Cabinet Painting - Why You Should Not Use an Alkyd or Melamine

Having quoted hundreds of cabinet finishing projects, we often get

asked " How come you do not recommend melamine or oil based

paints on cabinets - everyone tells us they are tougher to mar and

stand up better to scrubbing...? "

First off, there was a time when melamine alkyd and oil based

paints were superior during the early 1980's before acrylic

paint technology was mastered. This is no longer the case

as most paint manufacturers have not developed the technology

for over 15 years due to the coming VOC /HAPS regulations which

will eliminate any paint not meeting EPA guidelines for emissions.

Let's look at the advantages of 100% acrylic paints and lacquers

which meet GreenGuard regulations and the North American EPA

standards for VOC compliance.

• Fast drying
• Zero odor
• Zero VOC pre-tint, Low VOC after colorizing
• Easy touch up - Safe for homeowner to store and re-use
• Safe TLV exposure levels for children, pets and seniors.
• Safe to apply by painter technology - roller brush or conventional spray
• No threat of on site fires or explosion hazards - spark proof

Melamine, or oil based paints have the following negative characteristics:

• Early yellowing in off whites
• Slow dry time - exceedingly slow in some cases due to tinting/humidity
• Gummy finish - does not SNAP dry hard to touch ever
• Dangerous solvents to thin and clean up
• High Threshold Limit Value Exposure (TLV's) - may cause illness or reaction
• High VOC and Stoddard Solvent - if painting cabinets you now have 11bs of solvent
• and paint additives on your cabinets that is continually off-gassing harmful VOC's.
• Not safe for children or pets after the "Melamine Scare" of 2008 from Chinese Toy manufacturing.

Anyone considering the use of any oil based paint in their home should realistically

assess the danger and make an educated choice that is environmentally conscious.

Back in 2000, two men were badly burned and killed in a solvent

vapour explosion while spraying cabinets in Whitby when the spray

solvent cloud from a conventional spray cup

ignited due to high humidity and the presence of an open flame (water heater)

- this event did not go unnoticed by the paint industry (CPCA) and there has been a huge

movement away from any highly solvented coating formulation across North America.

Threshold limit values or TLV's as they are called in the allergen and exposure

classification are dangerously high when breathing and working with oil based paints and melamines. They are just not safe for anyone to work with and I would run away

from any painting contractor specifying alkyds and melamines in this day and age.