I am building new kitchen cabinets with cherry wood. What is the best way to finish it? I don’t have a sprayer. do I need one? if yes what is most the economical and has the best finish?
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I'm not sure if you are planning to build the entire cabinet (i.e., the carcass, face frames, door, etc..) out of cherry or just the doors and face frames, but I would not recommend it. Cherry will warp quickly when unfinished and will cause problems with the structure of the cabinet. I've even seen cherry cabinet doors that were finished that warped pretty badly.
As far as the finish goes I would use a danish oil.
I will build the carcass and face frame only. I can either buy the doors finished or unfinished.
Cherry is a great choice for the cabinets. Since you don't have a sprayer you can wipe on a finish. I would use a film building finish such as poly or shellac.. You will need to thin the finish enough to get it workable with a rag. A 30 to 50 percent reduction of the finish with a thinner will work. You will need to sand the wood properly before finishing and especially before assembly and glue up. You will start with 80 and work up to successive grits to finish out 180 or 150 grit. No need to sand any finer than that since you will use a film building finish. Scuff between coats with 320 grit and reapply.
While I like shellac and think that garnet shellac makes cherry look great I don't think that it will stand up in a kitchen very well.
Wiping on a varnish thined 50% with naptha is a good choice. It takes a few more coats, but is easy to work.
But I would put on a coat of BLO (boild lindseed oil) first. It helps bring out the grain in the cherry.
Thanks you all for responding. Seems to me buying the doors pre-finished wouldn't be a good idea, since the door finish will be hard to match the cabinet finish.
Henrya,
I agree you wouldn't want to buy the doors prefinished. Most door manufacturers will use conversion varnish as their standard finish. This is a 2 part finish that requires spray equipment and breathing protection. The upside is it's probably the most durable finish for a kitchen, but the rubbed varnish or oil finishes work pretty good if you don't abuse the cabinets too bad. They look great on cherry too. When I build cherry kitchen cabinets, I use birch plywood for the carcasses, cherry veneer ply for any exposed end panels, and solid cherry for doors, face frames, drawer fronts. Try to use the best straight grained stock for your door frames{ rail and stiles if raised panel}. Door panels and face frames aren't quite as critical as to grain. This will minimize chances of warping.
Bish
If I wanted to buy a HVLP spray equipment? what do you guys recommend? Can I spray paint with it also?
I like the Appollo 800 or the new one is 1000 I think they can spray both finishes and paint Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"