Narragansett, Rhode Island Here We Come !

Great thanks to Julie Z. for the booking. We will be handcrafting
37 Select Maple 1 Series Windsor Raised Panel Cabinet Doors,
Crown Mould and Custom Rev-A-Shelf, Bluetooth Enabled
and Wifi-Custom Cabinetry in our exclusive custom
BuckingHam Blue.

Doors will feature micro-grommeted gasket hinge dowels
Hettich Soft-Close Hinges and Accuride 2832 Soft Close Glides
All base work and case work will feature our revolutionary
Channel Link Joinery hardware.

Demolition by Bigfoot Demolition Rhode Island.

We will post pictures once complete !

Garmin Virtual Bike Links - Training

As requested by a client, here is the link to the Garmin VIRB
indoor cycling training videos. Add a Chromecast and train
on your 50-65" TV. It's a lot safer than using our pothole-ridden
roads in Halton !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gk_rKzb54o

In progress...goodbye Golden Oak ...Hello Modern ...

Great thx to Gary and Shelly !

Another successful refinish in our 

Thoroughsand Shop Process

A nice modern look with dark contrast Amerock Hardware. Samsung Hood by Goeman's installed by homeowners. Tile backsplash to follow.

Valances to follow,using the new Sherwin Williams non-splitting 1050 fast-dry caulking !

Colour: SW7566 Westhighland White

Finish : Target UltraSatin WB Lacquer

Some jobs we default to the better white hiding power of Target Coatings Emtech6500 Series.

Thousands of doors spray finished...

If Uncle Sherwin cares to listen, there is about 5% too much vehicle diluent in the Acromapro off-white (our opinion). Too much burn in affects the integrity of the primer. 

U.V Curing Cycle/ Curing on the Flat

Another quality refinishing in SW7566

Westhighland White !

UV rack curing cycle at controlled 66F for

enhanced level and flow-out in cool climate and dust controlled rack room.

Waterborne Lacquer Edge Soak/ Hot water demo

2 days post-cure on a valance and maple cabinet door from a project done in the Orchard recently to demonstrate the toughness/edge soak and adhesion of waterborne lacquer.

Primer :Akvasurf Topcoat: 50 Sheen Akvatopp Acromapro.

Anyone still using post-cat nitro is taking unnecessary risks and exposing themselves to formaldehyde and bad mek solvent vapour.

Waterborne Lacquer is hands-down, the best !!!

What is AWI refinishing ?

All refinished doors go through our Thoroughsand Shop Process. Complete removal of prior finish guarantees excellent adhesion and a look that is unrivalled. All animal fat triglyceride cleaning compounds are removed and sanded off to reveal pristine wood whether its oak or maple, birch, alder etc.

Anyone sanding doors on-site is doing it wrong in our opinion.

The above 30" door required 35 minutes of hand sanding and 

profiling to remove prior cinnamon stain and conversion varnish clear. 

The surfacer we use is specially designed to not only adhere but also fills open pore grain in oak.

It is almost impossible to lift the primer after 16 hour cure/dry...the adhesion is astounding and sands back to powder to get that high

-end gallery refinished look !

Another Example of Why Dangerous Solvented Coatings should not be used...

Today on CNN an explosion was reported in Texas
at Tri-Chem Industries...another solvent related
explosion causing death and destruction from
improper chemical handling. The worker was mixing a solvent blend used in oil refining...probably a mek or flash solvent.

We keep telling people Stop Using Solvented Coatings...
it's not worth the risk.! This includes any hybrid alkyd like Advance from Ben Moore or ProClassic from SW. Not only does this crap yellow early but its highly toxic and flammable.

The solvent vapour from a 5 gallon pail of solvented lacquer (matador, bernyl or magnalac) will collect at floor level and can
explode from a lightswitch spark...there is 21 pounds of MEK in each 5 gallon pail...gasoline
essentially, this is highly dangerous folks.

Colorscapes uses only Gs-11, Greenguard and Greensure safe paints and coatings.

The Rule of 9,12,15,18,21

Almost all modern frameless kitchens are built with the above door widths...Why you ask ?
It is so that the cabinet maker can continue to make common sized doors, based on either a 24" height or 30,34,38 size, regardless of the actual kitchen configuration. This leads to great speed and economy when receiving an order prior to final colour or finish. All thats then required is to make boxes (18/24/30/36/42) that fit these dimensions, pack and SHIP ! This is where the small cabinet maker can "kick the ass" of the multinational conglomerate like Masterbrand etc. The ability to offer any colour with faster turnaround times with a high degree of precision is unrivalled.

Forget about Merillat or Elkay, all these companies care about is volume sales under the Masterbrand umbrella. They send day temps and high school kids to install your kitchen. We helped a client 2 years ago that received a complete mismatch of colours and broken cabinets from Kraftmaid...read their complaint file on consumer affairs...its lengthy! The homeowner was out 21,000.00 with a 2 week staging deadline looming. People don't understand that the big box doesn't care once they have your $$$. Its all about cost centres and margin sales for them.

