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Welcome to Acme Cabinet Doors. The home of high quality custom cabinet doors, crafted from the finest hand selected furniture grade hardwoods, all at our everyday low prices. These high quality custom cabinet doors can be used for new cabinets, kitchen cabinet refacing or updating, replacing cabinet doors, furniture, and much more. Feel free to browse our cabinet doors by clicking on them to find more info and pricing.
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AK-Alaska
AL-Alabama
AZ-Arizona
AR-Arkansas
CA-California
CO-Colorado
CT-Connecticut
DE-Delaware
FL-Florida
GA-Georgia
HI-Hawaii
ID-Idaho
IL-Illinois
IN-Indiana
IA-Iowa
KS-Kansas
KY-Kentucky
LA-Louisiana
ME-Maine
MD-Maryland
MA-Massachusetts
MI-Michigan
MN-Minnesota
MS-Mississippi
MO-Missouri
MT-Montana
NE-Nebraska
NV-Nevada
NH-New Hampshire
NJ-New Jersey
NM-New Mexico
NY-New York
NC-North Carolina
ND-North Dakota
OH-Ohio
OK-Oklahoma
OR-Oregon
PA-Pennsylvania
RI-Rhode Island
SC-South Carolina
SD-South
Dakota
TN-Tennessee
TX-Texas
UT-Utah
VT-Vermont
VA-Virginia
WA-Washington
WV-West Virginia
WI-Wisconsin
WY-Wyoming
Below is a list of U.S. States we ship our cabinet doors to routinely. We also ship to all of Canada and Worldwide
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Why Replace Your Kitchen Cabinet Doors?
There are several you would want to replace your kitchen cabinet doors. For one, cost. By replacing only your kitchen cabinet doors you will save a tremendous amount over actual cabinet replacement. Brand new cabinets will start at several thousand dollars, even for a low grade import style cabinet.
Two, the inconvenience of an entire kitchen remodel. During a kitchen cabinet remodeling project it will create a lot of dust as well as displace all of your items that are in the cabinets. By simply replacing the cabinet doors you avoid a lot of the hassle of cabinet replacement. Most complete kitchen remodeling projects will require the aid of a contractor since there may be plumbing, wiring, and drywall repair to name a few.
Three, depending on your skill level and the tools you may have, you can do the entire kitchen cabinet re-dooring process yourself. There is a great deal of satisfaction in completely changing the look of your kitchen cabinets and knowing you did it yourself.
Another advantage of replacing your cabinet doors is due to our large selection of cabinet doors you can achieve a cabinet style that may not be available in a complete cabinet replacement. By replacing the cabinet doors you can get the exact look you want regardless of what is offered by your local cabinet dealer.
DIY Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing
Here are some tips to aid you in the process of refinishing your kitchen cabinets.
Thorough cleaning of cabinet surfaces that will accept paint or finish. This is one of the most important steps during a kitchen cabinet refinishing project. The very first thing to do is remove all the grease and grime to see what have to work with. Most kitchens have some grease in the air from cooking and it settles on the cabinets. This grease and grime attracts dirt and dust.
Degreasing Solution
There are many cleaners that remove grease and grime, simple green works great. The first thing that has to be done is remove the cabinet hardware. This includes pulls and hinges. Also remove the drawers, if you are going to refinish the drawer boxes it may be a good idea to remove the drawer guides as well. Spray all the cabinet surfaces with simple green or your favorite degreasing cleanser. A box of heavy duty paper towels works great, and is much better than a rag that can end up smearing the grime around.
Prep for Painting
Depending on the new finish of your cabinets you may want to lightly sand all cabinet surfaces to ensure good adhesion to the primer or paint. Various abrasives can be used to lightly rough up the surface. Steel wool works good although some water based finishes can make any fine particles left behind start to rust so keep that in mind. Synthetic steel wool pads such as scotch brite type pads work well too. Another handy abrasive is sanding sponges, these work fast and are great for moulded areas like crown moulding and detail areas. If you have any holes or imperfections, fill them with wood putty and let them dry. Use fine sandpaper to smooth out the surface. If you have any areas where the previous layers of paint has chipped away, use sandpaper to feather the edges and then prime the bare wood. After priming if your surface is a bit rough or has some fuzz this would be a great time to do a very light sanding with the fine sanding sponges to get a super smooth surface.
