My kitchen cabinets are stained wood covered with a thin coat of lacquer. They are 25 years old. The lacquer finish has become dull and there are tiny fissures in the (dried-out) wood panels.
I have washed the cabinets thoroughly. The stain and the old varnish are in good physical condition. Can I brush a layer of varnish over the old lacquer? Would spar varnish be preferable to polyurethane varnish for kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Hey Walter. First and foremost, any finish will require a very thorough cleaning of those cabinets. You will certainly have to degrease the cabinets and deal with those cracks in the panels before you do anything else.
The coatings world has seen a lot of advancement. There are some great products out there that you may not be aware of.
You could use Deft brushable lacquer. It will take more coats to finish the cabinets, but it dries extremely quickly and leaves a beautifully smooth finish. The stuff is noxious, so you may want to look into this:
I just used Deft on my cabinets which were almost the same as the original poster described. I took the doors and drawer fronts off and laid them flat. Three coats was enough to make them look very, very good.
As you say, Deft dries very fast. It is also very easy to sand.
It is noxious so you need good ventilation.
Yeah, I definitely like the stuff, but the fumes will kill ya! That's why I'm interested in trying the Deft waterborne that I linked to. Anyone have any experience with that stuff?
R
Would spar varnish be preferable to polyurethane varnish for
Ricod Jour wrote:
Boy is Ricod right about cleaning. After you're done, **do it again** with a quick drying solvent like naptha but the stuff gags me to death! You also don't want to rub hard with the solvent - more of a pendulum stroke and change the contact spot on the rag frequently. Did this on an old cherry dining set and ended up *not* refinishing it. The dirt and old wax that came off revealed an intact finish which I only had to wax (not saying that's what you will find).
You can clean very nicely without a lot of highly flammable stuff. For starters, just household cleaner and water for the basic dried on food splatters and dust. Mineral spirits, with fine steel wool if needed for greasy deposits. Wood toothpicks or skewers to dig crud out of corners or crevices. Mineral spirits again after digging crud out of corners. Final wipe with denatured alcohol after ms dries, being sure to ventillate very well and have NO sources of ignition on .. pilot lights, ciggies, electrical. Dispose of waste and rags properly.
Any lacquer, esp. Deft, is really, really nasty stuff to breathe. After cleaning, as above, you should be able to use any finish, including water based. Spar varnish is probably a good deal more difficult to apply well and more than you need. The most common problem with any wood finish is not applying enough to properly to seal out the hazards it is exposed to. If woodgrain isn't "filled", it allows moisture to seep in and cause fine cracks; same with joints. Clear finish on wood exposed to strong sunlight acts like a "greenhouse", trapping heat and deteriorating wood and finish.
| >>Walter R. wrote: | >>
| >>>My kitchen cabinets are stained wood covered with a thin coat of lacquer. | >>>They are 25 years old. | >
| >
| > | >
| > Would spar varnish be preferable to polyurethane varnish for | >
| >>>kitchen and bathroom cabinets. | >>
| >
| > Ricod Jour wrote: | >
| >>Hey Walter. First and foremost, any finish will require a very | >>thorough cleaning of those cabinets. You will certainly have to | >>degrease the cabinets and deal with those cracks in the panels before | >>you do anything else. | >
| >
| > | >
| >
Clear finish on wood | exposed to strong sunlight acts like a "greenhouse", trapping heat and | deteriorating wood and finish.
Only lacquer and poly finishes do that not a "urethane gel" finish it is alcohol,water,chemical and UV resistant
get with the times, use the best available finish on the market preferred by most professionals and restaurants.
clipped
I haven't surveyed "most professionals" and don't give a rat's ass what restaurants use. Just know what I have used and which looks best. As for "UV" resistant, it doesn't by a long way keep sunlight from penetrating a clear finish.
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