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Oil or Latex? Which One is Better for Your Kitchen Cabinet

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The changing atmosphere and environment can take a serious toll on kitchen cabinets. If you want them to look as good as they looked on the first day, you will need to invest a significant amount of time and effort to accomplish it. Naturally, climate conditions are not the only ones that can cause harm to it.

Besides that, we can see that there are other causes such as boiling water. If you pay close attention to them, you shall see that they can harm their structure. Of course, preserving your kitchen cabinets is something you can do on your own, or you can hire a professional to help you with this task. If you need help from a professional with cabinet painting, visit this site.

In both cases, you will need to obtain certain products that can help with treating your kitchen cabinet properly. Of course, you’re going to need paint. But the thing is, should you choose an oil-based paint or you should go forward with latex? Today, we want to answer these questions by providing insight into the topic.

Latex Paints

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Latex paints, or as they are widely known, water-based paints, are what we would call an eco-friendly solution. There are different ways you can use this one, but the commonest way to use this one is to apply it through a spray gun or to apply it manually. Sure, there are many more ways to do it, but these two are the most accommodating ones.

What needs to be said about latex, is that it is somewhat clearer than oil-based ones. The reason why is perceived as an eco-friendly solution is that it has almost no VOC. People often decide to go with this one in their houses since it is a much cheaper solution, and applying it to the cabinets is not complicated.

Also, we want to point out that you will not need to prepare for using this one, which is completely different from the oily ones. Plus, this one can be applied to all sorts of surfaces. The same cannot be said about some other solutions out there. You will be glad to hear that this one is not problematic when it comes to leaving brush marks.

What are the Advantages?

When it comes to the advantages of using this one, you will see that they are more flexible than the other options. We’ve already pointed out some of the most important ones earlier. However, we can see that latex can cover much more space on the kitchen cabinet in a single brushing than the other option.

Not to mention that this one will dry much faster due to its structure and nature. At the same time, you can clean it much easier if some of it drops on the places where you don’t want to apply it, like the floor. Cleaning the brushes themselves tends to be much easier since you will not need to use special chemicals to do so.

Instead, you can clean them just by putting them under the water and brushing them with your hands. However, you should remember that the longer the paint stays on the brush. For all these reasons, you will it much easier if you are a complete beginner and you are not well-versed in these things in the first place.

Oil-Based Paint

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The oil-based one is perceived as the more resilient way to finish, and for that reason, they are usually the first choice for people. By applying this one, you are investing in your kitchen cabinet, making it somewhat slippery. It means that you can swipe all the particles that accumulate on it quite easier.

The paint itself will be much more resilient to a wide array of negative effects, which is not the case with latex. Naturally, there are certain issues you can find while using this one. However, we would like to point out that being prepared for using them will help you avoid any mistakes that can happen along the way.

For instance, this one takes a lot of time to dry. Therefore, you would need to be patient and wait at least sixteen hours before you can use the kitchen cabinet in the same capacity as before. Of course, there is a possibility that you will need to wait for more than 16 hours, but you will find this information on the package of product.

What are the Advantages?

The most important advantage of oil-based ones is that they apply perfectly to the wood surface. Different from practically any other surface out there, you will see that this one is smoother when it comes to applying. Plus, oily ones make the surface much more resilient to physical damage.

Besides that, you’re looking at an option that will fade much less over time. We cannot stress enough how important this is, especially if you’re doing a lot of cooking in your kitchen, and when a cabinet is a place where you hold a lot of things. Just to make sure, ensure that your kitchen is a well-ventilated area.

Choose the Color Carefully

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The last thing we want to talk about is why choosing the color carefully is essential. Of course, you would want your cabinet to complement all other parts of your kitchen. Naturally, this doesn’t mean that you should solely look for the same color as it is in the other parts, but you should find the one that fits well.

There is one hidden danger many don’t think about. Choosing pale colors carries a danger of high tear and wear. For that reason, you should be careful about this. We would recommend you choose slightly darker shades of the color to prevent this from happening.

The Bottom Line

Choosing between latex and oil-based paints isn’t that complex as many think it is. Here, we’ve provided you with the most relevant points you should understand about these two. We are sure you will find the insight to be useful for your future project.

Written by Rebecca Eulikk