Masking the Cabinets
Once all the kitchen cabinet surfaces, cabinet doors, and drawer fronts are thoroughly clean and lightly sanded, now it is time to mask off any areas where you do not want paint to go. If you will be spraying the cabinets you will most likely need masking paper. I recommend investing in a hand masker that applies the tape to the paper, please don’t use newspaper its has poor masking properties and can have a lot of bleed through, not to mention the time it takes to unfold and attach the tape to. Some of the masking tapes are solvent resistant, usually it is the green colored paper. If you need to cut a clean line use easy release tape, typically the blue tape. Read the labels carefully as they have various times that they are effective. I always recommend removing the tape as soon as the finish is dry enough. If left on too long you may damage the finish when you go to remove it. Spread out drop cloths to prevent splatters on your countertops and flooring. If applying paint by brush start by doing the cut in area painting where you have applied the masking tape and any other hard to access areas. Once the cut in work is complete, you can turn your attention to the cabinet face frames. A short (4- or 6-inch) foam roller works great for this part of painting your cabinets. Having a short nap roller will minimize lift and your finished paint job on your cabinet surfaces will be much smoother.
Painting The Cabinet Drawers and Doors
Some people like to paint the doors off of the cabinets and is always recommended if feasible. Ultimately spraying cabinet doors and drawer fronts is ideal. You can lay them out on long strips of wood or 2 x 4s and spray several at once. If spraying is not an option then it is best to work on a comfortable workbench to paint each door and then lay them out on strips or 2 x 4s to allow them to dry. Preferably paint the backsides first then the front side.
Kitchen Cabinet Redooring
Im not sure if the term is used much but its pretty self explanatory and I think worth mentioning. Redooring is replacing the cabinet doors with new ones, but in most cases simply painting the cabinet cases and face frames along with the new doors. This is a great do it yourself project and can be done very cheaply. We here at AcmeCabinetDoors.com can make you new cabinet doors and even supply you with new hinges so all you have to do is install the new doors and either hire a painter or paint the doors and cabinets yourself. If you are to paint your kitchen cabinet doors we offer economical MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) cabinet doors, they paint well and are very cost effective. We always recommend using a high quality sandable primer and do a light sanding after the primer dries to ensure a smooth surface as most primers will make the MDF "fuzz" a bit, the sanding helps smooth that out. After priming, top coat with a coat of high quality enamel of your favorite color and voila! your done. This is a bit different from refacing in that your not veneering over the existing cabinet cases and frames, your just painting them. Similar to refacing, new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, hinges, hardware, and accessories can be added to improve the access and use of your cabinets.
Kitchen Cabinet Refacing
Cabinet refacing is the process of replacing your kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts with new ones, and either painting or covering the exposed face frames of the cabinets with a wood veneer that is finished to match the new doors. The transformation can be stunning. A few of the advantages are first and always, cost. Refacing is typically cheaper than replacing or remodeling. If you think refacing is for you definitely check out as many options as you can so you can to make the most of your kitchen remodeling budget.
Inexpensive Kitchen Cabinet Refurbishing
Mary E. From Madison Wisconsin Writes:
For a long time I searched for an inexpensive way to refurbish the look of my kitchen cabinets. We had a basic galley kitchen with a simple flat panel cabinet doors style. Since we recently had custom granite countertops installed complete kitchen cabinet replacement was out of the question. We had considered replacing the cabinets prior to having the granite counterops installed. There were several options we had in mind at that time, one even was DIY kitchen cabinets, where you can assemble them yourself. But upon further research of these cabinets we found that they were built poorly and we felt that our current kitchen cabinets were built much better than that originally. Most of these DIY kitchen cabinets are imported so you have no idea what your getting there.
