GE Cafe appliances "Matte White" finish

[kalanikaau1]

Looking to purchase a new GE Cafe fridge finished in what GE describes as a Matte white finish, I abhor the stainless steel look and the maintenance required to keep it looking decent.

What has been other members experience, if any with this particular finish?

Oddly enough, the GE use and care manual does not provide instructions for maintaining this particular finish, I'm guessing I'll have to contact them.

I periodically apply automotive polish/wax to my other painted appliances for maintenance and wonder if this finish will take well to the same.

Or, perhaps I could use a product without any abrasives in it such as Jubilee furniture polish and the like.

Thoughts, comments, observations?

 

[angus]

I just saw this at a local appliance store yesterday while shopping for a freezer. I must say that it is handsome - but that is in the showroom while it is new. It isn't a perfectly smooth finish, - it seems slightly textured so I don't know how it would perform in a busy kitchen and whether the texture would trap dirt/grease making it difficult to maintain. If so, that would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[kalanikaau1]

Reply# 1

Thanks for your response!

Since it is a matte finish I suppose it has a texture resembling sandpaper, if you will.

As such it may be a magnet for grease and fingerprint smudges, I'm hoping that a non-abrasive wax coating applied to the finish will seal the surface pores sufficiently that such marks do not permanently stain the finish.

My current Whirlpool fridge door material is stainless steel, I am convinced that Whirlpool uses the cheapest grade of this material on the planet, I've been constantly battling surface rust and pits , I suspect that the material Haier uses won't be much better.

I'll never own an appliance finished in the so-called 'Black Stainless' or 'Fingerprint Resistant' look, my niece owns a Samsung fridge with this tinted coating applied to achieve it's appearance, the coating is peeling off in certain areas, it really looks atrocious.

 

[jamiel]

Actually the matte white finish is pretty attractive, and far easier to keep clean than, say, the textured finish of a refrigerator. Soft cloth/no abrasives and no Magic Erasers/Scotch Brite/etc

 

[combo52]

There are very few stainless steel appliances made anymore

Almost everything is just some sort of plastic or plated finish over steel, you can tell if it's real stainless steel by taking a magnet to it. 10 to 15 years ago stainless steel appliances were actually stainless steel. Of course they scratched and showed fingerprints like crazy but at least they didn't rust and peel at the edges.

John

 

[mattl]

Speaking of rust on SS - how do you deal with it?  I picked up a SS SxS Samsung (say that 3 time fast...) a few years back.  Bought it as a backup in case my 22/yo WP SxS bites it. Been in the garage as overflow for years and is developing rust.

 

What is a good method to deal with this, It might still end up in the kitchen at some point.

 

[foraloysius]

Tyler and Todd have GE Cafe appliances in matte white finish in their lake house.

 

[kalanikaau1]

Update on this post

I've decided to forego the matte white finish and other bells and whistles of the Cafe fridge and opted for a plain GE french door fridge in white.

I've taken the advice of a well known YouTuber and have stuck with the basics, when you think of it all fridges are metal boxes with refrigeration equipment designed to store and maintain food at an optimum temperature for freshness.

They all do the same thing...

 

[combo52]

Best bottom freezer French door refrigerator

Would be a whirlpool KitchenAid to come out of the old Amana factory in Iowa, why give the Chinese all that money buying a GE?

John

 

[angus]

John - you bring up a good point. How can we tell (or can we tell at all?) which models/brands are coming out of a US factory these days? I ask because I may be in the market to replace my refrigerator in the coming year and while I like the French Door style, I would never ever get another model with ice in the door. I had a fair amount of issues on my Whirlpool in the 15 years I had it - all related to the ice maker and I expect I am on borrowed time. I don't mind ice makers in the freezer compartment, though...

I seem to recall a YouTube video that was in my feed discussing some of this and mentioned a few WP/KA/GE models in both French Door and SxS models, but can't find it again. Also, not sure how reliable those videos are so I punt the question to you given your years of experience.