How To Apply Clear Coat Painted Cabinets

A polyurethane varnish finish can cut down on the wear and tear of kitchen cabinets, assist keep them looking new and extend the life of the cabinets. Polyurethane works best on unfinished woods simply can also exist painted directly onto painted surfaces.

When you utilize polyurethane varnish, you're really sealing it in plastic. Information technology is a plastic so tough that hardly anything tin can penetrate it. In improver to this exceptional durability, polyurethane is piece of cake to put on; fairly fast-drying; super-resistant to chemicals and water; and available in low-gloss, satin, and loftier-gloss finishes. It also comes in oil based and water based.

Preparation before applying polyurethane to kitchen cabinets

Before applying polyurethane, consummate the training steps for either stripping paint or preparing for new pigment. These steps may include using pigment remover, sanding and filling and sealing. If y'all've applied a stain or wood filler to the surface, make certain information technology is absolutely dry before adding the polyurethane.

Apply either oil-based or water-based polyurethane with a brush, lambs-wool applicator, or lint-free cloth. Latex polyurethane is easy to utilize with a sprayer; oil-based poly tends to clog up the works, so you're better off doing this by hand.

All types of wood require at least two coats of oil-based polyurethane. The first coat works as a primer and sealer; the 2d serves as a finish coat. With h2o-based polyurethane, a third coat is recommended, because the finish wears away fairly rapidly. Sand between coats if dust or lint gets into the wet terminate. Sanding likewise makes information technology easier to tell where you applied the subsequent coat.

Troubleshooting polyurethane finishes on kitchen cabinets

When you lot add together the terminate - both coats - keep the work surface betwixt y'all and a light (if possible). In this way, you volition run into missed spots as the terminate is applied. Missed spots are caused by poor penetration into the forest or inadequate application. They get out little dimples in the finish, and they're almost incommunicable to touch up afterwards the textile has dried.

Not all polyurethanes are clear. Some are colored to resemble pigmented shellac. With these, you'll usually demand to utilise several coats of the finish to reach the colour tone that y'all want on your kitchen cabinets. Each glaze will produce a deeper tone; so try a exam run on a scrap of the same material to determine how many coats yous volition need.

If y'all reach the color tone before achieving the sheen y'all want, let the surface of the cabinets dry thoroughly, and then apply clear polyurethane finish to complete the project. All the same, the clear cease volition slightly change the color tone underneath.

You lot can apply a clear polyurethane finish over paint. Don't expect the polyurethane to hibernate any defects in the textile. In addition, if you are painting your kitchen cabinets solid white, you must understand they will xanthous somewhat over time.

Low-gloss polyurethanes are less durable than loftier-gloss products. Use depression-gloss finishes equally superlative dress-down to cut the shine off high-gloss coatings underneath. High gloss is recommended for applying to kitchen cabinets.

Of import note

As with varnish and shellac finishes, dust and dirt control is critical with polyurethane. Embrace all ducts conveying air currents bravado from heating and cooling. Avoid doing anything that would cause dust to become airborne, specially sweeping the floor simply before the finish to the kitchen cabinets is applied. Use a tack cloth to remove dust from the work.