MDF vs Wood for Painted Doors
You’ve selected your box construction, drawers, door style, and you know you want a painted finish for your project. Now to choose, painted on maple or painted on MDF? There are a number of key differences between the two we will be discussing in this article to help you make the best choice!
Below are examples of both maple and MDF product. (MDF, Maple, Maple, MDF)
Living in the Canadian Praries, there are huge swings in humidity which causes expansion and contraction in wood products. This is a completely natural process that effects solid wood doors. When there are small amounts of expansion and contraction in a wood grain door, the shadow lines are concealed by the wood grain, and by the next season the expansion happens again and the door doesn’t appear to have changed much at all.
On a painted maple door, the wood joints that expand and contract have a solid layer of paint on top. Once the hairline crack has developed, there will forever be a shadow line on the door. This is most evident on painted white and light finishes.
If you are a highly detailed type-a personality (which you might be if you are reading a post about the best substrate for painted cabinetry) I would not walk but run far from a painted wood product. MDF has come a long way in both the smooth finish of the material and the tooling available to create a multitude of stylish doors profiles. It is important to see a sample of the painted finish no matter what cabinetry line you are looking at. Some important things to check for are texture on the door (the orange peel look signifies a sub-par MDF being used), signs of wear and discoloration such as shiny marks where it has been rubbed. These are dead giveaways for a painted product that won’t stand up over time.
A common concern associated with MDF is water absorption. When your MDF door is properly finished with a solid back, water won’t be able to penetrate the MDF substrate and swelling is rarely an issue. To see the results of our three material soak test, click here.
We know choosing the right material for your investment is of the utmost importance. If you have any questions or concerns about choosing the material for your project, reach out to us, we love all things cabinetry, materials, and finishes.