We had also contacted several kitchen cabinet refacing companies in the Madison Wisconsin area and it proved to be way out of our budget as well, as it actually was priced more than complete cabinet replacement. Pricing for kitchen cabinet refacing varied so much that an accurate comparison was almost impossible. Kitchen cabinet refacing contractors proved to be more than prefabricated off the shelf units and more than hiring a local custom cabinet company to build new custom cabinetry to fit our kitchen space.
We had been pretty happy with the configuration and layout of our current kitchen but the doors needed to be updated. The cabinets were constructed well back when plywood was used by the custom cabinet maker that built the kitchen cabinets originally. The cabinet drawer boxes used heavy duty drawer guides that still roll easily, also constructed from plywood.
So with kitchen cabinet replacement and refacing out of the question, a DIY solution had to be figured out if we were going to change the look of our simple flat panel galley style kitchen. We had also considered kitchen cabinet resurfacing, where you just sand down the existing cabinets and repaint them. After thinking about it, it really wouldnt have changed the look much since the kitchen cabinet door styles were the same.
We decided to replace the kitchen cabinets doors with new custom kitchen cabinet doors and paint those. Despite the cabinet drawers being in good shape the old cabinet doors hinges were not. Some cabinet doors didnt close properly and the gaps between doors were off and some of the kitchen cabinet doors were rubbing at the gaps. With all this in mind we needed to order some new custom cabinet doors that were made to fit the openings of our kitchen cabinets. Along with the order we decided to purchase new kitchen cabinet doors hinges. We opted for the European 35mm hidden cabinet door hinges. From a lot of research I found out that these kitchen cabinet door hinges are spring loaded and close on their own and do not need those bulky magnetic hinges and plates, which either work too well and you cant get the kitchen cabinet doors open or they don’t keep the door shut at all.
We opted to order brand new custom cabinet doors that were custom built to fit the openings of our kitchen cabinets. Along with the order we purchased new European 35mm hidden hinges that are now fully adjustable and close on their own. No more magnetic catches. During the ordering of the new custom cabinet doors and European hinges we had the 35mm hinge hole bored on the cabinet doors so that installing the new custom kitchen cabinet doors would be fast and easy.
We loved the traditional look of raised panel cabinet doors. This style dates back for centuries and from what I read is the most stable way to construct a long lasting custom cabinet door. This style of raised panel kitchen cabinet door went best with some of the other traditional touches of our home. We did however order all of the upper cabinet doors with an arched top. They typically call it a roman arch or juliano arch raised panel cabinet door. During the ordering we did have several options for the materials the new custom cabinet doors would be constructed from. Since we would be painting them we could have gone with just about any wood and it would have worked. From researching, woods like oak and hickory have a pretty heavy grain and can sometimes show through the final painted finish. Also I find it a shame to paint over really pretty woods like that. One option we were provided was the use of poplar wood, an affordable and abundant wood that is used more for painting than for staining. We did go with a solid wood raised panel door, we could have gone with a paint grade door that used MDF panels but the doors were reasonable enough that we upgraded to solid wood.
Once we received the new custom cabinet doors mounting them with the European hidden hinges was very easy and once the door was attached to the cabinet all we had to do was make a few minor adjustments on the hinges for a perfect fit. With the old frame mounted cabinet door hinges this could take a long time to get a perfect fit.
As far as painting our new custom build kitchen cabinet doors, our local paint store recommended using a quality primer and then an enamel paint that would hold up to the harsh environment of a kitchen with daily use. It only took a few days, mainly time after work to finish off our kitchen resurfacing project. We have a completely brand new looking kitchen with new granite counter tops and at fraction of buying all new cabinets.
New replacement custom cabinet doors.
