KCMA Finish Standards

If you have read some of my posts you know I can get a little nerdy. Today I want share with you KCMA finish testing. 

Have you heard of KCMA? 

KCMA stands for Kitchen Cabinet Manufactures Association. The KCMA puts kitchen cabinets through several tests to see how they with stand through household use. The sounds of it their tests are harder on the cabinets than my 6 year old wild child! 

Now this is fabulous information for some of you who maybe in the market for brand-new kitchen cabinets. But this is not the reason for this blog. Today we are going to talk about the type of tests the top coat has to go through to get KCMA approved. 

Why is it important for the top coat to be KCMA approved? Well, if you plan to DIY your kitchen or hire a cabinet painter to paint your kitchen you want to make sure that the type of top coat they are using is durable for heavy use. Read on readers and it will become very clear.

KCMA Finish Tests

Spill Tests 

The spill test, KCMA tests the finish durability by spilling common household products on the top. They leave the spill on there for X amount of time and rate the durability of the stain or lack of stain. Now for todays blog we are going to focus on my favorite finish ML Campbell Agualente. Agualente is a water-borne pre-catalyzed clear coat. (which is my go to top coat) Agualente has been tested for everything from Vodka to nailpolish remover, even mustard. They rate the spill from poor to excellent. 

The Heat Test 

Just hold on though that’s not all they test! Gosh I just think this next part is so stinking cool! They test the finish for hot, cold, and humid durability along with print resistance (I really want to know more about that.  KCMA if you are reading this email me with how you test for print resistance) 

The Environment

So this is also what the Upcycle Girls is all about, our environment and what we can do to save it. Well to be KCMA approved the manufactures not only have to pass the durability tests but they also have to pass their environmental standards. You can see more of that on the bottom page here. 

I do want to share the KCMA finishing testing information. Here is the link to their website where they talk about the tests they preform. You can read more about the wood durability testing they do in addition to the top coat tests. 

Thanks for reading this week. Let me know what your thought.

Tara Lou