as: Cabinet Coat by Insl-X applied by brush or with a foam roller to get a smooth finish.

Factories just spray oil-based lacquer and treat every area the same.  A hard lacquer can actually be less durable because it is more susceptible to cracking and peeling.  Water-based paint is more flexible and dries less hard – which actually is a benefit.   Arteriors can give you new painted kitchen cabinets with a durable factory like finish without damage to your health or the environment!

Arteriors: connecting feeling to art. Committed to enviro-friendly beauty and durability.

Gorgeous designer paint finishes. Inspired murals. Italian plasters. Metal leaf. Enviro-friendly materials. Eye CANDY that WOWs. That's Arteriors.

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