Q: We built a second home in North Carolina in 2003. The kitchen cabinets were manufactured to resemble beadboard, but the material is synthetic; we think it's called thermofoil. The cabinets have now started turning from white to beige, and they no longer match the framing. We were told by the cabinetmaker that the company that manufactured this material has gone out of business, and nothing can be done.
Because there are many doors and drawer fronts, it would not be feasible to have new ones made. We are somewhat handy, especially with painting. Is there a product that would last the wear and tear of a kitchen and be easy to apply? Are there companies that refinish doors like these?
Bethesda, Md.
A: Thermofoil, also known as RTF for “rigid thermofoil,” is a thin layer of vinyl that’s often bonded with heat and pressure to cabinet components made of MDF, or medium-density fiberboard, a type of particleboard. The heat softens the plastic layer when it’s being applied, and vacuum-pressing helps it conform to shapes. This allows manufacturers to computer-control a router to cut MDF, so it looks like a frame-and-panel door with a shaped center panel — even one with the vertical grooves that give doors like yours their beadboard look. Topped by the vinyl layer, the MDF is protected from moisture, which would make it swell and distort. The surface is seamless and easy to wipe clean. And probably the top reasons thermofoil doors are so popular: The doors are much less expensive than those made of solid wood, and they don’t have to be flat slabs, as they would if they were particleboard topped with standard laminate.
One downside is that thermofoil can bubble up or slump if it gets too hot, which can happen if a door is close to an oven. Another, as you’ve noticed, is that the color can change over time. White is particularly problematic, especially when the doors are on cabinets that still look pristinely white in comparison.
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Door manufacturers typically apply thermofoil only to the fronts and edges of doors. The backs are usually melamine, a baked-on finish. Cabinet-box interiors often have an easy-to-clean finish, such as a laminate. The exteriors, where they show, may be laminated, painted or covered with a separate, pre-finished panel.
If you mainly want to get all the parts of your cabinets to match, the simplest solution would be to paint the cabinet boxes to the off-white color that shows on the doors. Take a door or drawer front with you to the paint store, and have paint tinted to match. Once everything is the same off-white color, they might all “read” as being white, not beige.
The other option is to paint the doors and drawer fronts to match the cabinet boxes. You could do this yourselves, if you’re careful, or hire a painter.
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Either way, the first step is to wash the surfaces you’ll be painting. Kitchen cabinets are particularly prone to being smudged with oily grime; because of this, warm water with a little hand dishwashing detergent, which might work in other rooms, may leave kitchen cabinets still feeling gummy. A better solution is to wash with an ammoniated cleaner or your own mixture of one part ammonia and three parts water. Wear rubber gloves, and ensure there’s good ventilation. Wring out the cloth or sponge, and be careful not to soak the edges where the thermofoil on the doors meets the melamine backs or where there’s edge banding on the cabinet boxes. Wipe off the residue with clear water, and dry with a clean cloth.
Then lightly sand with 120- or 180-grit sandpaper or a sanding sponge (just enough to dull the surface). Even though you’ll be using a primer that says it sticks to slick surfaces without sanding, a light sanding helps ensure a good bond and is worth the extra time. Wipe or vacuum off the sanding debris. For primer, use a product such as Zinsser’s 1-2-3 water-based primer ($22.98 a gallon at Home Depot).
If you’re painting the doors, you might want to take them down, so you can remove the hinges and not risk getting paint on them. You can paint at a comfortable height, and putting the doors flat on sawhorses or other supports helps minimize drips. Be sure to label the doors and hinges, so you can get everything back in the same place.
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To paint efficiently, use a hot-dog-size roller to get paint onto the surface, and follow up immediately with a brush to whisk away globs in corners and in beadboard grooves; the brush can also level bumps left by the roller. But work quickly. Roll a section, then whisk. As you paint the next area, use the brush to feather out edges, so you don’t leave ridges. Avoid touching up areas you’ve already painted, because that would interfere with the way the paint dries, and it could leave the surface more blemished than before. Once the primer dries, you can (if needed) give any thin areas a second coat of primer or sand and re-prime any uneven areas.
Let the primer dry for the time recommended on the label. Then brush on whatever paint you want. Enamel looks great on cabinets. But be aware that oil-based white paint can yellow in time. Water-based enamel doesn’t pose that risk. Apply two coats of the topcoat paint.
All of this advice assumes that the thermofoil is still intact. If it’s chipped, sand down the rough edges. If it’s coming loose, you might be able to peel off the whole finish after softening it with a hair dryer or heat gun. If that leaves adhesive residue or takes off some of the MDF, sand or fill, then prime and paint. But use a solvent-based primer, such as Zinsser’s B-I-N shellac-based primer ($46.98 a gallon at Home Depot); a water-based primer next to bare MDF can make the wood fibers swell.
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Or you could send the damaged doors to a company such as Thermofoil Repair (800-705-2805; thermofoilrepair.com) to have the thermofoil stripped and replaced. This costs $199 a door when a whole kitchen is being redone, said Manager Roger Sullivan. The price for just a couple of doors would be higher.
Or you can order replacement doors for the damaged ones. Cabinet Doors ‘N’ More (cabinetdoorsnmore.com) offers thermofoil-coated Shaker-style doors with beadboard-style center panels, the same basic style you have. But you would need to ensure the beadboard detail matches. A door 18 inches wide and 30 inches high would cost $129.60, plus $4 per door for hinge boring.
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