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I built my cherry cabinets for my kitchen about 8 years ago. I finished them with 4 coats of lacquer with a sprayer. Now I have noticed that on a lot of my cabinet doors, the lacquer is gone or very thin.
What are the steps to relacquering these cabinets? I'm not going to remove them but I plan to refinish them inside the house with adequate ventilation.
Do I need to sand them then recoat? I just cleaned them.
Eddie
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IME they need to be stripped or at least sanded very aggressively
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(01-25-2017, 09:35 AM)JGrout Wrote: IME they need to be stripped or at least sanded very aggressively
Yup ditto.
That's a pretty common issue with lacquer in wet, damp,moist or areas that get cleaned on a regular basis. A small box i made for loml did that too because she decided the counter in the bathroom was a good place for it. That's why I use automotive Clearcoat on cabinets. Much more durable.
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I made my kitchen cabinets in 2000 and when I sold the house in 2016 I gave the bottom cabinets a fresh coat of lacquer. All I did was use wipe them down with a dewaxer in case furniture polish was on them. Gave them a light sanding, wiped down again and sprayed fresh topcoat. Turned out just fine. Lot easier than stripping and refinishing.
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Got any pictures? I think the answer depends upon how they look. If they are worn through to bare wood in spots then I would think stripping (or sanding as a distant second) is the only real to getting a uniform result. If they are just worn thin, with no bare, peeled, or cracked areas, then a good cleaning and light sanding should be sufficient.
Regardless, if you plan to stay in this house and keep the kitchen, I would not use plain lacquer for the recoat. I'd use catalyzed lacquer or some other more durable product. Personally, I would not spray solvent based finish indoors, though I know it's done all the time and people live to tell the tale. I'd use a WB topcoat. General Finishes EnduroVar and Enduro Clear Poly are two I know well that are very durable.
John
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Scuff sand and respray.
Lacquer is not for kitchen/bath cabinets.
Steve
Mo.
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WaterlooMark 02/9/2020
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There's only a couple spots where bare wood is showing through. The problem is that this was my first major spraying job and I obviously didn't do a great job like I can now. There's a lot of areas that are thin.
I thought I was doing the right thing by using lacquer since I asked people on various woodworking forums.
What is the main finish that people use for kitchen cabinets?
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I don't do many kitchens but I use M.L. Campbell pre cat Magnamax a lot.
https://www.mlcampbell.com/products/magnamax
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I have had excellent results with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat.
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(02-04-2017, 08:28 AM)Goatman Wrote: I have had excellent results with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat.
Great product - but not for kitchen cabinets. It has very poor chemical durability. I'm repairing a couple of kitchen doors right now that I used it on before I knew that. Something greasy got drooled down them and ate right through the finish. GF's EnduroVar or Enduro Poly are far more durable products.
John
