German kitchen - lacquer vs lacquer laminate

garybacc

Hi There,

This is a question for the German kitchen sellers and other knowledgeable folk who have bought the below kinds of doors in the past.

We are about to order a new single channel handleless kitchen and we are looking for a nice matt finish. Now we have narrowed it down to two options for the doors and it looks like all the suppliers (Hacker Systemat, Leicht and Nolte) we are looking at have similar options:

- Fully lacquered - I think the round edges give it a better look. But the kitchen designer tells me the durability could be an issue with chips and scratches over time.

- Lacquered laminate - basically a painted laminate. I am told it is much more durable and would have a similar matt finish. They all use something called laser edging on the sides.

Fully lacquered is slightly more expensive - not outside our budget - so that is not the point here. I want something that looks good and lasts. There is no point having something beautiful that is going to get covered with scratches.

I was hoping some of you experienced in this market could help with the below:

1.) Is durability really that much of an issue - is it the whole door or just the edges? Does the lacquered laminate make it quite resistant?

2.) Does lacquer laminate have the same look and feel?

3.) How good is laser edging over time? Does it move due to moisture etc?

4.) What would you recommend to a client in my situation (please ignore cost difference as it is not a major factor here).

Your kind help and advice will be much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Gary

Auntie-Dolly

I had a Cuisines !!!!!!! kitchen installed over 7 years ago. The doors are matt lacquered and look as good now as they did when we installed it. It is easy to keep clean and no chips or scratches. I really wanted to avoid anything laminated or 'wrapped' and have never regretted the cost

Auntie-Dolly

S C H M I D T
is that a swear word?

ryder72

A laminate is more durable but there is a theoretical chance of water damage from the join
A lacquer eliminates this risk ONLY if its lacquered on primed MDF. Hacker and Nolte doors are lacquered on priming paper - a form of foil wrapped solution
A lacquered laminate is a halfway house. It gives you the look and feel of a lacquer for lower cost.

missile

We installed Hacker kitchen in gloss lacquer with no handles, formed edging. It still looks great, good as new.
I would not worry about condensation in a kitchen. We also installed a tall kitchen unit to provide storage in our bathroom. It has not been affected by moisture - still looks good as new.

garybacc

Thanks ryder72..we ended up going with Leicht lacquered doors..happy with our choice.