Ask Udo Schmidt his thoughts on conglomerate cabinet companies, he'll set you straight. Big dinosaurs move slowwwwly.

My grandfather Cliff Donnelly used to build a standard face-framed kitchen with edge routed
Slab doors in 3 days , all on-site. Back then stains and paints were all hand wiped and brush applied. If you showed him the spray equipment
Compression tools,cnc and racking we have now, he'd a died and went to heaven.

Funny how Slab Doors are coming back into style with ultra-modern and sleek kitchens.!
Like justin timberlake says, it comes all the way back around !

In progress...an Upper Paradise Refinish

We are currently assisting a homeowner with a cabinet refinishing update, just in time for Spring and NCAA March Madness.

This is the time of year when most clients decide the golden oak or aged cabinet finishes must go !
Don't throw out cabinetry that is in good condition...refinish and lock greater equity in that home, many of our clients tell us that they gained over 12 to 15k in resale value.!

My money is on the Spartans who open
against Bucknell this Friday...

The QEP Woodshop ruled....

I got my initial start in woodworking

under the direction of Marc Ilton,

A very respected teacher of math, woodworking and of course, football.

In my days at QEP, we had state of the art

routers, lathes, bandsaws, table saws and all

the required chisels, clamps and fine woodworking tools. We even had a boom-room, mixing table and a kiln dryer.

One of the most humorous days in the woodshop saw an ill-mannered student

have his custom crafted pump lamp be

tested for aerodynamicity !!!

There was nothing like bringing a hot cup of coffee, your work plans and smelling that fresh cut sawdust and the whirr of the trunnion motors every time you showed up for class.

I loved every minute of woodshop class and many days I regret spending too much time "behind the wheel" in a sales territory. Woodworking does "get in your blood",once you see all that is possible and you learn from every teacher you come across. Call it osmotic learning by exposure, you soon figure out what works and what doesn't then you can also apply that to your life. Two of my grandfathers were absolute marvels of woodworking and were building built-ins and custom pilaster pool tables before they ever saw a catalogue from one of these big boxes. Nowadays most cabinet dealers just catalog order from Kitchencraft,or Ikea-ugh and install. They have lost their skill set and no longer hand-craft anything. I watched a guy get fired from a production line because he missed stopping a roller-coater that went off kilter and ruined at least 100 cabinet doors. This never would have happened if the doors were hand sprayed in an acceptable manner. I don't like seeing too much reliance on CNC or Automation because it forces a cabinetmaker to start using cheesy MDF or Medex. Run an mdf door under a sink tap into the pocket holes and watch what happens...just sayin' ;)

Million dollar homes in high-end neighborhoods do not have MDF doors in their kitchens. Even million dollar Bronte townhomes still enforce solid wood cabinetry as a builder standard option.

Project Red White and Blue

The Toby Keith kitchen,

Courtesy of the Red White and Blue !

Finish laid down with soft mist K-gun

from the good folks at Sames Kremlin.

If you think these guns are good you should

Order one of our custom aluminum gravity

Guns with custom 1.8mm cap.

We had these custom made by a supplier in Canada, especially designed for eco-compliant waterborne lacquer spraying.

The equipment is just as important as your know-how...

White Work...Cloud White and Dove White...

New granite counters by

Granite Kings, Stoney Creek.

Homeowner to complete tile on his own. 

Accent door by Baresa, razor detail sanded and 4 coat pass 

finished by us. Glass in to follow.

Drop in induction 6 burner induction

Kuradori on steroids to follow...

I always say if you can afford it get rid of that

dumpy Moffat/Camco range and go modern !!!

New mag catches and pulls by Richelieu installed by Colorscapes.

Cabinet doors inspected prior to hand delivery in felt cases.

No one does white better than Colorscapes...our KCMA/AWI approved refinishing process is hands-down, unrivalled. Ever open a Kraftmaid Home Depot cabinet box flatpack? Its laughable, scratches and dings everywhere, screws missing etc. It provided us a window of mass opportunity to beat them up and down the block.!!! Home Depot just does not do cabinet installs well..they are still using

2d line diagrams while everyone else has gone to 3D !!!

One clients' Cloud White, other is Dove White...the difference ?...2 to 3/64 shots of Gennex colorant.

We are the only cabinet refinishing company to provide proper 320 sandback and factory cabinet waterborne emulsion cure lacquers for that high end gallery finish ...And give you a Keg gift card as thanks for allowing us to assist in your resale maximization efforts. The idiots on Kijiji are spraying doors with airless and baseboard trim paint or that gasoline-cut flammable Advance Benny Moore garbage.