Best wood selection for cabinets which will be painted.

[Neal W]

This spring/summer, I am tasked with buidling a built in surround for my master bedroom.  The boss says she wants them to be painted when they are completed. 

I'm thinking Poplar for the face frames, if I do face frames (undecided), but what about the carcasses?  Cabinet grade plywood? Some of the sides will be exposed.  What about the edges of the plywood, how do you handle that so the multi layer isn't exposed (I don't have an edge bander, or experience with edgebanding). 

Oak, Walnut or Maple doesn't make much sense to me, since it is going to be painted over.

Then the next question is how do you handle it so the grain doesn't come through the paint.  So it looks smooth and uniform?

Thanks in advance

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Soft maple. Poplar is for mouldings only.

 

[sheperd80]

I think poplar is sufficient for most face frames if u dont anticipate alot of abuse. If u do, then go maple or alder.

For the case mdf is easy to paint, again if youre not expecting alot of abuse. I find it hard to get a good smooth paint job on most plywood. It takes alot of prep work to hide that grain.

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[semenza]

Poplar if you are not concerned with the possibility of dings and dents. Maple otherwise. MDO (not MDF) is wonderful for painted cabinet boxes.

Seth

 

[Getmaverick]

All the cabinets i build that is getting painted is Poplar for the faces and Birch for the boxes.
I never use MDF. I do use Medex for painted raised panels.
If you are building the boxes from 3/4 material you can use some D3 Maple ply. Its better than China but cheaper than Domestic.

 

[bkharman]

Another vote for maple door rails and stiles. Feels very solid, a lot less dings and when you put them with soft close hinges, it feels "right". Maple seems to have come down a bit recently in my area. I can get pretty decent boards at HD for less than 1.75 a foot!  I think poplar isn't much less than that.

I just did a bunch of maple doors with MDF panels. Worked like a charm.

Cheers. Bryan.

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[tjbnwi]

Maple.

Tom

 

[JBag09]

Maple for me also. I'll admit Poplar is a great wood to be painted, I just try and steer people clear of it because of the softness of it and the ease of dings and dents in a kitchen setting. Now if it's for say a garage, basement, even laundry room, I'd definitely consider using Poplar.

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[Getmaverick]

You guys must be real hard on the cabinets. Your simply opening and shutting doors and drawers. You make it sound like Poplar can be dented by just looking at it.
I agree Maple is the best but it also cost more and is harder on the tools. If you have kids then I would suggest Maple, they are hard on everything.
I built my Kitchen 10 years ago with Poplar and I don't have any dents. Other than needing a fresh paint job they look as good as the day I installed them.