It seems like everyone is painting their cabinets! This has been the trend for a few years now and the big paint vendors like Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, and PPG have stepped up their game coming up with products that marketed for cabinets but are they the best products for you cabinets? We think that there are, and in this blog we’ll discuss why we believe that Italian wood coatings AKA as 2k polyurethanes!
What’s wrong with standard enamels?
Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with the standard cabinet coatings from the big paint vendors, products like Emerald Urethane from Sherwin Williams and Cabinet Coat from Benjamin Moore are good products, and these vendors keep improving their products every year. in addition, these products are also a great alternative and a much safer alternative to solvent-based products that have been traditionally used in the industry. Our only questions is, why would you use products that are manufactured from cabinets, baseboards, and doors, when you can use products that are meant to go on cabinets and cabinets only!
In our Blog, “Everything you need to know about cabinet painting”, we talk about what has traditionally been used to paint cabinets, and the differences between different coatings.
What are Italian wood coatings?
Italian wood coatings or 2K polyurethanes are specially designed for wood and are known for their durability and versatility when it comes to cabinetry, millwork, and furniture. Polyurethanes like Renner, Milesi, Envirolak and Centurion make 2k polyurethanes that not only outperform any regular urethane enamels on the market, but they also have components added to them so that your cabinetry can become chemically resilient and durable. In addition to the chemical superiority compared to all the standard coatings out in the market, they are water-based products that will hold up to the standards of solvent-based products that have been traditionally been used because they tend to perform better than enamels.
What makes Italian wood coatings/ 2K polyurethanes a better product to use?
We can’t say that regular cabinet paints aren’t any good, or that they shouldn’t be used on cabinets, but if you’re looking for a true coating for your busy kitchen cabinets, then 2K polyurethanes should be highly considered for your project because they offer the best chemical and wear durability compared to the regular cabinet paints.
The 2K in Italian wood coatings is a representation for the 2 components that are used along with these products (Paint and hardener). This is what makes these products different than your regular paints and is one of the reasons why they offer a superior protection, especially if you have a busy kitchen! In addition, typical cabinet coatings need some sort of solvent-based primer before their application finish (oil primer), making their use in your home extremely dangerous (here is story of how a spark in an area where solvent-based products were being used caused a house fire). 2K Polyurethanes are water-based, so this makes it safer to use in your home, without the danger of catching your house on fire!
Italian wood coatings for the win!
If you’re moving into your dream home, will be living in your house for many years, and you know you have a kitchen that is heavily used, it would be prudent to consider using Italian wood coatings. Products like Renner, Milesi, Envirolak or Centurion all offer longer term protection that your standard enamels can’t offer.
You wont see many companies using these products because there is a learning curve that comes with working with these products and it’s not as easy as just spraying and waiting for this stuff to dry in 30-40 mins. Practice, 4-5 hour dry times, and correct mixing of products will make it so these product can perform and that’s just something that cuts into production time for a lot of companies. The many variables that can occur are too unpredictable, so make sure that you work with painting companies that have experience working with these products, and if you have any questions regarding these products or our process, please feel free to reach out!
