Flat cabinet doors

[Josh Hulit]

I'm in the process of starting a kitchen, and the customer would like flat doors and drawer fronts. My face frames will be poplar, as everything is being painted. For the doors, should I use mdf, edge banded plywood, or something else? She plans to use strap hinges, so doesn't want a traditional r&s door. My concerns are 1) keeping the doors flat, 2) being able to attach hardware to them, and 3) having a surface that will paint well. Thank you for any suggestions.

[Richard Shaefer]

that sounds like one ugly kitchen.
I wouldn't use MDF, it's not going to hold up on a moving piece like a door and it won't hold a screw well.
I'd probably use a paint grade plywood with a ticker birch veneer. Undercut the veneer and use sold edging all around. should give you a durable endge and undercutting the veneer will prevent differential paint cracks from reflecting through flate face, where it would stand out like a sore thumb. any cracking you might get in the paint will only happen at the very corner where it will escape notice.

[Sam Murdoch]

You might consider MDO with solid wood or veneer tape edges. Paints very well, dimensionally stable and will hold fastenings. Here is one informative link. There are also sources in the US -http://www.canply.org/english/products/overlaidplywood.htm

[John TenEyck]

MDF is about the most stable product you can use and it paints beautifully. I would think about using solid wood edges on MDF panels, maybe just slightly thicker to make it easier to construct and give a small shadow line to break up that flat look. When I built my kitchen I used 3/4" veneered plywood with 2-1/2" wide 13/16" thick stiles on both sides. No rails; I veneer taped the top and bottom edges of the plywood. I biscuit joined the stiles to the plywood. That arrangement gave me solid wood for attaching the euro style hinges. It also gave a nice, clean, vertical look to the doors/drawers. 17 years later, they are doing fine. My only concern about using MDF by itself would be those strap hinges. Euro style hinges work fine in MDF, but I have no idea about how well strap hinges would work. But if she wants absolutely flat doors/drawer fronts, I'd still go with MDF. The edges fill easily and it paints beautifully. I might consider gluing in a solid wood insert on the back of the doors where the hinges will be, or maybe a hidden stile, to give the screws something solid to bite into.

John

[Josh Hulit]

Thanks guys. Yeah Richard, that was my first thought also, that its gonna look ugly, but its all about making the customer happy right? Thank you for the feedback everyone.

[Mel Fulks]

With a design that simple,I suspect cost was a big consideration . MDO is great stuff but expensive and you've got to deal with the edges .Gluing them by hand is too slow. Banders are ok if you have one.But if you sub that part the bander used will be the last job they do with it before they buy a new one. I would use one of the premium ultra light MDFs and seal the edges with B I N. I think it works better than the stuff made for that purpose. My comment about the bander is not clear. I mean the danged things are always not working right when they are used on my jobs.

[Jeff Duncan]

My thoughts.....soft maple for the face frames. I find poplar just too soft for anything that gets use. MDF for the doors, MDO is just plywood with a paper face and the face more often than not is worse for painting than bare plywood:( It's never as flat a surface as you want/need for that kind of paint job. MDF is generally flat and if painted properly should stay that way. However you really should use insert hinges with it as screws will not last!

As far as banders go....yes they can be finicky beasts. Of course a finicky bander is still better than no bander....most of the time:D

good luck,
JeffD

[brian c miller]

Why go to all that trouble... I would use drywall compound to fill the edges liberally applied with a finger or with the palm of my hand. It should soak in and seal the edges then sand off easily.

I've also read that you can use a 3:13 glue to water mix to seal the edge, just "paint" it on.

BCM

[Carl Beckett]

Ihave used drywall compound for this purpose (sealing plywood edges). It didn't work that great

Would recommend automotive filler

(glue mix was also tricky. Harder to sand, and multiple coats)

[Richard Coers]

Oh man, have you guys recommending plywood bought many sheets lately? I mean even the good stuff? No way that all the sheets you get will stay flat. MDF with Clawlock catalyzed primer. +1 on using soft maple instead of poplar.

[Jerry Olexa]

MDF for doors..Stable and paints well....You'll have trouble tho screwing in hardware....Use a hardwood for R/S.

[Michael W. Clark]

I would be leary of those type of hinges in MDF over the long haul. Shellac will harden MDF, but not sure how paint will stick to that, plus its another step. Soft maple around here is similarly priced as Poplar. I know you would have more labor, but what about making the doors out of soft maple too? Then you would have more options if you/the client wanted to break up the flat look?