Suddenly very worried I've bitten off more than I can chew!!! Finishing cabinets!

[Curt Harms]

Gentlemen, I thank you all for the information and advice - even you who say I can't do a good job . What's done is done. They were purchased before I even posted, no turning back now. I'm definitely going to take my time and we'll see how it goes.

Again, many thanks.
Alice

Just do a few test pieces first, preferably with the same wood as your cabinets. You'll do fine.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Gentlemen, I thank you all for the information and advice - even you who say I can't do a good job

Take heart - - I sold paints/coatings/finishing materials for over 20 years.
I helped hundreds, if not thousands, of "newbies" get their feet wet.

One thing I can tell you is - if you got it - you got it & if you don't you don't....it being the ability to put down a very good looking finish.

& FWIW - those with "it" outnumbered those w/out "it, by a 100 to 1 margin.

Matter of fact, I'd wager those with "it" are the norm.

The number one requirement you have to have is - - patience.
If you have patience and the ability to not rush things, your odds of doing a very respectable job increase dramatically.

The number 2 requirement - IMHO - is a good sanding block.

P.S. ---in case you wondered --I'm one of those few that's short on "it". I can tell you step by step what to do, but, I'm really not that hot at doing the finishing myself. I have zero patience....

[alice shockley]

And thank you again. I think I'll do thin coats of wipe-on; I think that would be easiest for me to control. We'll buy a couple hickory boards I'll sand smooth and I'll practice first and take it slow. I'll shellac the insides. I'm fairly crafty - at least, I've never had a pinterest fail, lol - so we'll see how it goes.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

And thank you again. I think I'll do thin coats of wipe-on; I think that would be easiest for me to control. We'll buy a couple hickory boards I'll sand smooth and I'll practice first and take it slow. I'll shellac the insides. I'm fairly crafty - at least, I've never had a pinterest fail, lol - so we'll see how it goes.

The bottom or even the inside of a cabinet may be a good place to practice since it is not as obvious if you make mistakes and it will leave you with some level of protection.

I do not see where you live in your profile, someone nearby may be willing to help you get started.

[Dan Hahr]

There is no doubt that you can do a fine job with a wipe on finish. It's just that a set of cabinets is a lot of wiping, especially as you will probably want at least 6 coats. But, if you have the patience, it is an easy way to get a nice finish as long as you are careful and detail oriented.

Going this route, I would suggest using a high quality varnish instead of polyurethane. I happen to like Waterlox, and their satin is very nice. I'd thin it with real mineral spirits and use blue shop paper towels to apply it. Buy a full box of nitrile gloves, you will need them (latex dissolves).

Dan

P.S. And, I never said you couldn't do it....it's not that hard; it is a lot of work though. I hope it comes out well.

[alice shockley]

Thank you for the tips. I appreciate it! Will the product you mentioned yellow much?

[Dan Hahr]

I can't say for sure. Everything I've finished with it is relatively dark wood such as cherry, walnut, mahogany, stained oak, etc. It is a fairly dark finish, at least in the can. I also use Pratt and Lambert #38 and it is a lighter oil varnish. It is soya oil based and is supposed to yellow less. For comparison, Minwax is a bit lighter in color than Waterlox, but it seems to yellow the most. However, I would call the color more of a golden brown than yellow. Realistically, most wood darkens way more than the finish yellows.

If you really want no color change, you should look into some waterborne finishes. I don't they would wipe on well though. I'm about to try some on my new kitchen, but only inside the cabinets. But I'm going to invest in an HVLP sprayer; I'll have plenty of uses for it in the house I'm building. I'd buy a 1/2 pint of Minwax polyurethane and see if you can stand the color change. If so, go with a better oil varnish.

Dan

[Robert Engel]

Alice,

Couple suggestions:

1. Brush on, either poly or polyacrylic. I build a hickory kitchen and used satin gloss polyacrylic (MinWax). The sheen was just about right and it brought out the variations in the grain nicely. I like it because it is water based, so it dries quickly. You can put 3 coats on a door in 1 day.

