What do you feel is the most durable brush on finish for kitchen cabinets – face frames are white oak and boxes oak plywood. I am doing stain, boiled linseed oil, shellac, and glaze to get the colors I want.
We live in the mtns. of Colorado so it is a dry climate.
I,m thinking of a few coats of 1# shellac do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Padraig
Replies
padraig,
A durable coating for a kitchen would be either a varnish or a polyurethane. Personally I prefer varnishes over urethane's.
Some varnish choices include;
Waterlox which comes in original, a good "wiping" varnish as well satin and gloss. This is an easy product to work with and will add a slight ambering tone to the final look.
Behlens Rockhard is another excellent product. Three coats of this varnish will give you a very good surface.
Pratt and Lambert 38 is another good product.
If I use a urethane, I'll use one by Schreuder ( Fine Paints of Europe) It is a fast drying product that does not exhibit the same yellowing tendencies of a cheaper (and inferior) Minwax product. It's tough as nails, and takes a little getting used to with it's fast drying time.
They also have their own thinner which again is superior to the big box mineral spirits. It's about $12 a litre, but it has outstanding thinning properties. A little goes a long way.
Concerning the schedule you laid out;
Why the boiled linseed oil? If you are going to stain, what reason are you using it?
An alternative could be stain, let it dry well, a coat of shellac, sand, glaze and let dry well. Seal with a thin coat of shellac, sand lightly and apply your topcoat.
Whatever you plan on make a large enough sample that you do from start to finish. Include all the steps you will use for your finish. This will tell you if it is the look you want and how to approximate the time it will take.
Shellac is a great product but not one that I would use in a kitchen. A one pound cut of shellac is not a top coat. It is a "wash coat" for stain control or a light sealer to isolate dyes, stains and glazes.
FWIW, whenever I varnish I use foam brushes. Cheap, no brush strokes and no cleanup. You just have to be careful when dipping it into the varnish not to press it to the bottom of the container. You will release lots of bubbles that will flow into your varnish and be hell to deal with.
Good luck.
Peter
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