Hi Siobhan,

Laminates are usually plain flat doors, made of chipboard - the surface is made up of layers of paper impregnated with resin. The edges are usually pvc, so have a different finish to the flat surface of the door. They are very tough (although high gloss finishes are always going to be more prone to marking than matt ones). If you do chip the laminate surface, though, there's nothing you can do. Once chipped they're very vulnerable to water - because of being chipboard.

Foil wrapped doors are made from MDF and then the front and sides are coated in a one piece sheet of vinyl (sort of shrink wrapped). Some are better quality than others. Check the back of the doors for any signs of the vinyl peeling off at the edges and look for imperfections on the front surface.

The advantage of vinyl is that the MDF can be shaped before the vinyl is applied - so the doors don't have to be completely flat; they can have rounded or bevelled edges (or a profile like a wooden door) - and the MDF is slightly more water resistant than chipboard, if you do have any chips. The disadvantage is that vinyl is softer and the doors can be damaged by heat. The vinyl has been known to peel off when next to ovens, or if you continually boil the kettle under the wall units.

Polyester, painted or lacquered high gloss finishes are generally considerd to be better quality - but they also tend to be more expensive. Good quality foil wrapped doors look just like painted ones, because the vinyl is wrapped around the edges of the door. Laminates always look like laminates - but they're that bit tougher and usually cheaper (although specialist laminates can be pricey - and a lot of upmarket modern kitchens have laminate doors).

The best quality high gloss doors are solid acrylic - like Parapan - but then you're talking about a small mortgage for the kitchen!

HTH

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Majjie Advanced Kitchen Design