I would not use a wipe on product on raised panel doors. It will be hard to get into corners and I think you might have product build up.

2. Spraying will give you the best finish and save you tons of time. You can probably rent one or with the money you're saving, you could purchase one, just make sure its a good quality HLVP sprayer like Earlex. If I had it to do over, I would have done it this way on my kitchen.

Yes, you need to do the insides of the cabs. One more reason to invest in a sprayer!

Either way, you will have to do some sanding between coats with 400 grit.

[Ole Anderson]

I'd buy a 1/2 pint of Minwax polyurethane and see if you can stand the color change. If so, go with a better oil varnish.

Dan

Yellowing will take place over a long time period, years. I see no yellowing in my 3 YO hickory cabinets after wiping on P&L #38. If you brush, be prepared for sags, runs and brush marks, something you don't get with a wipe-on finish. I had no problem with my raised panels.

[Dan Hahr]

Yellowing will take place over a long time period, years. I see no yellowing in my 3 YO hickory cabinets after wiping on P&L #38. If you brush, be prepared for sags, runs and brush marks, something you don't get with a wipe-on finish. I had no problem with my raised panels.

That's true. I was referring to the amber color most oil based finishes impart immediately, though. I really don't like the look of a water based finish, especially on dark woods. I can live with it on the lighter cabinet interior of maple plywood. Otherwise, all oil for me.

Dan

[alice shockley]

A little amber isn't a problem. We quite like the color we've seen on the finished hickory cabinets in the store, and they definitely have an amber tint. We just want to keep it as light as possible. One of the reasons we're getting new cabinets is to "lighten up" the kitchen, which tends towards being dark. We would have painted the existing ones, if the cost of changing this one area to accommodate a larger stove along with other types of changes we wanted hadn't been prohibitive.

[Joe Beaulieu]

Hey Alice - I can see why you got a little concerned about this - a few people telling you that applying finish to a piece of wood is "over your head". That is not fair in my estimation. You are trying to improve the look of your kitchen. You are willing to put your own sweat into it, of course you can do it. Its not that hard to do.

You are making a good choice with the wipe on poly. If you are replacing some older cabinets, use one of the doors to practice on - the hard part of wipe on is any place you get corners, or fluting, or non-flat surfaces. Try and get the concept of what painters call a dry brush - meaning do the areas where finish will build up or catch when the rag or cloth is running dry. Get yourself a Tupperware bowl or something, put a small amount of finish in the bowl, and use that instead of trying to hold the rag to the top of the can. You will control how saturated the rag gets a lot easier. And as everyone says, you aren't doing this in an afternoon. This is a several days project - plan on MAYBE getting two coats on the whole shebang on a weekend day IF you start early. So on Sunday night you have put your fourth coat on. You will do a tremendous job and you will love the way the look./ Take your time, be insanely vigilant about sags or runs, and minimize the dust that gets into the room. Also - get yourself a LOT of tack cloths. I know you are on a tight budget, but look on Amazon or something and grab a good quantity of tack cloths. They do a fantastic job, but you need to keep using fresh tack cloths.

That's enough. I hope you didn't get too scared off - you sound like the kind of person who justs does it - which I love. So just do it! :-) Post pics for us when done??

[Andy Giddings]

Alice. haven't read this whole thread but I did see John's recommendation and would also recommend General Finishes Waterborne for a kitchen. I see a lot of mention of Waterlox and I love the product but it takes a long time to build a thicker coat and a long time to dry. Water borne coatings dry quickly and are tough finishes suited to kitchens. If you want a tinted waterborne use Endurovar, clear finish High Performance. There are videos available on the GF website if you want to know the best way to apply, but really 2-3 coats applied with a foam brush or a cheap spray system (Earlex) with a light sanding in between is all you need for a good resilient finish. I would avoid oil based varnish for interiors for the same reason as John cited