Expert: Greg Scholl - 5/20/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi~
My husband and I are remodeling our kitchen. Stripped down to the skeleton and starting from scratch. We are in the process of having our kitchen cabinets built. I would like to know what I should expect from my cabinet builder as far as finish. We are having them stained (shaker style made of alder). Our contractor thinks we need to stay away from lacquer, the cabinet builder wants to use lacquer and we don't know what to think. Obviously we want something VERY durable that will really last. Could you tell me exactly what he should be doing to them? How many step process is it? And is there anything else I should know about?
Thank You,
Stephanie

ANSWER: Conventional lacquer used on furniture is not a good choice, but catalyzed lacquers and Urethanes are the industry standard for kitchen cabinets. All the major manufacturers use these products, as they are up to 10 times harder than conventional lacquers, and very tough and durable. These finishes are often comprised of many steps, and utilize multiple staining, sealing,and color "toning" applications as well to even out grain differences, and produce the overall color, followed be multiple clear coats that include UV inhibitors (sunscreens)to protect the colors from fading. Here's a link to Kraftmaid describing the state of the art kitchen cabinet finish.....there can be more than 15 steps depending on what finish you're after.I would go with whatever the cabinetmaker is recommending, but I would also want to see samples if you're unsure, or better yet, a satisfied customer's kitchen that's been installed and used for a few years....They should be quite understanding, and ready and willing to produce such examples.....hope that helps- best of luck- Greg

http://www.kraftmaid.com/whykm/index.cfm?navigationid=13200

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Our cabinet builder builds beautiful cabinets, but we get the feeling that he does not have a lot of experience finishing them. He said most of his customers hire outside to get the finish work done. We are investing a lot of time and money into our kitchen and want to make sure we will be happy with the results. Can you tell me the difference in the catalyzed lacquers, urethanes and conversion varnish. Clearly we need something to stand up to the test of time, water, and 4 kids.  

Answer
I have never heard of a kitchen cabinet maker that recommends someone else finish his cabinets. Does he at least have a recommendation for you?? This is very odd.There isn't much difference in the catalyzed lacquers, catalyzed urethanes and conversion varnishes. These are all crosslinking surface finishes that are the state of the art in kitchen cabinet finishing, meet KCMA standards, extremely durable, resistant to a wide range of chemicals, cleaners, etc. They do, however, require serious spray equipment, and knowledge and skill to apply.Chemically they differ slightly, but all are specialized clear coats. Any of them, when properly applied, will give years of maintenance free service with minimal care. This is WAY more complicated than Minwax Poly out of a can.Did you look at the link I sent? That should shed some light on how much work and how many steps are involved. One of the MAIN reasons one should seriously consider a high quality, factory made kitchen cabinet is the quality and durability of the factory finishes. They have perfected this to allow one to receive a furniture grade finish that goes way beyond that in clarity, color selection, durability, low maintenance, etc, etc. The average "finisher" has neither the experience, not the technical proficiency to provide the same level of finish.