Upper cabinet doors

[Yerfdog]

Hello all,

First post, seriously considering an Oliver. Wanted to know the difference between the frosted and black upper cabinet doors. (Besides the color obviously) 

From the videos I have seen the frosted ones show the contents of cabinets if the lights inside them are on. Do the black do the same? It would be great to see some pictures of the black doors with the inside light on, do the black completely block the inside light and the contents? 

Seems like the frosted are the most popular, but are there any benefits to either, other than aesthetics?

Thanks a bunch.

[topgun2]

I've got the mirrored doors on my Oliver, so, perhaps I'm not the best person to give comments.  However, that has never stopped me before!😁

The black are basically opaque but do allow a small amount of light around the edges (when the interior cabinet lights are on)(i.e. the doors do not "seal" completely).  The frosted allow for a nice "glow" of light to come through the door (again, when the interior lights are on).  However, the contents of the cabinet can be seen through the frosted doors while the black doors prevent the contents from being seen regardless of the lights being on or off inside the cabinet.

Of course, the black doors provide a starker contrast to the white interior of the Oliver while the frosted tend to have a "softer" contrast.

Does that help you?

Bill

p.s.  With both the frosted and the black (and the mirrored for that matter) the "color" of the "glass" is actually due to a coating that is applied to the back side of the door (just like with a real mirror in your home).  Given that there are usually "things" stored inside these cabinets and these things will (over time) tend to rub against this coating there can be scratches and/or rub spots that will develop on the doors.  A simple way to combat this is to apply a covering on the back of the doors of "clear" (actually it is slightly frosted) Contact paper (similar to THIS).

[Yerfdog]

Bill, it does help! Appreciate the response. 

[ScubaRx]

2 hours ago, Yerfdog said:

...From the videos I have seen the frosted ones show the contents of cabinets if the lights inside them are on. Do the black do the same? It would be great to see some pictures of the black doors with the inside light on, do the black completely block the inside light and the contents?...

Absolutely. Even with a powerful flashlight held right against the inside surface, NO light comes thru the door.

[Nancy K.]

I enjoy having the black cabinet doors for the opaqueness.   There's enough ambient light in the trailer from the various monitors to make your way down the aisle in the dark, so the light inside the cabinets at night isn't really necessary.  (You can also use the little floor lights.)  The only small downside is that the black shows fingerprints more.  

[John E Davies]

6 minutes ago, Nancy K. said:

The only small downside is that the black shows fingerprints more.  

You shouldn't touch the door itself, keep your fingers inside the chrome latch to lower it down gently,  to save the hinges (NEVER let it crash down), and reverse that for closing. Once you get into this habit of a "controlled descent" using the latch, you won't see any more fingerprints, unless they are from a guest or clueless spouse 😉 

I really like the mirrored versions, I wonder why they stopped offering them? They make the cramped interior look way, way larger.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[ScubaRx]

21 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

You shouldn't touch the door itself, keep your fingers inside the chrome latch to lower it down gently,  to save the hinges (NEVER let it crash down), and reverse that for closing. Once you get into this habit of a "controlled descent" using the latch, you won't see any more fingerprints, unless they are from a guest or clueless spouse 😉 

I really like the mirrored versions, I wonder why they stopped offering them? They make the cramped interior look way, way larger.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

They stopped because of complaints of seeing yourself everywhere you looked.

[Mike and Carol]

4 hours ago, John E Davies said:

I really like the mirrored versions, I wonder why they stopped offering them? They make the cramped interior look way, way larger.

Agree.  We like our mirror doors everywhere.  

[John E Davies]

8 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

They stopped because of complaints of seeing yourself everywhere you looked.

??? It doesn’t work that way. That complaint must have come from a 7 foot basketball player, a normal person doesn’t see his reflection from all the cabinet doors at once, he sees the CEILING. The only time you would ever see your face is with an overhead door directly in front of you with it lowered downward about 20- 30 degrees. It’s like a wall mirror, to see your feet it only has to go down halfway down to the floor, not all the way. I always wondered why the heck Oliver installs a full height mirror in the bath door - the bottom half doesn’t do anything useful.

 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

Well, for some of us, it's useful. Lol.

[Steph and Dud B]

We like the muted light through the frosted doors better than the harsh overhead lights. 

[John Dorrer]

We originally selected frosted, but switched to black. Can't see anything inside the cabinets. Glad we chose black.

