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Exploring Polyurethane 2-Pac: The Technical & Facts of Polyurethane 2 Pac Surfaces
What is a polyurethane kitchen? What are its pros and cons?
Polyurethane is a two part paint that is very hard, durable, scratch-resistant and a very colour stable paint surface. It is available in almost any colour and has different gloss, satin or texture finishes. It is spray painted in a spray booth onto an MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) 18mm thick substrate.
Polyurethane 2-Pac (or painted) is the most desired material for a high quality finished cabinet today, due to it's beautiful finish, unlimited colour pallet and sealed edges.
Polyurethane is recognized by professionals as the top notch finish for kitchens and furniture. Polyurethane is an easy to clean surface which provides you with a low maintenance finish.
Polyurethane cabinets have a distinct advantage over other materials, in that they are available in almost any colour you desire. OzFlatPacks are able to match the paint on your new polyurethane cabinets to suit your floors, tiles or any other aesthetics in your kitchen. This ensures that the cabinetry blends seamlessly together with your current furnishings and they look wonderful with stone and composite benchtops.
The paint finish can range in gloss levels from texture (0%), matt (10%), satin (30%), semi gloss (60%) and high gloss (90%), but the satin and semi gloss finishes are now seeing a resurgence in popularity.
Some of the reasons why it is a bit more expensive than other finishes:
- High cost per litre.
- It needs to be sprayed in a professional car spray booth with filtered air in and out.
- After its sprayed, it is baked in an oven to speed the curing process.
- It’s more difficult to work with than other finishes due to its hardiness, and it requires more sanding time.
- Its toxicity - the spray process requires all the proper safety systems.
- It is a high quality product - Polyurethane cabinets are made from a smooth coated MDF, sprayed with two part paint in a spray booth and then baked.
People are sometimes confused as to the difference between polyurethane and vacuum form doors. One simple explanation is that polyurethane is a paint sprayed onto a MDF Substrate, and vacuum doors are a plastic film stuck on to a MDF substrate.
A common misconception is that if polyurethane chips, then vacuum door cabinets must be better. However, the fact is that Polyurethane can be repaired, whereas vacuum doors can't (they can only be replaced).
The advantages of polyurethane are:
- hardiness and durability
- ease to repair
- huge range of colours
- gloss or satin flexibility
When properly cared for, these surfaces last many years. General tips for maintaining your doors:
- Do not allow hot objects such as saucepans or irons to come into contact with polyurethane.
We hope that this information has been helpful for you.
If you need further help or more information on this topic please:
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