Vinyl Doors Peeling or Bubbling? Why and your repair options

Peeling Vinyl Kitchen Door

Peeling or bubbling on vinyl wrapped kitchen doors is one of the most common problems we experience when dealing with our customers and their kitchens. The peeling generally starts on the edges of the doors or drawers, before quickly spreading along the length of the panel. Kitchen manufacturers often blame these peels or bubbles on heat, moisture, steam, direct sunlight or improper use of cleaning solutions, all of which can effect the integrity of the glue beneath. Although these causes are often preventable with hindsight, by the time you notice the problem it’s generally too late and the damage is already done.

In our experience, the most common areas where the vinyl tends to peel is on the floor unit doors below the kitchen sink, wall unit doors above toasters and kettles, and doors and drawers either side of the oven, where the seals start to degrade and release heat. Amongst other issues, this is one reason why vinyl wrap kitchen suppliers generally only provide a limited warranty when compared to their solid wood counterparts; vinyl coatings will eventually degrade and the adhesives will break down given enough time. So, what exactly are vinyl doors and how are they made?

Vinyl Wrapped Kitchens

Peeled Vinyl Kitchen Door

Vinyl covered kitchen doors and drawers are generally manufactured by crafting a door style from medium density fibreboard (MDF) or chipboard, both man made materials made from wood chips or fibres, which are then bonded or compressed to make solid panels. For kitchens, doors and drawers made from these materials tend to be made by bonding several smaller panels together, or by routing a design from a solid panel using a CNC machine. These crafted doors and drawers are then wrapped with a plastic vinyl covering before being glued with an industrial adhesive to form a finished panel. Manufacturers of vinyl kitchens tend to have an extensive range of colours and effects including high gloss finishes, flat colours and wood grain effects to imitate real wood doors.

Vinyl kitchens are certainly cheaper than solid wood, but what are the drawbacks? Wooden doors are generally manufactured from solid wood and not a lot can really go wrong with these, beyond the obvious signs of wear and tear from daily use. Vinyl doors however, will eventually degrade given time, whether that be by bleaching from sunlight, or by the adhesives breaking down leading to bubbles or peels in the vinyl. There is no way to predict when this will be, but it will happen eventually. We’ve quoted and sprayed kitchens less than 5 years old that have started to develop problems, but equally coated doors and drawers much older than this which showed no signs of issues.

Fixing Vinyl Wrap Doors
Peeled Vinyl Kitchen Sprayed

Here at CP Painters, our solution to restore these peeling or bubbling vinyl kitchens is to apply a hardwearing paint solution to transform the doors and drawers at a fraction of the cost of replacing them. We have worked with hundreds of happy customers to transform thousands of kitchen doors and drawers, removing the existing wraps before preparing the old wood for a new coating. Any paint applied is only as good as the surface you’re covering, so we take time to ensure the face is properly prepared, preventing any future cracks, peeling, blistering or flaking. Our acid catalyst enamel is stronger than any other paint used on the market, up to 15 times stronger than standard oil based and acrylic paints. The newly applied paint will transform your doors and drawers with an exceptionally durable finish, lasting longer and looking better than the day they were first installed, for years and years to come.

We partner with the world’s leading industrial paint and coatings manufacturers to bring you the latest spray painting technologies and highest quality coatings, ensuring we get the perfect finish for your old vinyl kitchen, time and time again. We can paint kitchen cupboards, drawers and facings in any colour, including surfaces made from nearly any material, including hardwood, softwood, aluminium, stainless steel, glass and plastic, all prepared and finished to a factory level standard. Tried and tested with hundreds of happy customers nationwide, trust our team to transform your kitchen today. Find out more on our process page and check out a small selection of kitchens from our previous customers in our gallery. Feel free to contact us today for a no obligation quotation. Don’t replace them, spray them!

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