[2008RN]

16 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

We like the muted light through the frosted doors better than the harsh overhead lights. 

Plus it doesn't show every finger print.

[kmoon4545]

IMO....at night I like turning on the cabinet lights with the frosted doors.  It is nice gentle light at night inside the trailer...vs the other more direct lights.

[Nancy K.]

We added a little foam sticker (like you would use on a chair leg) to keep the cabinet latch from banging into the microwave.

[ScubaRx]

On 8/16/2023 at 3:30 PM, John E Davies said:

??? It doesn’t work that way. That complaint must have come from a 7 foot basketball player, a normal person doesn’t see his reflection from all the cabinet doors at once, he sees the CEILING. The only time you would ever see your face is with an overhead door directly in front of you with it lowered downward about 20- 30 degrees. It’s like a wall mirror, to see your feet it only has to go down halfway down to the floor, not all the way. I always wondered why the heck Oliver installs a full height mirror in the bath door - the bottom half doesn’t do anything useful.

 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

I’ll let Oliver management know that you disagree with their decision. 

[Boudicca908]

On 8/16/2023 at 10:51 AM, John E Davies said:

They make the cramped interior look way, way larger.

Looking larger.... This is why I chose the frosted -- the space feels larger and cleaner. It's less contrast, and I preferred that.  I have never really used the lights inside the cabinets, so that isn't an issue for me. And to combat any potential rubbing on the backside of the frosted doors, I try to make sure that there is something soft between the contents and the door face. Yes, you can see the colors of things -- but it's translucent, not transparent. I like the frosted. 

[ScubaRx]

4 hours ago, Boudicca908 said:

…I have never really used the lights inside the cabinets…

How can you find anything inside them after dark?

[Patriot]

We chose frosted doors. The black doors highlighted lots of finger prints everywhere when we looked at the model trailers prior to purchasing. 
Jason Essary told me that the mirrored finish cabinet doors scratched easily. They also had trouble with QC with their mirrored door supplier. As a result the mirrored doors were discontinued. 
 

 

[topgun2]

10 hours ago, Boudicca908 said:

And to combat any potential rubbing on the backside of the frosted doors, I try to make sure that there is something soft between the contents and the door face.

 

4 hours ago, Patriot said:

Jason Essary told me that the mirrored finish cabinet doors scratched easily.

The "finish"  on each of these doors (including the black ones) is applied to the back of the door.  Therefore, when anything rubs against that interior surface there is the risk that this finish will be rubbed and/or scratched such that the rub or scratch mark will be easily seen from the exterior side.

To prevent this - it is easy to apply "clear" contact paper (like THIS STUFF) to the inside of the doors thus protecting the finish.  "Clear" contact paper is actually slightly frosted but it really doesn't affect the look of whatever finish that has been applied to the doors.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

 

The "finish"  on each of these doors (including the black ones) is applied to the back of the door.  Therefore, when anything rubs against that interior surface there is the risk that this finish will be rubbed and/or scratched such that the rub or scratch mark will be easily seen from the exterior side.

To prevent this - it is easy to apply "clear" contact paper (like THIS STUFF) to the inside of the doors thus protecting the finish.  "Clear" contact paper is actually slightly frosted but it really doesn't affect the look of whatever finish that has been applied to the doors.

Bill

All of our doors are mirrored.  The only one to suffer scratches is the one in the bathroom.  I caught that early on and applied some black contact paper to the inside and the problem was solved.  People say they don’t want the mirrored doors because they don’t want to look at themselves all the time.  I can say that is rarely an issue, we’re always looking somewhere else and even if you glance at a door you have to be at the right angle to see yourself.  Mike

[John Welte]

On 8/17/2023 at 8:17 AM, kmoon4545 said:

IMO....at night I like turning on the cabinet lights with the frosted doors.  It is nice gentle light at night inside the trailer...vs the other more direct lights.

We do the same!

[Boudicca908]

22 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

How can you find anything inside them after dark?

Xray vision!  

[ScubaRx]

😁

12 minutes ago, Boudicca908 said:

Xray vision!  

That might help, but I think that acquiring Scotopic vision through the development of a human tapetum lucidum would probably be of greater benefit. 😁

[MAX Burner]

On 9/4/2023 at 11:46 PM, Boudicca908 said:

How can you find anything inside them after dark?

...or maybe you can acquire a set of ENVG III/FWS-I's!