Polyurethane VS Vacuum Formed (vinyl thermal)

[infra-greg]

Hi all

My wife and I are about to embark on the exciting path of renovating our kitchen :rolleyes: :)

As the wife wants a high gloss finish to the cupboards, our kitchen guy/company has suggested either Polyurethane or Vacuum Formed (Vinyl Thermal??)

He's leaning towards the Vacuum Formed as he reckons its tougher than Poly and cheaper to replace if there's damage. He's also suggesting a High Gloss for the Vacuum, but if we went Poly he's saying Satin finish as a High Gloss Poly (White colour) will show imperfections, fingerprints or something like that.

I've tried to find a 2nd opinion on the Net but alas, I can't find any info on comparing the two surfaces. And we need to make a decision asap so he can start demolishing and building :)

Does anyone have any opinions on what they think is a better finish? Pros and cons of each, etc?

Thanks all

[Peter36]

Hi Greg , I assume your kitchen guy means 2 pac poly . If the preparation and painting is good then you wouldn't have any imperfections and if there are blemishes then the paint job is not up to scratch. I have 2 pac on my own kitchen and I use them in building projects without problems or customer complaints . 2 pac can chip but it can also be touched up . Vinyl is perhaps a bit tougher from the chipping point of view . Earlier on there were problems with the vinyl wrap shrinking and splitting after time but I understand that the vinyl manufactures have cured that problem. There is a bit of a difference between the 2 in appearance and in price so I would ask to see samples of both and the price for both and make a decision on that . Fingerprints are not a problem with either finish. But don't let your guy talk you into satin because it won't show the blemishes

Peter:)

[Bob Willson]

Go with the two pack poly. I have the vacuum formed doors in my kitchen and half of them have defects of one sort or another.

[journeyman Mick]

Laminex will not sell their vinyl wrap doors in Nth Queensland. Apparently they don't last well in high humidity areas. In some cases the vinyl falls off the door completely. I was chasing some for a job about 6 months ago and got the same story from all the suppliers, they had either ceased production or sales of them due to too many warranty call backs.

Mick

[boban]

There are too many precautions that you need to take with vinyl wrap around hot areas plus the issue of glue failure. This is less of a problem now, but it is not something you encounter with poly.

[MathewA]

Haven't had to work with vinyl wrapped doors here (have worked a lot with them in Canada) but have worked a fair amount with 2 pac and for me I find the. The 2 pac is a harder coating and seems to stand up well to bangs and such - I haven't found the same with vinyl. I personally think vinyl doors look low budget also

[infra-greg]

Thanks heaps guys. Invaluable information :) And Poly it will be for me....

If people would still like to give their opinions, please do...will be good to see all sides of the story and from as many people as possible.

Thanks again for the feedback...