Candice from Fort Worth, Texas Writes:
Recently this summer, I was looking to remodel my kitchen. More of just an update. I didnt want to go through the hassle and expense of completely gutting out the kitchen cabinets and installing new countertops, etc. So we got several estimates from various local contractors and determined that they were too expensive. We even called out several refacing companies and found out their prices were higher than contractors, some were simply outrageous. So, we decided to take this on as a do it yourself project. We have done various do it yourself projects in the past.
So, we determined that this would be within the scope of our abilities. First, we begin by measuring all of the doors and door fronts to get an initial cost on our custom cabinet door order. The cabinet door boxes were in good enough condition that we could reuse them, but the cabinet door hinges were old and did not keep the doors aligned with each other and were the non adjustable type, so we knew we were going to have to get new ones. With a little research, we found that we can order European 35mm cabinet door hinges already drilled into the door and they would arrive along with new doors.
Our original door style was a raised panel oak had been repainted. Now, we decided to update it with a paint grade shaker style door. These doors are very affordable and make a great do it yourself project. Our current cabinet cases luckily were built with plywood probably dating back to sometime in the 1980's. Once we received our new replacement custom cabinet doors, we simply hung them on the cabinet frames and a few hours of carefully painting and it looks like we spent thousands on new custom cabinets.
Unfinished wood cabinet doors.
If you are considering an inexpensive kitchen remodel or reface and decide to use unfinished wood cabinet doors, unfinished wood cabinet drawer fronts, will save you a considerable amount of money over buying new cabinets, or custom cabinets.
When planning or shopping for your new kitchen remodel project keep in mind the option of using unfinished wood cabinet doors. There are numerous advantages to using unfinished wood cabinet doors and unfinished wood drawer fronts. There are literally hundreds of different styles and wood combinations available as well as affordable paint grade cabinet doors. This will give you the option of finding the door that exactly fits your design taste.
Another advantage when selecting unfinished wood cabinet doors for your project is that you do not have to worry about the high cost of custom design as you would with custom built cabinetry. You can also achieve a look that can not be found or affordably made by a cabinet maker or cabinet showroom. One example of this is a custom painted finish on your cabinet doors, such as a stencil, or an applique be it carved or embossed. Also you can stain or paint your new unfinished wood cabinet doors to any color imaginable. You can even mix stains and colors to achieve the look you desire.
You can order unfinished wood cabinet doors at your local home improvement center but you will typically have to wait a long time and the quality is usually very poor. Because of the large mass production of these type of doors wood is rarely if never hand selected for the best color match and some manufacturers use small brads to “pin” the joint at the stile and rail usually never allowing ample time for the glue to dry. Keep some of these points in mind when looking for unfinished wood cabinet doors.
Your best bet for finding high quality unfinished wood cabinet doors is to find a custom cabinet door manufacturer that specializes in supply custom cabinet makers, contractors and refacing companies. One thing to note here is make sure they will sell to the public, a lot of the places are wholesale only.
Refacing bathroom vanity cabinets
If you are considering changing the look of your bathroom vanity cabinets and do not want to go through the hassle and expense of completely removing your bathroom vanity cabinet, then refacing or re-dooring may be a great inexpensive option for you.
The process is relatively simple. First off you will want to determine whether your bathroom vanity is in good enough condition. For example if it has sustained severe water damage and the cabinet bottom is warped heavily or the cabinet face frame is damaged from water or wear you may consider replacing it. But if the vanity cabinet is in good enough condition to accept new doors and drawer fronts then it would make an ideal candidate for refacing or redooring.
Start by measuring the existing cabinet doors and drawer fronts so you can order new ones. There are numerous options when searching for replacement cabinet doors. Such as a simply slab cabinet door, shaker style, raised panel, and even applied moulding doors, just to name a few. One you have made your custom cabinet doors selection and have then ordered you can turn your attention to the vanity cabinet.
Start by removing the existing bathroom cabinet doors, and drawer fronts. Be sure to remove the hinges as well. Clean all surfaces that will receive paint or finish with either soapy water or a safe cleaning solution. Once all of the surfaces are clean take some fine sandpaper and light sand all the exterior surfaces. This will break down the gloss of the previous finish and help your new paint or finish adhere.
