Finshing Maple Cabinets...Any thoughts?

[Amanda Kennedy]

I have been reading everything I could about finishing wood for the past few days, both on this forum and a few other I have found in my searches. I am undertaking quite a large project (for me that is) and I welcome any input or advice! With that said, I just recieved my oder of 14 unfinished maple cabinets for the kitchen. I have NO experience with staining or finishing of any sorts. I realize at this point you all probably think I'm crazy, but I'm a pretty handy and feel confident that I can accomplish this.
To my understanding I shouldn't put a varnish on the inside of my cabinets, so I was planing on using a few coats of Zinnser's SealCoat. (I'll probably thin that to a 1lb cut, for easier use) For the exterior of the cabinets I am thinking of two options. #1: one coat of SealCoat and then 2-3 coats of Waterlox Original. OR #2: one coat of BOL and then a few coats of a clear varnish...maybe P&L 38, I see the high recomendations from you all!
Does any or all of this sound horrible? I don't have a sprayer, so I was planning on padding the finishes.

[Sam Shank]

Don't use oil based anything on the insides. They will smell for a long long time. Waterbased is the way to go.

You can use anything on the outsides that you want to.

Harbor freight has a sprayer for about $12-4 if you have a compressor.

[Jim Becker]

Sounds like a reasonable plan, although I'm not sure what the seal coat (shellac) on the outside is going to buy you other than a little extra color. If you are not going to dye, you really could go right to the Waterlox on the exteriors. My suggestion would be for you to aquire a piece of maple and do some test finishing BEFORE you commit to the cabinets.

[Scott Loven]

I have a number of maple face frame cabinets that I stained white and then coated with a wipe on clear finish. I got the finishes from Jeff Jewitt at homestead finishes. The inside of this cabinet is melamine coated particle board. I made the feet also, first lathe project! I had to put it up on legs because the heat duct was underneath.
Scott

[Amanda Kennedy]

Thank you all for you advice and opinions, you have been very helpful. Wish me luck!!

[Jerry Olexa]

My understanding is that for Maple, dye usually is the best option...I don't use Maple much but my 2 cents...

[Amanda Kennedy]

I decided to go with General Finishes Natural Pre-Stain and there PolyAcrylic. This weekend I was able to stain all of the cabinets and apply some coats of poly. (Thank goodness I ran to the store to get a sprayer, it was a cheepie...Wagner FineSpray...but it worked well for me!) I have a few questions:
->1. I sprayed the inside of the cabinets with 3 coats and the outside with 4, is this too little? I was thinking of sanding them one more time and doing one more coat in and out. I still can't seem to get the grain from rising on the inside of the cabinet, I guess I wasn't sanding well enough...in the begining.
->2. I was told by the local wood finisher, not to use an oil based varnish b/c it would take too long to dry in FL's climate, however, I just went to the KCMA website and General Finishes products aren't listed as being approved by them. Should I do my final coat with a different product, endorsed by them?
--I am now almost as lost as I was in the begining...did I totaly mess up? I should have just listened to you all, and not the local wood guy. I was being lazy and didn't want to drive a few hours to test out some the the different products recommended.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I suspect that since you mentioned you applied the finish via airless spray, and the problem is confined to the insides,that what appears to be raised grain is really dry overspray.

Checking General's website, I see that they offer a retarder - General Finishes Extender.

Reducing the material with their Extender will give more open time to the finish and help reduce "dry fog".