Acrylic kitchen doors – the ultimate gloss kitchen?
If you’re looking for the ultimate high gloss finish, you won’t get much better than acrylic kitchen doors. However, having the ultimate gloss finish comes at a price. Although acrylic gloss doors are cheaper than glass kitchens, they are more expensive than lacquered, lacquered laminate, painted, foil wrapped, PVC wrapped and vinyl wrapped type gloss kitchens.
The purpose of this blog is to compare acrylic kitchen doors with other types of gloss kitchen doors available so you can decide if acrylic gloss kitchens are worth paying extra for.
Types of acrylic doors available
There are two types of acrylic doors. These are solid acrylic doors and acrylic faced doors. Acrylic faced doors are made by bonding a thin layer of acrylic on to MDF. Acrylic faced doors cost much less than solid acrylic doors.
Advantages and disadvantages of acrylic doors
With a smooth, reflective, mirror like finish, gloss acrylic doors are almost impossible to tell apart from glass doors yet are a fraction of the cost.
The other benefit of buying a gloss acrylic doors is they are hard wearing. Therefore, if you think the kitchen is going to take a lot of wear and tear, acrylic is a good option.
Hi Gloss Acrylic kitchens do, however, have some disadvantages. Firstly, you can see where the door has been edged on all 4 sides.
Another disadvantage of acrylic gloss kitchens is they usually cost more than painted gloss or lacquered gloss kitchens.
Repairability is also an issue with acrylic gloss kitchens. Unfortunately, if you scratch an acrylic gloss door, it can’t be repaired like a lacquered gloss door can.
The biggest problem with acrylic gloss kitchens is colour match problems. It’s not uncommon for customers to find noticeable shading differences between doors once the kitchen has been fitted.
Also, if you do need to replace an acrylic door several years down the line, the new door will almost certainly be a different shade to all the existing doors.
How do acrylic gloss doors compare to foil, PVC and vinyl wrapped gloss doors?
Wrapped doors are made by taking a thin layer of foil, vinyl or PVC and wrapping it around an MDF base. These are the lowest-quality type of gloss kitchen doors.
The problem with these doors is they peel. Once a wrapped door has started peeling, the only option is to replace it, which is usually costly.
Most of the gloss kitchens places like Howdens, Wren, and Magnet sell are this type.
Below: wrapped kitchen doors that are peeling:
How do acrylic gloss doors compare to painted and lacquered gloss doors?
In terms of quality and finish, there’s little or no difference between acrylic doors and painted and lacquered doors. Like an acrylic door, a painted and lacquered gloss door will have a perfectly smooth, highly reflective, mirror like finish.
Also, just like an acrylic gloss door, a painted and lacquered gloss door will never peel.
Advantages and disadvantages of painted and lacquered doors
Where there is a difference between the two is in terms price. Painted and lacquered gloss kitchens cost less than acrylic gloss kitchens.
The other benefit painted and lacquered gloss doors offer over acrylic gloss doors is the edges. With acrylic doors, you can see the edging, with painted and lacquered gloss doors, you can’t.
Another benefit painted and lacquered gloss doors offer over acrylic gloss door is they can be repaired if you scratch them. If someone scratches an acrylic gloss door, you can’t repair it. However, professionals can repair scratches on painted and lacquered gloss doors using colour matched lacquer & T-Cut.
However, painted and lacquered gloss doors do have one disadvantage and that’s durability. Acrylic doors are harder wearing than painted and lacquered doors. Unfortunately, there is always the risk that a painted and lacquered gloss door could chip under very heavy usage. However, professionals can repair scratches on painted and lacquered gloss doors using colour matched lacquer & T-Cut.
Also, chipping is only really a problem with fully lacquered doors. If you buy an edged painted and lacquered door, the risk of it being chipped is very low.
Below: high quality painted and lacquered gloss kitchens
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Find out more
For more information on acrylic doors visit the Parapan website