Once the surfaces are lightly sanded, use a tack cloth to remove and dust particles. Now you are ready to prime the cabinet. Use a high quality primer. This is a bathroom area subject to heat and humidity so don’t skimp on quality materials. The primer acts as a bonding agent, it will adhere to the cabinet surfaces and will allow the top coat of paint to stick to it far better than if it were just applied to the sanded cabinet.
Once your primer has cured top coat with a durable latex enamel. Use an enamel not wall paint, this is much tougher and will offer a smooth finish. Once your done with the painting re-hang your vanity cabinet doors and your bathroom refacing project is complete.
Cabinet Doors
Cabinet doors are typically the first thing you see when you walk into a kitchen space. Cabinet doors can say a lot about the design and style of your kitchen. By simply replacing your cabinet doors you can make a drastic change in the look of your kitchen cabinets. With all of the various styles available for cabinet doors, the possibilities are virtually endless. Cabinet doors can be made in an economical paint grade style door, all the way up to high end Sapele, and Walnut cabinet doors.
Cabinet doors can be divided up into several categories. The first most basic style of cabinet door is the flat slab cabinet door. This type of door is very simple, just a basic slab or glue up of several boards of your chosen wood, sanded flat. Edge detailing can be added to give the door some additional visual interest. Although this door may be considered plain by some, it does have a very clean minimalist appearance, as well a more modern European look. The next category is the inset or recessed cabinet doors. These inset panel cabinet doors feature an inset panel that is flat and set in, or recessed from the front face of the door. Usually these type of cabinet doors have a small inner edge bead detail where the wooden frame and the panel meet, in some cases the doors are joined with a simple tongue and groove joint with no inner edge bead detail, this is typically called the Shaker style cabinet door. Next we have the raised panel cabinet door. This door has a raised center panel, this panel is typically ¾” thick and the edges are shaped to fit into the inner edge groove detail. Once the panel is placed into the groove and the door glued together the panel sits flush with the face of the door. In centuries past the raised panel door was actually the back side of what was commonly displayed in furniture or case work. The shaped panel was usually crudely shaped with hand planes in order to fit into the door frame groove so only a flat panel was displayed into the room. Only later as did hand planes become more elaborate did the raised panel become an item of beauty up for display on the front of furniture. The last in cabinet door categories is the applied moulding cabinet door. This type of door can actually be either an inset or a raised panel door, but with the exception of a small moulding that is applied on the inner edge where the panel meets the stiles and rails of the cabinet door.
Those are the four main categories for cabinet doors. Of course all of these designs can have various styles of center panel options, such as flat or inset, bead board, vee groove, and raised panel. Also almost any style can be made from affordable paint grade materials to offer maximum cost savings for those that want the painted look. Which ever style you decide to go with for your kitchen remodel you can be assured there are plenty of designs that should be able to accommodate your design taste and décor style.
Replacement Cabinet Doors
Looking for a simple way to drastically change and improve the look of your existing kitchen cabinets? The fastest and most economical way to improve the look of your kitchen cabinets is by simply replacing the cabinet doors. Replacement cabinet doors offer a great visual impact to the look of your existing kitchen cabinets. Replacement cabinet doors can be custom made to fit your cabinets. They cabinet be made out of solid wood or MDF (medium density fiberboard) or a combination of a solid wood cabinet door frame with an MDF center panel. This is recommended over one piece MDF cabinet doors due to its great strength and rigidity and hinge screw holding power. This combination of wood frame with MDF panel gives you the best of both worlds and is much easier to paint and provides a cleaner looking finished product.
Replacing cabinet doors can be a relatively easy do it yourself project. Really all that is needed is a powered screwdriver or drill with a screwdriver bit. An old fashioned screwdriver will work, but there are typically a lot of screws holding the hinges on in the average kitchen so a powered screwdriver will greatly speed up this process as well as save your hands and wrists.
