Question
I’ve been asked to bid a kitchen and various other cabinetry for an ocean front home here in Northern CA. I was asked if MDF as substrate for the VG Doug fir doors/fronts would be an issue as MDF is so absorbent. My reply was that it is sealed MDF and it should be fine. Was I right? Come to think of it how about cup hinges and tandems? Will they turn green in time due to salt air?
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor U:
While I have not done cabinets at the beach, we have installed quite a few interior shutters. While I have not had any issues with woods and paint finishes, I have has problems with our tiltrod staples and hinges tarnishing and actually rusting. Now we use, or at least recommend to customers, hardware that will not corrode, same with the staples. For the most part, the homes use the central air most of the time, which keeps moisture exposure to a limit, but the brief exposures of having the house open is enough to allow the salt air to contact the metals.
