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Choosing the Best Kitchen Cabinet Finishes

Christopher Smith

What goes on the outside of your kitchen cabinets is every bit as important as the things you put inside or the style of the cabinetry. After your big investment in quality cabinetry, you want it to remain looking nice for a long, long time. Some finishes will provide a more durable coating than others. You will want something that can be cleaned easily, which won't be damaged by the heat and moisture that are parts of a kitchen environment, and which will be durable enough to withstand daily use. This article will outline some of the products that are available and the pros and cons of each finish.

Most of those in the cabinet industry is using a group of finishes that are known as conversion finishes. These include conversion varnish, moisture-curing polyurethane, polyester, catalyzed and pre-catalyzed lacquer, epoxy, and ultraviolet curing finish. The advantages of this group of surface coatings include the fact that they're quick-drying, durable, very water resistant, and heat resistant to a point. Since using any of these finish coats will speed up production times and work out well for customers, you can see why they've become an industry favorite.

Polyurethane is a finish that people often use for do-it-yourself projects, because it is easy to apply smoothly and dries quickly. Polyurethane is a plastic that does not soak down into the wood but sits on top of it. If your cabinets have three coats of this type of varnish, that will mean that you've applied 3 layers of plastic. As with most plastics, polyurethane scratches fairly easily. Therefore, it is not the best finish to use on kitchen cabinets.

Oil finishes, such as tung oil, have been tried over the years, but they are not recommended for cabinets. Although oiled surfaces can look lovely, they have to be reoiled often in order to maintain the look. Another finish that a lot of homeowners are turning to these days is paint. Paint is one of the least expensive choices, is available in a rainbow of colors, and can be both washable and durable. The downside of painting, however, is that you lose the beautiful grains in the wood that your cabinets are made of. Otherwise, paint can hide a lot of flaws.