Cabinet - Paint it, Stain it, Leave it?

[robs400]

Finally finished getting the first of hopefully a few cabinets together last night. I was not sure how this was going to work out, but I am pretty happy with it. I have recently finished three walls of my garage and thrown some paint on them as well.

I am looking for input as to how to finish the cabinets off. I do like how they look currently, however I don't think they match the walls that well...keep in mind the trim is just pre-primed and will be painted a dark gray I think.

I am a newbie to all this stuff and am just looking for input.

The wall the cabinet is mounted on...

Close up of the cabinet...

 

[bill9860]

really a personal taste kind of thing but I when I built my workbench, I painted the frame (I actually painted the wood for the frame before I even cut it - didn't feel like crawling around try to paint it after it was assembled)and stained the top which is an oak plywood. Didn't like the unfinished look myself. Figure painting it would lead to a lot of chips in paint. I know it will take a beating and figure the stain would make it less obvious.

 

[JC23]

What bill9860 said above but keep in mind, raw, untreated wood can mold on ya. I see you are in MA and that means snow and condensation throught temperature changes.

I've made it a rule in my garage to paint as much as I can. When I threw paneling up, I even painted the backside. No mold for me, thank you.

BTW, nice work. What's the inside look like? I'm diggin' the stripes on the walls, too!

 

[Buford T. Justice]

What bill9860 said above but keep in mind, raw, untreated wood can mold on ya. I see you are in MA and that means snow and condensation throught temperature changes.

I've made it a rule in my garage to paint as much as I can. When I threw paneling up, I even painted the backside. No mold for me, thank you.

BTW, nice work. What's the inside look like? I'm diggin' the stripes on the walls, too!

What about clearcoating wood? That would also stop the mold you referenced correct? I have painted white osb in my garage with unfinished pine around the windows & doors. I kinda like the distinction and how it's set off on the white walls.

 

[JC23]

Right on, Robinhood.

Anything that seals wood like clear coating will usually protect against rotting and mold.
It will need to COAT the wood, not just penetrate like a stain.

 

[Call me the Breeze]

I think I would paint it. The frame moulding on the doors could be painted to compliment the cool stripes of the walls and tie the two together

 

[robs400]

Thanks for the input guys. As much as I like the natural look of wood, it just looked too out of place in the garage...so right now its all painted the color of the wall, just a light gray.

I just wanted to get it done so that I can start putting some stuff in it as I am tired of everything being piled on the other side of the garage! I'll paint the fronts something more creative down the road.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Good decision. Bare wood will get very dirty. Even stained and varnished wood will require maintenance that's more extensive than good old paint.