New to finishing need some direction

[Lucas Spraggs]

I'm a fairly new to woodworking and of course I have decided to start with kitchen cabinets. My time to work on them is somewhat limited so it is taken some time, but I planned on that. Anyway, the cabinets are progressing well, they are carcasses are constructed of 3/4 in baltic birch plywood, the face frames and raised panel doors are soft maple. I have checked with a cabinet builer about puttin the finsih on and I don't necessarily like the price he has given me. Still not exactly sure how they will be finished, either a ginger stain and then glazed or just glazed with no stain at all. I am willing to purchase a spray system of some kind ( I've been researching the Fuji systems). I need something portable. I want to be able to lay on a professional job. I would like to do it myself considering the cost of someone doing it for me, plus I can say I did the entire project myself and the equipment can be used for future projects. I know there are a lot of things I am ignorant on and have ordered Jeff J's book on finsihing to help learn. What all things should I consider, i.e. what types of products to use, the process in genereal of how to and steps, is the glazing wiped or sprayed on? I'm sure the book, which was recommened in another post, will help answer a lot of my questions, but I wanted to get a head start and find out what advice and info I might gather from some people here.

[Todd Burch]

Kind of a wide open set of questions.

[Charles Robertson]

I have the Q-3 Pro. Very pleased with it. Have not tried glazing so no advice. Paint-Latex, enamel, lacquer, shellac, varnish (latex & oil), stains and hand rubbed finishes all work very well. It's very quiet. Important to me.
Thin properly. Get the mini bottle set--great for inside cabinets and small projects.
Many good spray units out there. This is the one I chose and I can recommend it. Practise is the real trick. No time like the present to start. Good luck.

[Lucas Spraggs]

I have read Jeff J's book on spraying finishes now. I am going to use an turbine system and wb products. Anybody used any of the target coatings or general finishes products that could get me headed in the right direction and a short explanation. Going on kitchen cabinets so I would like something very durable as well as easy to apply. I have tried to research the products as much as possible but I just don't know enough at this point to decipher the differences.

[john lampros]

big project for starting out green! but go for it. I admire your participals. I'de start with a wiping stain as spraying on a stain can get pretty tricky unless your just spraying it on and wiping. You shouldnt have any problems finishing although IMO WB'b are a little harder to apply than others. The first coat of clear (sealer) is most important and you dont want to sand through the stain at any cost, this is critical. any errors after that is just elbo grease to fix, part of the learning curve. If you have any puttying or filling wait till its sealed. good luck.