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Vinyl wrap or thermoformed doors are popular way of getting a colour onto a profiled door without the expense of lacquer.
With vinyl thermoformed doors, sheet of coloured vinyl is laid over doors and drawer fronts in a vacuum oven. The vacuum is used to draw the vinyl down over the panels whilst the heat softens it, allowing it to take on the shape of the door whilst liquifying the glue that binds it to the panel. The result is an durable and attractive coating at a lower cost than lacquer.
The main advantage of vinyl over lacquer finishes is cost. Disadvantages are the limited colour choices, little or no choice over gloss levels and the fact that the inside of the door is not coloured. When the doors are opened, the back of the door looks like the inside of the cupboard whereas a lacquer door can be completely coated with colour. Also, if it gets damaged, it can’t just be repainted but requires replacement of the whole door. Also, when the colour is no longer made it wont be possible to replace a door with a matching one. That said, they are a popular and durable choice which, if you don’t want to go to the expense of lacquer and don’t mind the white of the inside of the door, are a good choice.
Vinyil is easy to clean and should last many years but it is important to ensure that water resistant MDF is used. This is usually referred to as MUF. If water should penetrate ordinary MDF, it will swell and cause the vinyl to bubble up. When this happens, the door cannot be repaired.
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