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Painted cabinets, mdf center better to prevent shrinkage?

12 years ago

Our cabinetmaker will do either all wood doors or mdf center doors and wood for the rest if we have them painted. He's giving us an enticing argument that, because the mdf doesn't expand and contract, the rest of the cabinet door will always look good and we'll see no separation in the corners, mitres, etc. We need to decide asap and are having trouble figuring out what to do. thanks!

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Comments (4)

willtv
12 years ago
Ir the doors are wood on the perimiter and MDF in the middle, you may still see some separation in the corners as the wood frame itself will expand and contract.
This separation, though, will certainly be less than if you had a wood center panel.
What you won't see is separation between the frame and the panel.
The combination of wood framed doors with MDF center panels is the better way to go if you're getting painted doors.
At least this has been my experience.
threeapples
Original Author
12 years ago
the cabinet guy suggests that the mdf center panel also prevents any shifting in the corners of the frame (where the vertical and horizontal parts meet). any idea whether that's true? he showed us all stained cabinets that had slight separation and misalignment in these areas because they were all wood. thoughts? oh, also i should ask, can you refinish the mdf center panels if the cabinets need to be refinished later?
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The entire cabinet is rarely made of solid wood. Solid wood expands and contracts with the moisture in the air and tends to pull apart at the joins over time. Cabinet doors are often solid wood, although a solid wood frame with an mdf raised panel in the middle is also common. The raised panel in the middle isn't glued or nailed to the frame, it floats free in the frame so expansion and contraction in this large piece doesn't pull anything apart. Boxes are generally either plywood or a high grade of mdf, also called "furniture board." I suspect that "hdf" is also "furniture board." You will get many arguments on whether plywood is superior to high grade mdf or is no better; that is a different question and not one I consider overly important. If you are choosing a face frame cabinet style, the frame is usually solid wood and the panels can be either solid wood or plywood/mdf. Frameless cabinets ("Euro-style") are usually plywood or mdf. For painting, an mdf door provides you with a surface without any graining, so the paint goes on smoothly. Different woods give different looks: oak shows a lot of grain under the paint and maple shows hardly any. It's a look, that's all. Paint on wood doesn't generally crack, so I don't know what that's about. I have to warn you that I wasn't familiar with the term "hdf," so I looked it up. Most sites that refer to it are from alibaba.com, which is a Chinese super-site that sells one of everything made in the world, or other companies featuring Chinese products. Not necessarily a high recommendation. Last Feb. the question of cabinet materials came up in the thread below. At the time I looked up exactly how the different materials are made. You might take a look. Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet materials
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willtv
12 years ago
While the MDF panel will minimize the shifting in the corners, it won't prevent it.
I have painted cabs with MDF center shaker door panels that are 18 months old.
There is some separation in the corners.
I could not find a cabinet maker who would warranty against this separation on any painted cabinet.
If your cabinet maker does, and if you're otherwise satisfied with his work, then definetly go with him.
CEFreeman
12 years ago
Anything involving wood will have some shifting of the wood. The MDF will remain stable.
Having an MDF center will mean that part won't shrink and expand, but the wood frames will.
I recommend it.

Now, keep in mind that you're sitting there LOOKING for differences in the wood. And, you're seeing it in today's humidity, vs. all seasons'. Once wood/mdf doors are up, you won't be looking at it like that and even the minimal shifting of the frames won't be slapping you in the face.

I think he's being straight with you and is on the mark giving you the options. It's not like he's trying to get out of work. Wood doors cost more, so he's looking out for your pocket and quality, IMHO.

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