Hi
I’m making a choice between two Kraftmaid kitchen cabinet door styles in a natural cherry finish. The first style is all hardwood, and the second is a recessed panel with veneer. The price point difference is about $3000, but the designer is warning me that the hardwood door frames and veneer panels will age at different rates. The kitchen will get a lot of sunlight, and in general I’m OK with variety in the color (hence the choice of natural cherry).
My thought is that if the aging of solids and veneers are different, then this will be relatively constant from door to door, and I may end up with doors that have lighter panels and darker frames (or darker panels and lighter frames — help me out here, which ages faster, solid or veneer?). In the end, that could look very attractive.
I also recognize that even though the kitchen will get a lot of light (7′ X 4.5′ bow window) there will be less light deeper into the kitchen, so some cabinets will age faster than others. None of the cabinets will receive direct sunlight.
Does anyone have experience with this issue in an natural cherry finish, either in Kraftmaid or other brands? In general I’m not worried about the changing color — I have plenty of cherry furniture both hand-built and antique and I like the variety. However, if experienced people have seen this turn out really bad I’d like to know. If the complaints come mainly from high-maintenance customers who can’t handle a piece of sapwood in a kitchen island, then I’m less concerned because I’m not high maintenance.
Thanks
Replies
I don't know what finish that they are using. And I don't know how plywood differes. I know that plywood will take stain differently.
Anyway I made a cherry mantle and I put on some oil and put it out in the sun for about 6 hours and then applied a finish.
I found that with the direct sun that got about 80% of long term changes.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
The Kraftmaid finish process is detailed on their website:http://www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=351XX&finishid=11&specieid=4Natural
Two coats of clear, colorless DuraKraft topcoat on unstained wood.When Kraftmaid ships their cabinets the finish will be complete, so the issue is the aging process, not the application which, from everything I've heard, Kraftmaid's finish process is one of the best in the industry.
What I forgot to say was that, unless the finish has UV blockers then you should be able to put a door out in the sun for a few hours and get it predarkened.Barring a better answer why don't you see if you can get a sample door and do just that.Cover part of the door so that you an see the change..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Thanks for the input.Anyone else with experience on this, please weigh in, thanks.
The ageing difference in veneer and solid doors is something most of the manufacturers of cherry cabinets make customers aware of these days. I've done lots of cherry, little natural because around here folks like the consistency of color that stain gives. So far I haven't had a call back because of an ageing difference on any of the stained product.
In my cases I used solid doors, but the skins on the ends of the cabinets and on the paneled backs of islands and peninsulas will be veneer just like your cabinet doors. (Kraftmaid will have the same scenario). So, any major difference in coloration would have been apparent in those areas also, but none were reported.
The showroom where I used to work had a cherry display. Over the 5 years I've been in and out of the showroom I haven't seen any darkening to speak of. I did have a natural cherry door sample that I carried around in my car for a couple of years. It got exposed to heat and filtered sun. When I ordered the replacement sample door and compared the two, the older one was only slightly darker.
My cherry dining furniture has one chair that has actually faded slightly as a result of exposure to the west sun for a few hours a day, so go figure.
Most major mfrs are going to have nearly the same finish process, which is a good one. I think with average exposure to sun and artificial light you're going to see some darkening, more noticeable on a natural finish, and perhaps a minor difference from veneer to solid wood. I also think it's going to take several years to show up and be so gradual that you'll fail to notice.
will,
The cherry veneers will most likely darken more then the solids .
Finish with UV protection basically prevent the finish from Yellowing , there is little to do to stop the wood from being affected by the UV rays.
In several months a new door in an old kitchen of Cherry will match the existing
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