Sandy - hello! I’m so nervous as I’m about to apply the more anti etch to my beautiful piece of book matched panda marble on a an 11 foot island. Thank you for sharing as your post has given me more piece of mind! I’ve always lived on my Italian honed marble countertops and enjoyed the patina; however this new home build / project, I wanted a modern design and this panda does the trick. I’ve never used panda and do not know how it holds up plus I don’t want the patina look unless I just have to - hence I’m jumping in and trying MORE. My applicator just sanded it down on Friday and let me know today that the shipment of sealer has not arrived yet. Oops. So here I am surfing for more reviews to make sure it’s what we want to do. I can easily have her hone it at this point since she has sanded off the polish. The panda has crystals and sparkles and this will be toned down I think with the MORE product; however I think it’s worth it as the design is so elaborate, and we will be able to enjoy it and live life on it. Questions for you due to some negative reviews: scratching. I’ve read some reviews that it scratches easily. My applicator says it scratches the same as marble. What is your experience with this? Do you feel it scratches more than normal or what is to be expected ? someone said theirs turned yellow. How long have you had yours ? My applicator said it can turn yellow but only if in direct sunlight all day. She is not at all worried about this for my kitchen Honed - I don’t like the high shine and look forward to seeing the honed finish as a starting point at polish time. Glad you like the finished look of MORE honed. do you still like to touch the countertop even with the MORE on it? I love tapping my fingernails on the marble and hope it still has the stone feel. Does it ? mine is a waterfall and my last concern is where the two areas meet - the sides will not be treated with MORE of course. She said it will look fine. my applicator said the near thing about MORE is that it follows the lines of the veins and fits and molds to the stone. Your post has made me feel so much better! Please comment on my concerns if you see this. I haven’t found many reviews on MORE and have been a bit nervous. Im sure many who love it probably don’t say anything. The positive is not often discussed - only the negative. Thank you ! Stephanie

I wholeheartedly agree that if you want to paint your cherry cabinets, go for it! The "however's" are being put forth so you know what you might be getting into. Earlier this year, we contemplated having our maple cabinets painted as opposed to purchasing all new cabinets. Three different companies (from painters to remodelers to cabinet refinishers) provided on-site estimates. In every instance, we were told that for the time and effort it would take to do a proper job, expense-wise we were very close to the cost of purchasing new cabinets. I sensed hesitancy from all of them (reminds me of the resistance your GC gave you), so I wonder if this wasn't their collective way of saying either: 1) Given the time they'd have to devote to this job, they wouldn't make much money off the project, or 2) They didn't feel confident they could provide the near-factory finish (read: durable) results I was seeking. Telling me how expensive it would be might've been their way of steering me clear of having cabinets painted with less than satisfactory results (which would have made them look bad). My concern is that your GC is balking and basically saying, "We'll do it how you want us to do it." Therefore, if results are less than optimal, it's all on you. He's absolving himself of the responsibility if anything goes south -- and there's so much room for interpretation regarding what 'south' is. Is it possible for him to do a test piece, esp if you're up for a two-tone kitchen (per Amber's pic)? Good luck!

Are you talking about Wellborn out of Ashland, Alabama? We have painted maple cabinets and the doors are wood, not MDF. Maybe we have a different line than what you're considering, but solid wood is available from Wellborn. They have held up very well, btw. Two years and a lot of scrubbing. They're white, slab doors. Let me know if you have any other questions. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2873984/heres-as-close-to-a-reveal-as-i-may-ever-get?n=27

If it's done correctly, it WON'T chip within a year! Prep is VERY important. Just getting them clean takes some serious effort - years of oily film on them. A good scrub using something like Greased Lightening spray cleaner, a good rinse with clear water, and a week to dry, is the first step. Then sanding the doors and cabinet face. We chose to leave our doors up when we painted - DH was terrified the old holes would become too big and hinges would never again fit properly. So, we painted around the hinges, and then used mineral spirits to carefully remove and paint gotten on them (think Q-tips!). We used a good oil-based primer, and then we used oil-based enamel to paint the doors and frames. We did NOT paint the interiors of the cabinets or the interior of the doors - unnecessary work and could cause fit problems (these were partial over-lay/partial inset doors). This took such a long time, that curing was not an issue - we could only do a couple each weekend, and this was just the uppers. I took the dogs and went to a long dog-show weekend. DH locked the cats out of the kitchen and finished the lowers while we (and all that HAIR) were away. I don't know how we could've done them otherwise. They lasted, with NO chips for 19 year when we re-painted them due to color change. Those lasted another 13 years until we re-did the entire kitchen (not do to chips on cabinets - there weren't any!). Most people don't have the time or the patience. They hire a cheap house painter who slaps a coat of acrylic paint on and calls it a day. These will not last. Having them sprayed professionally with a conversion varnish is getting close to the price of new cabinets. I would only do this if I loved the layout of the kitchen, the lowers had lots of big, deep drawers, and I just didn't like the color/finish of the high quality cabinets.