New replacement cabinet doors can be purchased with modern European style hinges already pre-bored onto the cabinet door frame, as well as these European hinges can be included with your new replacement cabinet door order. This will save a great deal of time when you install your replacement cabinet doors on your cabinets. Most of these European cabinet door hinges have adjustment capabilities so you can fine tune the exact fit of your cabinet doors with perfection. This is especially helpful when you have two doors that meet together over a large cabinet opening, you can dial in the gap very easily, and this procedure could take a bit of time to do correctly using any other type of hinge.
Replacement cabinet doors are a very economical way to update the look of your kitchen cabinets. Replacing cabinet doors can cost a fraction of what it would to hire a refacing company to do the work. Replacing cabinet doors is much simpler and less time consuming than replacing your kitchen cabinets, where you could have plumbing, electrical, sinks and countertops to have to replace as well.
There are virtually endless styles and designs of replacement cabinet doors. Everything from recessed panel, Shaker style, raised panel, bead board panel, applied moulding, just to name a few. All of these doors can be had in solid wood as well as paint grade materials. If you are happy with your kitchen cabinet layout and are seeking a simply way to make a drastic visual change then replacement cabinet doors may prove to be the right choice for you and your next remodeling project.
Unfinished Custom Cabinet Doors
Unfinished custom cabinet doors are doors that are built to specific sizes and quantities by custom cabinet door manufacturers out of solid wood, plywood, or composite materials.
Unfinished custom cabinet doors are ideal for the do it yourself-er to update your kitchen quickly and affordably. Since they are built to the sizes you specify you can have them fit your kitchen exactly. Unfinished doors are available in a large variety of wood species. Everything from affordable paint grade cabinet doors, solid wood stain grade doors, as well as more beautiful exotic woods such as Sapele.
There are virtually limitless styles and combinations of unfinished cabinet doors and drawer fronts available to flow seamlessly with your design taste and home décor. You are only limited by your imagination.
By replacing your own cabinet doors with new unfinished custom built doors will ultimately save you thousands over hiring a contractor or cabinet refacing company. The most cost effective method to kitchen cabinet updating is replacing your old cabinet doors with economical paint grade cabinet doors. Then paint your new cabinet doors and existing cabinet cases and its that easy. Add some new hardware, and if needed a new counter top, and presto! a new kitchen. Small re-dooring projects such as this can be accomplished within a few days, and for not a lot of money.
Replacement Paint Grade Cabinet Doors
Are you looking for an easy way to completely change the look of your kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, or other home cabinetry? Replacing your existing cabinet doors with new paint grade cabinet doors is an excellent way to change the look of your cabinetry easily and affordably. Replacement cabinet doors can be built in virtually endless designs, from a basic flat slab door, inset panel doors such as Shaker style doors, raised panel, bead board, and numerous applied moulding door styles. By selecting a paint grade cabinet door can replace your cabinet doors for a significant amount less than a stain grade door. In most cases the painting process can be completed quite quickly so you can replace your cabinet doors much faster than completely refacing your cabinets, a process that can take several days and if you hire it out can be very costly.
Replacing your existing cabinet doors is relatively simple and does not require any specialty tools. A cordless drill or screwdriver is all you need to speed up the removal and installation of your new paint grade cabinet doors. Depending on the condition of your current cabinetry it is recommended that you completely clean and degrease the faces and exposed end panel of your cabinets. One your cabinet face frames and end panels are clean a light sanding is recommended to “scuff” the surface to promote better adhesion with the primer coat. This extra step will go a long way in ensuring that your paint stays on the cabinets and will not peel or flake off in the future. Once you have primed your cabinets and new replacement cabinet doors you can finish coat with a good quality enamel, install the hinges and hardware and you have a very affordable and fast kitchen cabinet or bathroom vanity update.
