Finishing cherry kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets

[Ronnie Futo]

What would you use to finish kitchen and bathroom cabinets? I used lacquer in another project and water spot have turned finish white. Would an oil finish work? Thanks for any advice.
Ronnie

[David Pascoe]

What kind of lacquer were you using? I use Watco and never had a problem with water. However, I wouldn't use lacquer for a cabinet. If you're talking about heavy water exposure, such as standing water on a vanity top, I'd go with varnish. Cherry is very good with just wipe-on for limited water exposure. Otherwise, brush or spray. I do all my home table tops with polyurethane because it is so durable. Brushed on, with a foam brush, its nearly as good as spray if you're good with a brush. A high quality water base may serve you just as well.

[John TenEyck]

I would spray them with General Finishes Enduro Clear Poly, EnduroVar, or Enduro Conversion Varnish, over whatever color treatment, if any, you choose.

John

[Ronnie Futo]

Will the cherry darken if I use the General finishes Enduro clear poly? Thanks for the advise.

If I tried to repair the older project that was done in lacquer, could I sand and apply a poly finish?

[Scott Holmes]

Cherry will always darken; that's one of the things that makes it so beautiful.

[Prashun Patel]

I believe you can put the Clear poly on top of the lacquer. However, to be safe, and to give the cherry some warmth that the Clear Poly will lack, you might should spray it with a couple coats of Zinsser Sealcoat or dewaxed, Blonde shellac. I just finished my bath cabinets in Clear Poly and loved the effect over shellac. It's not as warm as an oil finish, but it still looks great. Clear Poly can actually spray on a little BLUE, but dries and levels pretty well - at least it did for me.

[John TenEyck]

Will the cherry darken if I use the General finishes Enduro clear poly? Thanks for the advise.

If I tried to repair the older project that was done in lacquer, could I sand and apply a poly finish?

Enduro Clear Poly does not contain a UV stabilizer package, so the cherry underneath will darken over time. GF's High Performance Poly, however, does contain an excellent UV package. I've used it to finish a couple of cherry items and they have not darkened in the 5 years since I did them. Unfortunately, HP Poly is not nearly as chemically durable as the Enduro products and I would not use it for bathroom or kitchen applications. SW's makes an excellent product with a UV package but it's only available in 5 gal pails, I believe.

If you want to apply Clear Poly over the lacquer, I would spray a coat of Sealcoat shellac first.

John

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> If I tried to repair the older project that was done in lacquer, could I sand and apply a poly finish?

To do the job right, you should use a chemical paint remover and complete strip off the lacquer. Sanding will not remove the white marks. It probably will not remove them even if you sand through the lacquer down to the wood.

The best finish for brushing would be a varnish. The varnish will do the best if it gets wet.

[Ronnie Futo]

Thanks for all the good advice.