Hi:
I have maple kitchen cabinets finished with WFS (wood finishers supply) stain then coated with polyurethane.
We want to refinish the cabinets by painting them and have been told lacquer is better than an oil paint (dries quicker, harder finish).
I am worried about adhesion of the lacquer to the poly. Is there a primer that I can put over the poly so that the lacquer will adhere ? A local sherwin williams dealer says no way, but a painting contractor says yes.
Thanks in advance !
The latest edition of "The Family Handyman" (the cover hypes kitchen remodeling, as I remember) mentioned a new paint product for uses like yours. It is latex based but has the desirable characteristics of oil based paints, i.e. finish, durability, etc. I have no business interest in this mag. but it is quite useful, FYI:
Unless a barrier coat (shellac or other suitable sealer) is applied first the solvents in a lacquer will eat up the poly creating a horrible mess.
It is true that lacquer dries quicker but unless you have a sprayer and/or are experienced you will find it difficult to apply. As to "harder", maybe yes, maybe no...depends on the lacquer. You are far better off using an oil paint. If you want hard, use a urethane paint rather than alkyd. Either would require sanding of the cabinets to the point of deglossing to provide a surface to which the paint will adhere.
Frankly, I rather doubt you are going to be real happy with the results regardless of what you use. Apparently, you are inexperienced and it is not an easy task to get a good finish with a brush. Especially with a gloss product...dust, brush marks, holidays (missed places), runs, overlaps...
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