Finish for oak kitchen doors

[nemofish]

Hi All

can anyone recommend a finish suitable for solid oak kitchen doors? Ideally I'd like a finish that is easy to apply and I was considering using a wax finish but am a little worried about how this would fare in a kitchen environment. Does anyone have any experience of this or any advice to offer?

Many thanks. Mat.

[Andy Dingley]

How much wear are you expecting ?

If it were mine, I'd probably use shellac over oil. This is an attractive finish with a moderate gloss, but not as fussy as highly polished shellac polishes. Every few years you can also strip it back a little and re-finish it, with fairly little effort.

If it's a high traffic kitchen, you'd probably want a film-forming varnish, and that varnish would have some polyurethane content. Use a gel poly and it won;t look so obviously "poly'ed", but it will have good wear resistance.

[loutent]

Hi MAt,

I just refinished our oak kitchen cabinets about 6 months ago. I used Minwax wipe-on poly - 2 coats of the satin.

I don't think wax or shellac is suitable for kitchen (at least ours which gets a lot of use).

The wipe on is easy to use and almost looks like a sprayed on lacquer - especially the gloss (if you like it). The satin does have a somewhat "plastic" look, but is it durable.

I would test it on some scrap in any case.

Good luck!

Lou

[nemofish]

Many thanks for the replies! The Minwax sounds like a good option as it seems to be an easy finish to apply. After searching the web I've also come across Tung oil (and many variants) and wondered if this would also give a durable finish? Does anyone know how these finished compare in terms of durability and looks?

[Ba r r y]

Both finishes I recommended to you are sold as floor finishes. Is that durable enough?

Waterlox is sold in 2 oz. trial packets at better woodworking stores, Gymseal can be had in quarts. Try either on some wood, as only you can decide what looks good to you.

Barry

[Steven and Gail Peterson]

Tung oil penetrates into the wood, it doesn't particularly make a hard finish, and only adds a little bit of protection to the wood, but it brings out texture and figure and looks good.

Wax does make a surface layer, but it isn't all that hard either. It is, however, easy to repair. Both are good for appearance but not so good for hard wear. Wax is often used over a tung oil or other penetrating finish.

I can't see the original message to add more.

Steve

[patriarch]

Ba r r y wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Ditto on the Waterlox. It's durable, good looking, and doesn't get much easier for application. Great for the impatient and/or spray-gear impaired.

Patriarch

[Lewis]

Hi, I just refinished a set of pine kitchen cabinet doors. I used SealCoat (dewaxed shellac) followed by two brushed-on coats of Varathane water-based polyurethane floor finish. Came out looking great! Something about the shellac sealer coat or only using two coats of poly (or the combination) seems to have avoided the "plastic-coated wood" look. I don't know that I'd run out and buy the floor finish for cabinets, but I had some left over from a floor-refinishing job. I'm very happy with the result, and feel confident it will hold up for years. Lewis

[Rick and Frances Cansler]

[mike]

I use a water solvent urethane varnish. Easy to apply with a good brush, does not yellow over time as some solvent based varnishes do. Any paint store will carry it. mike