Painted
Painted doors are highly durable and resilient due to their consistent finish. Each door is individually sprayed on all 4 sides giving it a smooth and even finish that prevents peeling and bubbling on your door fronts.
Painted doors, especially those in custom colours have a longer lead time meaning longer to get your new kitchen. As long as you are prepared when starting your kitchen design journey, this is not always an issue. The alternatives may be cheaper and available from stock or on a reduced lead time, but this is not always a positive thing.
Although painted doors are slightly less durable than lacquered doors, small scuff or scratches are easy to repair.
At Aston designs we can offer you a kitchen in 45+ painted colours in more than 20 styles, both traditional and modern, as well as one of the over 2,500 RAL colours in 9 different styles
Lacquered
A lacquered door front is produced in a very similar way to a painted door front, however a clear coat is added, which once dry, produces a more durable and often shiny finish. Like painted doors they do not have an edge which can begin to peel over time, making them perfect for a kitchen that will stand the test of time. Lacquer is flexible and can adapt to the expanding and contracting of your kitchen doors over time, resulting in less stress on your cabinets.
Solid timber
Solid timber doors are made just as the name suggests, out of solid timber. These kinds of doors are top of the range and therefore hold a hefty price tag.
Cabinets made of solid wood have a rather long life, if taken care of properly. They can be refinished and repainted multiple times over their lifetime, giving them more flexibility in ever changing design trends. Wood, like other natural materials are also timeless assuming you pick a colour that won’t date them too much.
Timber doors much like timber worktops require constant and careful maintenance, timber is a porous material that can warp when exposed to high humidity or excessive water and will mould if not properly dried.
Laminate
Typically, flat ‘slab’ style doors with an MDF core, laminate doors come in a wide range of colours. Laminate doors are individually faced on each side with a 1mm thick laminate sheet and are bound around the edges. Laminate doors are easy to clean and are cost effective, however they are extremely prone to peeling and so may be an option to steer clear of if you are looking for a kitchen with significant longevity.
Vinyl
Although they are both made with an MDF core, the process of making a vinyl wrapped door is more sophisticated than that of a laminate door. The final finish is sometimes known as a vinyl jacket as it is made from a single piece moulded around the MDF core and bound together with heat activated glue.
Vinyl doors can be produced in a wide range of styles thanks to the materials initially being separate, as designs can be routed into the MDF core before being covered. Vinyl is more cost effective although are lower quality and prone to peeling over time compared to painted doors.
Melamine
Melamine faced doors are constructed from chipboard and faced with ultra-thin melamine sheets, very similar to the construction of laminate doors. This style of door generally come with textured wood or concrete effects however melamine face doors can come in a wide range of matt colours as well.