We did our own custom cabs and chose to have the lacquered wood finish inside, and I understand most painted cabinets to be this way unless sometimes when there are glass doors. Nice and easy to wipe out and none of the chipping or scratching possible with paint...At least none that shows the way it would in white paint.

I've never heard of the insides painted. I've seen two kitchens IRL in the last few months with custom cabs. Neither had the inside painted. That would seem odd to me. I think it would be a waste of money too. And, as Rhome mentioned, unpainted seems much easier to clean.

Ours aren't painted. We could have requested that, but it isn't the default for our cabinetmaker. Only cabinets with glass doors have painted insides. Seemed easier to clean to me too.

My hubby is a cabinetmaker and agrees with the above..99.99% of custom cabinets are NOT painted on the inside. Unless there are glass doors. Most use prefinished maple for the interiors. Painting the inside would be a catastrophe for storing items such as dishes, and glassware as it would scratch the finish in no time and look awful.
~ D ~

I am a cabinetmaker and the only time the inside gets the same finish as the outside (stained or painted) is when there are no doors or glass doors. The rest of the time it is a clear maple finish. Much more easy to keep clean and scratch free.

Travis Alfrey
Pinehurst, NC

My kitchen cabinets are all a natural wood finish inside except for the few that have glass doors and the open shelves which were ordered to be finished to match the exterior. My previous cabinets and the ones we still have in the bathrooms were site built and they were spray painted all over --- easiest way, but not necessarily the best. I questioned it, but I prefer the natural finish now. It's certainly cleaner than the old paint.

Not painted inside.

Mine ARE painted on the inside but a nice maple finish would be lovely as well. I doubt my cabinet maker's paint guy is bright enough to mask things well enough to leave the insides not painted. Oops did I say that out loud?

My paint is holding up fine...but oh. Maybe it isn't. I can't see the surface of most shelves so I don't give a

I'm as picky about the inside as I am about the outside. I hate opening a door and seeing a different finish! That said, it's the norm now a days so to have the insides match the outsides you need to specify that finish in your contract.

Everyone gets peeved at me when I say this, but it's still important. EVERYTHING from the inside and outside finishes, box construction, drawer construction, hinges, knobs, etc....EVERYTHING needs to be included in a contract. Assuming just gets you the honor of adding yet another "don't custom cabinets always have this" post to garden web.

And if you think I am trying to be a smart pants...I'll admit I learned this the hard way when I received a cabinet order back that appeared to have been manufactured by monkeys. Fortunately I had a no monkey clause but it still nearly cost me forty grand.

igloochic is correct !

True "CUSTOM CABINETS" are whatever YOU specify them to be. If you want painted interiors , you order them. Most of my custom cabinets have white laminate finish on the interior - because it's easy to clean that's what I like. That doesn't make them any better or worse than anyone else's custom cabinets. So for me the answer would be no, they should not be painted.

There is no one size fits all definition of what custom cabinets are , just like there is no set definition of a custom dress or pair of shoes.

Very true ladies!!! I was surprised to learn my cabinet maker only clear coats the insides *unless* he is told different. I'm sure glad I asked ahead of time being that mine will be painted.

At first I definitely thought I will go painted inside but am now considering staying with the clear coat. I have children at home who put the dishes away and over time I can already see the painted finish scraped away by the shoving of dishes across the shelves. That, I think, would bother me more in the long run than seeing wood grain. In my corner of the world it is easier on me in the long run to see the glass half empty from the get go!! :D

just curious - unless you have a glass front door and can see through to the interior carcass, why would you want a finish that can wear off like paint or many shop applied sealers?

Antss...I'll field that one :) cuz honestly I'm not neurotic but opening up the door of a cabinet and seeing a different drives me nuts. Sure I am the only one seeing it...but still there ya have it.

In top of that, wood also gets dirty. I find that (for instance) a water mark from a wet dish wipes away but on wood that is stained and clear coated the fiinish shows the repeated abuse more (IMO). In my experiance paint is stronger for a finish than stain.

Or you could do what you did and have the best of both worlds. :).

Just had my custom cabinets installed, new build, and specified all insides to be painted to match the outside. My current house has maple finished cabinets and when we moved in 20 yrs ago, I had the insides painted white and have never regretted it. The paint has held up very well and it just seems cleaner to me. I might regret having white cabinets now, moving out on a farm, but I've always had stained cabinets and wanted white. We are empty nesters,so I guess I'll find out how much more cleaning white cabinets involve.

Everyone is entitled to their prefs , but paint is not cleaner or harder wearing than some of the ceramic oxide coated maple plywood or melamine.

Of course paint would be better (and cleaner) than raw or stained wood.

my cabinet guy generally unless specified otherwise, makes his cabinets out of prefinished maple ply.

basically everything is natural unless specified otherwise. i'm sure there would be an extra charge for somethign different.

much like everything else in the custom world, there is no "standard".

some cabinet makers have high standards, others lower ones. generally in a completely fair world, you paying for what you are getting. bargin custom cabinets either mean someone is desparate or something isn't apples to apples.

my custom guy is my uncle, i trust he's going to do right by me and I've seen his work in a number of kitchens. we've discussed what he does "standard" for most of the questions I see on in this custom thread and others as well as his process for doing everything. However like a lot of tradespeople, documentation could be better.

Mine are the same inside and out.