painting kitchen cabinets

[rwwood49]

I ran a cabinet shop for years and sprayed clear lacquer on stained wood exclusively. Been out of loop for while but trend seems to be painted cabinets now. what kind of paint stands up to kitchen usage. I never sprayed paint but if you can spray clear I think paint must be easier to see and control. Thanks for any infoccasion1 Ronnie

 

[Mike Davis]

We just painted ours with semi-gloss latex. But I don't know what the pros use these days.

Welcome to the site and please post an introduction.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Ronnie, when I need to spray paint I use a good oil based brand and thin it down w/ mineral spirits / paint thinner. I use a standard, gravity feed, HVLP gun. I prime w/ Zinsser's B-I-N, which is a shellac based primer. I spray it the same way. Sand the primer w/ 320 paper before applying the paint.

Hope this helps. And welcome to the site.

Bill

 

[Robb Parker]

Pigmented pre cat or post cat lacquers are the standard in the cabinet business. That is in the production enviroment. Very easy to use. Quick dry. ML Campbell Clawlock primer with Resistant top coat my weapons of choice. Moisture resistant and chemical resistant. No need to clear over unless you intend to glaze.
Robb

 

[rwwood49]

Thanks guys, all help is appreciated. Rob,dumb question but pre cat vs post cat. I don't know enough to even ask. From your post they are laquers or at least spray much the same.
Different note, really don't have pictures of projects as most were installed elsewhere but have fair collection of tools will try to get some pictures together but am better formica man and cabinet man than photographer. You guys have made the last few days more interesting and I sure do thank all of you. Ronnie

 

[Robb Parker]

Pre cat is catalysized at paint provider, has a shelf life of about 180 days and a long pot life. Post cat is catalysed by you adding the catalyst and mixing, generally unmixed has year plus shelf life but only a 8-10 hour pot life once mixed. Post cat is considered the hardest and most durable of the wood finishes short of epoxies which are rarely use except for special circumstances and dificult to use. I use exclusively post cat. Mixing not that bad with ratio cups.
Robb

 

[JimD]

I like Resisthane water based finish. I use the clear but they also make a tinted (white or black) product I have used on plantation shutters. They call it a pre-cat lacquer equivalent and it burns into previous coats like a solvent lacquer. It also dries very quickly 1-2 hours to sand and recoat. I buy it from Hood finishing who is also the manufacturer, I think, might be just a distributor. They have a website. They sell a primer that is pretty good - has decent stain hiding, softwood sap doesn't bleed through properties. It also dries in an hour or two. You need to prime with a white primer because the top coat is a tinted lacquer equivalent - it would take many coats to hide anything.

Some of my shutters are more than 5 years old and holding up well. I have the clear on hardwood furniture older than this and it is also holding up. I need to refinish my painted cabinets the builder put up - or throw them away and put some of my own up. The latex is holding up OK but is coming off. The bigger issue is the only primer the painters would use was Sherwin Williams normal wall primer and it does not stop softwood bleed through at all. The cabinets are a combination of softwood and birch plywood and VERY crudely constructed (the finish carpenter was basically a hack).

I've read about people thinning latex with Resisthane which then also improves the wear resistance. I haven't tried it.

I really like the water cleanup. I have an extra cup so I just spray water through 3 times for 30 seconds or so each and hang it up to dry. Next coat is just put the gun back into the cup with finish, spray a bit to get the finish coming through undiluted and shoot away. I guess you can do the same thing with solvent finishes but water is nicely priced.

Jim

 

[hymie123]

Our cabinets were originally painted white lacquer and had started to show wear and some swelling due to moisture etc after 12 years of use.

I choose to prime with Zinsser cover stain primer and top coat with Duron(owned by Sherwin Williams) signature select. While they looked good the signature select just didn't hold up well on the cabinets which receive high use. I talked to Sherwin Williams and they recommended using their ProClassic in either oil base or water base. The Rep highly recommended their water based product because it doesn't yellow and said several cabinet shops use ProClassic exclusively for their painted cabinets. I haven't had a chance to repaint the cabinets yet with the Proclassic.

Jim

 

[gpreslar]

Where can I purchase ML Campbell precat lacquer locally in NC?

 

[Robb Parker]

Purchase mine from Wurth wood group in Charlotte. Believe they have a branch in Raleigh.
Robb

 

[westisthebest]

Wurth, not sure if there is one in Raleigh

 

[BSHuff]

A little late to the 'party' but.. I used w/b Sherwin Williams ProClasic on kitchen cabinets and bath vanities before. Liked it, was different to spray because it was thicker than most spray stuff but used a #4 or #5 cap/needle and it laid down nice and smooth.

There is a Wurth in Raleigh, Poole Road just north of 440

 

[wronghand]

I too am a big fan of the ProClassic Waterborne. Of course I am a Sherwin-Williams employee so I am a bit biased.

 

[Canuck]

I used the oil based variety of the SW ProClassic on several bathroom vanities and it has stood up extremely well. :icon_thum:icon_thum:icon_thum

Wayne

 

[dsotmoon]

Pigmented pre cat or post cat lacquers are the standard in the cabinet business. That is in the production enviroment. Very easy to use. Quick dry. ML Campbell Clawlock primer with Resistant top coat my weapons of choice. Moisture resistant and chemical resistant. No need to clear over unless you intend to glaze.
Robb

Robb, have you tried MLC Stealth yet? it's been out a while now and will eventually take the place of Resistant

 

[Robb Parker]

Yes, when I took my certification classes at Campbell. It was a fairly new product then. You can spray 10 mil + thickness vertically and it won't sag or drip. Used it a few times in the shop on mdf routed doors, which is what they tount it for. Performs very well. Problem is it's also 10-20% more than clawlock cost wise, which I also get great results from. I couldn't see paying more for simular results especially given I can spray 30-50 gallons a month in busy times. Good product, sands well and performs well.
Thnaks

 

[Splint Eastwood]

Wurth, not sure if there is one in Raleigh

Yes, there is a Wurth Group in Raleigh.