New cabinet: Paint or Laminate? (for the cabinet itself)

[sofakng]

I'm almost done with the construction of my first cabinet, so I was getting ready to paint it with semi-gloss black, but then I was wondering if I should use laminate instead?  Laminate does have a much smoother texture and would probably make the cabinet look a lot more professional.

However, how much does this stuff cost (eg. at Home Depot or Lowe's?)  vs buying primer and paint?

I'd need enough to do the entire cabinet (sides, front, back, etc) so I'd probably need quite a bit.  I'm using the Project Arcade book for my design (eg. LuSiD's).

[darktemp]

Oscar posted a thread yesterday with a great price on the black laminate from partsexpress, unfortunately it's probably not wide enough (24") for what you would like to do.  I would be interested in atleast 26" wide laminate.

[REBIRTH]

I would push for paint all the way...

- much easier if you haven't done laminate before
- you said you are almost done with construction... I could be wrong, but wouldn't you want to put the laminate on before assembling the pieces?
- if you mess up with paint, just put another coat on.  Not so easy with laminate
- cheaper
- if you plan on putting side art on the cab it is easier to attach it to paint
- most real cabinets use paint, not laminate
- I have heard of laminate peeling way from the cab years later


Some people love the look of laminate and that is cool if you do, but it sounds like you are more 50-50 on it.  If you don't have your heart set on it and could go either way, I would push for paint.

[sofakng]

Ok, would you recommend any certain kind of paint?  I'm pretty sure I was told to get "semi-gloss black."

Is one brand better than another?  Should I get anything specific?  I'll probably get it from Home Depot or Lowe's...

[zaphod]

Ok, would you recommend any certain kind of paint?  I'm pretty sure I was told to get "semi-gloss black."

Is one brand better than another?  Should I get anything specific?  I'll probably get it from Home Depot or Lowe's...

I have used Valspar Duramax Latex Gloss Enamel paint over Kilz (tinted) primer on a number of cabinets.  I love it.  Very durable.

[crashwg]

I told the guy at HD what I was using it for and he suggested "Glidden Evermore Exterior 100% Acrylic Latex Semi-Gloss" it came in black which is what I plan on using and I figgured it's exterior paint so it has to be somewhat durable...

Of course the guy at HD could have been wrong and since I haven't painted yet, I coldn't tell you if it would be the best thing.

While we're on the topic, if you happen to think the paint is the wrong stuff, let me know.  HD has a VERY liberal return policy!

[REBIRTH]

As long as it isn't Behr's (which Home Dept sells too) - that stuff is CRAP.  I used to think all paints were basically the same... Whoofaaa!  I painted my front door with Behr's, took like 5 coats, each coat dried almost the second I brushed it on, so it was incredibly streaky...  Anyway, I have had good results with Glidden.

[Rawker]

Ok, would you recommend any certain kind of paint?  I'm pretty sure I was told to get "semi-gloss black."

Is one brand better than another?  Should I get anything specific?  I'll probably get it from Home Depot or Lowe's...

get melamine paint

[Teknique]

Laminate will be very expensive.  Something around $30 from WilsonArt to do my controlpanel just for the laminate.  You would still need laminate router bit, j-roller, and adhesive.  

For the sides I used a high-gloss black from Home Depot (cant remeber if it was Behr or Glidden).  I found that a foam roller would give a really good sheen but I could not get rid of the roller "tracks" after each swipe so went with a regular paint roller that gave me very good results with a little more texture.

Tek

[FoX]

"- much easier if you haven't done laminate before"
Definately much easier to paint but its not *that* difficult to laminate.  I had never done it before last Wednsday and once we figured out how to do a test piece successfully we flew through the rest.  Had everything laminated (and I mean *everything*) and routed down in 1 and a half days.

"- you said you are almost done with construction... I could be wrong, but wouldn't you want to put the laminate on before assembling the pieces?"
Yea.....I have no idea how you would laminate if you already have it together.

"- if you mess up with paint, just put another coat on.  Not so easy with laminate"
Very very true

"- cheaper"
Cost me $120 worth of laminate to laminate the entire cab

"- if you plan on putting side art on the cab it is easier to attach it to paint"
Not sure why this would be easier on one than the other but I have not tried to attach side art

"- most real cabinets use paint, not laminate"
Maybe, but I've definately seen alot of "real cabs" that had alot of laminate

"- I have heard of laminate peeling way from the cab years later"
God, I sure as hell hope not for awhile :p

Laminating was definately intimidating to begin with but I'm already loving the results.  The hardest part was finding a good way to cut it up without cracking it.  After a bit of trial and error we found that a circular saw with a very fine blade with its depth set just deeper than the laminate worked wonders.

[pocketbikez]

I like to use Rustoleum Industrial Enamel from home depot. I use the High Gloss Black and High Gloss Red and a foam trim roller. I also lightly hand sand the cab inbetween coats with 220 grit sandpaper.

my last cab was done as follows...

2 coats Kilz primer.

4 coats red on the sides.

7 coats black on the front.

i would wait 24 hours inbetween coats.

the result was a glassy, shiny, hard as nails finish.