finish for cabinets

[ShawnS]

I have completed one side of my kitchen cabinets and am debating on what would be the best finish for them. They are white oak fronts and doors and 3/4 ply boxes. Any advice on what would be the best finish? I want something that will hold up and not "yellow" to badly
Thanks
Shawn

 

[chris_goris]

Clear lacquer…. Do you have the ability to spray?

 

[W Burton]

I am in the process of building cabinets for our kitchen (and I don't have any equipment or experience with spraying) and I am using General Finishes "Arm-R-Seal" Oil and Urethane on the exterior surfaces and Minwax Polycrylic on the insides and shelves. I have used the Oil and Urethane on much of the furniture I have made and like the way it goes on, the way it looks, and the way it holds up (so far, at least.) The only reason I don't use it inside the cabinets is that the odor lingers a long time when it doesn't get exposure to air. I think the first project I used the Oil and Urethane on was a coffee table that has taken daily abuse for over 10 years now, and the finish still looks great. These cabinets are QS white oak, BTW.

Here's a photo of the first couple of cabinets (and a little shelf area) after installation:





Bill

 

[Jeff]

and am debating on what would be the best finish for them.

What finishes are you considering? A few pics would be helpful. There's a lot of surface area so you can't dally around when applying the finish.

Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish may be a wipe/brush on option with minimal yellowing of the exterior and backsides of the doors. I don't see a compelling reason to finish the shelving/ply interior areas of the boxes.

http://www.waterlox.com/about/

 

[ShawnS]

finishing is not my strong point, I normally use a poly, which I think is to soft for this project or a clear shellac, which I do like and I think holds up pretty well but since I figure I'm going to need these cabinets for 30 years or so I would like to put the best I could on them

 

[Jeff]

Bill,

I get an "invalid attachment" error while trying to look at your cabinets. ????

 

[Jeff]

finishing is not my strong point, I normally use a poly, which I think is to soft for this project or a clear shellac, which I do like and I think holds up pretty well but since I figure I'm going to need these cabinets for 30 years or so I would like to put the best I could on them

If you can spray finish then there are more options available to you. As I said earlier, that's a lot of surface area so whatever you use needs to go on fairly quickly.

I still like Waterlox but Bill's suggestion is good to consider too.

I am in the process of building cabinets for our kitchen (and I don't have any equipment or experience with spraying) and I am using General Finishes "Arm-R-Seal" Oil and Urethane on the exterior surfaces and Minwax Polycrylic on the insides and shelves. I have used the Oil and Urethane on much of the furniture I have made and like the way it goes on, the way it looks, and the way it holds up