Warning: I picked a mitered corner over a butt joint for a painted cabinet and it's been a nightmare.

The client wanted a super clean look on a built-in for their place in Tacoma, so I went with the miter, thinking the paint would hide any tiny gaps. It's been a constant fight with seasonal movement and hairline cracks keep showing up after a few months. Anyone have a better method for painted casework that actually stays put?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelacooper2mo ago

Honestly, I see hairline cracks in a lot of trim work, painted or not. My own baseboards do it every winter. It's just wood doing wood things with the weather. For a painted cabinet, I'd just keep a little matching paint for touch-ups. It's not like it's a structural failure, it's a cosmetic line you can fix in two minutes. Sometimes we chase perfection too hard on stuff people barely notice after it's filled with their stuff.

max9631mo ago

Come ON, it's not just a winter thing. My last apartment had cheap cabinets that cracked at EVERY seam within a year, paint or no paint. It looked awful, like a spiderweb on every door. Once you see it, you can't unsee it, especially on a smooth painted finish. Settling for that just tells builders it's okay to use junk materials.

shane_perry2928d ago

Ngl, I actually watched this video the other day where a contractor explained some of that cracking comes from MDF edges swelling before they're painted, not just seasonal movement. He was saying most builders use a low-quality primer that doesn't seal the material properly, so moisture gets in and blows out those seams over time. @max963 hit the nail on the head though, once you see that spiderweb pattern on a smooth door it really does ruin the whole look, can't just pretend it's a wood thing. Feels like they cut corners everywhere now and leave us dealing with the mess.