Poplar Frame With MDF Panel Cabinet Doors
What are Poplar frame with MDF panel cabinet doors? They are doors that have a solid wood frame, also called stiles (vertical pieces) and rails (horizontal pieces) that surrounds an MDF center panel. This is really the best of both worlds for paint grade cabinet doors. It provides you with the strength and rigidity of a solid wood frame with the economy of an MDF center panel. While custom cabinet doors can be made in solid MDF or even 5 piece MDF this combination gives you a lot of strength and the extra holding power for hinge mounding screws. By using this combination of Poplar wood for the cabinet door frame and MDF center panel you have virtually limitless possibilities for cabinet door styles and designs. Most designs, such as Shaker style, bead board, raised panel, and even applied moulding cabinet doors can be produced with an MDF center panel. This is an ideal way to save money on your new paint grade custom cabinet doors and get the look that you desire. Although this use of combining a solid wood door frame and using an MDF center panel is certainly not new to the custom cabinet door industry, we feel it will continue to gain in popularity as an affordable upgrade from solid MDF and 5 piece MDF cabinet doors.
Wood other than the previously mentioned Poplar wood can also be used for wood and MDF panel cabinet doors. Quite commonly a lower grade of Alder wood, hard and soft Maple, or just about any smooth grained hardwood will work just fine for this application. There are also other options such as mixed hardwoods used for the frame of these types of doors that are potential cost saving ways to used scrap or off cuts in order to reduce final door costs. No matter what actual wood you decide to go with for your paint grade custom cabinet doors, Poplar frame with MDF panel are something worth considering for your next cabinet reface or cabinet updating project.
MDF For Cabinet Doors
What is MDF? MDF is an acronym for Medium Density Fiberboard. It is made by breaking down left over pieces of hardwood and softwoods into small wood fibers, it is then mixed with resins and formed into flat sheets under heat and pressure. MDF is significantly stronger and denser than particle board, particle board uses larger chips of wood and has a coarser finish. Particle board is sometimes used for cabinet doors, but it is at the very low end, commonly found in high volume and imported cabinets and in our opinion should be avoided. Most cabinet door manufactures use MDF and that will be the focus of this article.
MDF is used for a wide variety items, such as cabinet cases, moulding, shelving, and is also available with a wood veneer or melamine coatings. MDF makes a great affordable paint grade material for cabinet doors. Although MDF is usually always painted it can accept a faux finish using a gel stain along with graining tools to simulate the look of wood. We have also seen in some commercial applications MDF being clear coated for use as displays or other commercial store fixtures.
MDF has a few trade offs compared to solid wood. One is cut MDF or MDF that is exposed usually will have a very slight “fuzzy” surface that can be smoothed out with fine sandpaper. This is always recommended prior to painting. For most applications a good quality coat of primer, followed by a light fine sanding will smooth out the MDF very nicely awaiting the final coat of enamel. Another trade off is weight MDF is very heavy in sheet form. This is usually not a concern for cabinet doors, some people like the heavy feel of cabinet doors as it tends to have a solid feel to opening and closing the cabinet doors.
Overall MDF is here to stay as an affordable alternative to solid wood and veneer core sheet products. Its ease of workability and paint-ability make it a good alternative for custom cabinet door construction.
Poplar Wood For Cabinet Doors
Poplar wood can be a very good choice for cabinet doors. Poplar wood has a fine texture, is lightweight, mills, sands, and drills beautifully. Poplar wood is commonly used for painted trim and mill work, making it ideal for custom cabinet doors. This wood varies from almost white in appearance to sometimes green and purple colors. It can also be stained or dyed and finished with a clear coat. But due to the wild colors of the wood it is usually recommended that a medium to darker finish be used. Glazes and toners can also help even the woods color in a stain grade situation.
Since Poplar wood is relatively abundant and affordable it makes it an ideal choice for painting and faux finishes. Cabinet doors made from Poplar can be made in solid wood, where the frame and panel are both solid, or the frame can be Poplar wood with the center panel being a plywood, or composite material. By using a plywood veneer material or a composite you can save costs over solid wood doors, and still achieve the same look. Poplar has been gaining tremendous popularity in its use for unfinished paint grade custom cabinet doors and still remains a cost effective alternative to other woods that can be painted.
