Best Finish for Alder cabinets...

[Josh Goldsmith]

What is the best finish for kitchen cabinets. They are made of Alder and i plan on putting a golden stain on them. I have seen before like in shellac that they have a golden stain clear mixed into one. I know alot of you don't like poly finishes but aren't they the most durable? The family i am building these for are pretty hard on there stuff. It always seems they have alot going on in the house. Thanks

Josh

[Joe Spear]

Don't use any polyurethane with the stain mixed in (for example, Minwax Polyshades). They have their uses (very few), but the coloring tends to be blotchy and uneven. I have used the stuff on cheap bookcases and don't think it looks very good. You don't want to be staring at badly finished cabinets every time you walk in the kitchen. Experiment with different stains, dyes, or shellac colors on scrap wood. When you find a color you like, coat in with clear polyurethane and see if you still like it. You might even find that a plain polyurethane on the unstained alder is what you want. Some polyurethanes give a slight golden tint to the wood they are covering.

[Frank Pellow]

Don't use any polyurethane with the stain mixed in (for example, Minwax Polyshades). They have their uses (very few), but the coloring tends to be blotchy and uneven.

Boy, do I ever agree with this. I just fiished using Pecan Minwax Polyshades on some shelving units, it was very hard to apply and my well-made cabinets now look like they were made by a rookie. And, yes, I did use the recommended wood conditioner before using the stain.

[Jim Becker]

Alder is a very nice "chamelion" species and can be finished to many looks...it's often used in the furniture industry when the supply is good in lieu of cherry, etc. I tend to like using WB dyes followed by shellac to seal. Your top coating should reflect usage. If it's going in an environment where it will have some "challenges", than using varnish (poly or not-poly), lacquer or a water bourne acrylic is a good idea to help protect the wood. The only time that polyurethane varnish absolutely makes sense is in an abrasive environment...like a kitchen table top. Alkyd or phenolic varnish is just as durable, but slightly less scratch resistant.

[Jeff Frieburg]

Alder can be tricky to finish. I've built with Alder and have had very nice results with Minwax products. I used their Wood Conditioner followed by a Gel Stain and topped with coats of wipe-on poly. The "blotchiness" was greatly reduced and the cabinets looked great.

Good luck.

Jeff.

[Steve Schoene]

Alder is a "blotch" prone wood. You should consider a gel stain, it doesn't penetrate much and therefor has less tendancy for blotching. Water mixed dyes also have less tendancy for blotching, though do not eliminate the problem entirely.

If you have spray capabilities, you should consider a conversion varnish or other finish that meets the kitchen manufacturers (KCMA) standards. I think even some water borne finishes may qualify. I don't do this myself, so others will have to provide specifics.

Otherwise, you want a varnish. You don't need poly, a traditional resin varnish will be plenty durable. I like Behlen rockhard, or Pratt & Lambert no. 38. Of course the down side of varnish is dust, and the necessity of rubbing out the final finish, potentially a formidable task for a project as large as kitchen cabinets.

[Josh Goldsmith]

So i think you all agreed on no polyurethane. So varnish it is. No a couple of you mention different kinds of varnish. Someone said resin based varnish, or phenolic varnish or alkyd varnish. My question to you all is what is the difference between the types of varnish. I am looking for something that is durable against wear and tear. Thanks for you help again.

Josh

[Jim Becker]

Josh, polyurethane is just one of the three resins used to make oil-based varnish. The other two are alkyd (example: Pratt and Lambert #38) and phenolic. (Example: Waterlox) They are ALL varnishes which merely are a combination of an oil (usually BLO, but sometimes soya (P&L #38) or Tung (Waterlox), a resin and some other things that are all cooked together until they form a completely different stuff called "Varnish".

Soya oil-based products generally are lighter in color than BLO based products. They are ALL durable, but have slightly different properties. As I mentioned in my post above, polyurethane's one property is that is slightly more "abrasion resistant" than the other two common varieties of varnish and is a good choice for a kitchen table top. But it's not necessary for everything, as the marketers will have you believe (and the store shelves since that's what is on most of the mass-marketers' shelves). Alkyd and Phenolic based varnishes often give you a "clearer" film; many polys appear a "little plastic" to my eyes.

[Jim DeLaney]

What is the best finish for kitchen cabinets. They are made of Alder and i plan on putting a golden stain on them. I have seen before like in shellac that they have a golden stain clear mixed into one. I know alot of you don't like poly finishes but aren't they the most durable? The family i am building these for are pretty hard on there stuff. It always seems they have alot going on in the house. Thanks

Josh

When I built my Alder cabinets, in my last house, I used two coats of 1# cut de-waxed garnet shellac to get the 'golden' hue, then used General Finish's Arm-R-Coat over that. They looked great, and were holding up quite well after several years, when I sold the house.