Metal kitchen cabinets have made a comeback, both in their original retro-look incarnations, and in the form of brand new stainless steel or powder-coated metal cabinets which can give you an ultra-modern kitchen look.
Many people think that metal cabinets are a relic of the 1950′s, but in fact they are still made, in several forms. You can buy them finished in stainless steel, often built by companies who made them originally for scientific lab or industrial use; and powder coated in the color of your choice.
Both powder coating and stainless steel are extremely solid and durable finishes for cabinets. However, you should investigate what underlies the metal, if anything: are the cabinets all-metal, or are they built of a metal skin over a particleboard or MDF core? Both ways have their pros and cons but in general if you’re looking for metal cabinets in order to get immunity to humidity and temperature swings, you’ll want all-metal construction. If you simply want the “look” in your regular kitchen, other materials under the metal will be fine, as they are the same materials often used in building regular wood veneer or melamine coated cabinets.
Some vendors of metal cabinets, like St Charles, have been building these cabinets for decades. Their new lines include ultra-modern looks as well as retro looks. The steel for the cabinets is 70% recycled and 98% recyclable, so it’s eco-friendly. All the modern interior fittings are available, from pull-out pantries and large, deep drawers to fluorescent lighting. You can even get glass doors and glass shelves (with stainless steel edging!)
Even laminate cabinets are getting in on the metal look. There are laminate finishes which mimic different metals, such as brushed aluminum (which doesn’t pick up the surrounding colors like stainless steel does) and copper. Other cabinet companies give you the option of metal doors and drawer fronts on standard wood-product cabinet boxes. Metal finishes available include brushed, textured and polished. The metal can also be powder-coated with extremely hard-wearing paint (like that used on cars) in a range of vibrant or subtle colors.
There are many metal kitchen cabinets still installed in older houses. For a long time these cabinets were seen as dowdy, old-fashioned, dingy, even nasty – but as so often happens, retro is cool and the wheel has come full circle to bring them back into fashion again.
Original metal kitchen cabinet installations are now cherished by their owners, and other metal cabinet lovers search out used cabinets on the second-hand market to buy, refurbish and install in their own kitchens.
If they have been well maintained, metal cabinets may be still looking good and giving sterling service. However, most original cabinets suffer from one or more of the following potential problems, all of which have solutions or at least methods to minimise them.
Over the years, on older cabinets the finish has often broken down in high-wear locations, and as soon as the paint film has broken down, rust starts to rear its ugly head. This is especially likely under the sink, but it may happen as well in areas where condensation builds up, or where plumbing fixtures have leaked such as a water line to a fridge.
Metal doors can be dented by kids and objects banging into them, and in time they can start to look pretty shabby. Dents can sometimes be removed by an auto body shop, but the simplest method is to use auto body putty like Bondo to fill them, sand and repaint.
Opening and closing doors and drawers can result in a lot of clasnging and especially if your family are “bangers”, the noise can be annoying. Lining metal doors with a damping material such as wood, rubber or foam (similar to the sound-deadening used under stainless steel sinks) may help, as will installing dampers to prevent the metal-on-metal contact which makes so much noise.
If you love the look of metal cabinets, you can find them for sale “used” on Craigslist, eBay, and possibly in your local newspaper classified ads. Searching the Web will bring up many discussions of where and how people have found their cabinets: some people will drive a long way to get them!
Of course, you probably won’t find all the cabinets you need for your kitchen design all in one go! Expect to spend time searching out multiple batches of cabenets, possibly in different colors, to get what you need. You can also turn the process around, find the cabinets first, then design your kitchen around what you have.
It’s perfectly possible to refinish these cabinets in a number of different ways. A DIY method is to clean and degrease, prime using metal primer, then spray with appliance paint. Two-part expoxy paint can also be used. Both these paints create a high level of nasty fumes, so make sure you can leave windows and doors open for several days after you’ve painted.
If you don’t want to do the refinishing yourself, companies will come and use an “electrostatic painting” process to paint the cabinets right in your kitchen with good results. The electrostatic part refers to a process which uses static electricity to make the cabinets attract the paint, so there’s very little overspray. It can be used with several different types of paint.
If you’ll be removing the cabinets in order to renovate the kitchen, you can send them out to be refinished. The most arduous route involves sand-blasting or soda-blasting the old paint and rust off the cabinets, filling dents, then refinishing by a powder-coating or auto body shop. Ideally, first find your painter, then find out who he or she uses as a sand or soda blaster as the two will be used to working together.
If your cabinets don’t need much dent-filling, consider cleaning off the old finish and then clear-coating the bare metal, for a unique metallic look.
Designed by Kevin R Wilson.