Cabinet, Wood Finishes for Cabinetry
From varnishes and lacquers to oils and waxes, there are myriad finishes for cabinetry that can be applied on-site under varying conditions.

A look at lacquers
There is a gamut of lacquers on the market today — including pigmented, catalyzed, acrylic precatalyzed, vinyl and standard — that also come in a variety of sheens, from very flat to high gloss.

Standard lacquers are a nitrocellulose-based coating, usually without any additives and have been around for many years. They are a fast dry, very easy to repair and can be buffed to an opulent shine. “Their rich appearance is probably their greatest asset. Lacquers have a clarity to them; you can almost see into the wood,” Haanstra notes.

“Lacquers dry by solvent evaporation,” he explains. “In contrast, varnishes dry by oxidation.” Lacquers are generally sprayed on because they have fast solvents, but Deft has one that you can brush on, namely a Clear Wood Finish brushing lacquer,” which, he adds, was introduced some 20 or so years ago. Other manufacturers offer similar products.

On the downside, lacquers smell bad and are very flammable. When applying them, you must have good ventilation. They are very thin and require several coats to do the job. They also don’t stand up as well to water as varnish.

“If you see water spotting, there’s not enough lacquer on the piece,” Haanstra says. You can make the white spots — which is actually trapped air — disappear by applying more lacquer, wiping with a lacquer solvent or rubbing with a polishing compound. “If the lacquer was applied thick enough (at least 2 mils) in the first place, you wouldn’t have that problem.”

As for thinning a lacquer, “Some are ready to spray out of a can and some are meant to be thinned with a lacquer thinner before application,” says James Miller, sales manager for Valspar industrial products. “Most of our products are formulated ready to spray.”

There are lacquer sanding sealers on the market that many like to use as their undercoat. Both Haanstra and Miller recommend applying three more coats on top of the sealer.

Understanding sanding sealers
Sanding sealers are designed specifically to apply to bare, unfinished wood to properly prepare it for the final coat of clear finish. They perform two very important functions: they seal porous surfaces and establish a film build, and they block stain bleed or surface contamination from ruining the topcoat.

The best sanding sealers have a thin viscosity, dry fast (in two hours or less) and are easily sandable. There are three major types of sanding sealers on the market: alkyd-based, water-based and lacquer-based, each containing wax and/or stearates. Generally, each type of sanding sealer is used with its corresponding clear finish.

“The problem is you can’t put the widely used oil-based polyurethane over a sealer that contains stearates or waxes,” says Gene Hoyas, brand manager for clear finishes with Wm. Zinsser & Co. Inc. out of Somerset, N.J. They just don’t mix.

SealCoat Universal Sanding Sealer, a brand new product from Zinsser, solves that problem because it is guaranteed to be compatible with all clear wood finishes. It features a quick-dry formula, which is 100 percent free of stearates and wax, that dries to the touch in minutes. It can be easily sanded or recoated in about 30 minutes.

This wax-free sealer, which is shellac, is VOC compliant everywhere. It comes in a premixed 2-pound cut that can be applied with a brush, pad, spray or wiping rag. It’s ideal for sealing interior woodwork and trim on all types of wood and won’t yellow or darken with age.

“The bottom line is that with SealCoat, a wood finish project can be done in a matter of hours not days,” says Hoyas, the self-proclaimed “sultan of shellac.”

Shellac keeps on shining
“Shellac,” Hoyas maintains, “brings out the natural beauty of wood grain that very few other products can do. It dries quickly and is easy to use, touch up and repair.” And contrary to popular belief, he adds, shellac won’t darken over time. “It was the most commonly used finish in this country in the last two decades of the 19th century and the first four in the 20th century because of those properties.” It’s been around for thousands of years.

It fell into disuse with the advent of more complex lacquers and oil-based polyurethanes. However, with many products being phased out because of VOC restrictions, Hoyas predicts, “Shellac and water-based polyurethane are the coatings of the future. They’re a very good combination.”

Hoyas readily admits the 100 percent natural finish has its disadvantages. “Shellac isn’t as durable and resilient as poly, and it’s water and alcohol sensitive. But it’s easy to repair. You just have to rub a spot lightly with alcohol, touch up with some shellac and it blends right in. If you ruin a polyurethane tabletop, you have to strip it and refinish the whole thing.”

For added luster and protection, shellacked surfaces can be waxed. “This combination has been used for more than 100 years. It’s a very good system. Just keep in mind if you ever go to refinish the piece, you need to use a mineral spirit to remove the wax,” says Hoyas.

Wax and the finishing touch
When it comes to “finishing the finish,” wax is the natural choice.

“Lacquer on kitchen cabinets will turn gummy in five to eight years. The stickiness comes from kitchen residue — mainly grease. That’s what’s destroying the finish,” says Jim Ryan, owner of TRG Products in Atlanta and a distributor of Briwax. “One way to stop or slow it down is to put a finish in between the finish itself. You wax it. A thin coat of beeswax is almost invisible. The residue will adhere to the wax.” Briwax, with its high beeswax content, acts as a preservant. The carnauba wax in Briwax develops a hard finished sheen.

Briwax, which is available in a variety of colors as well as clear, should be applied to bare wood by rubbing in a circular motion to force the wax into the wood’s pores and then wiping with the grain to eliminate any streaks. “A little wax goes a long way,” says Ryan, and will not leave any lap marks or streaks so you may start and stop as you like.

“It can be put on just about everything if you apply it correctly,” says Cammie Morvan, operations manager of Plano, Texas-based Henry Flack International, the sole importer of Briwax for North America. “Apply it like shoe polish not car polish. Don’t glob it on. Put the wax on very thin or it’ll get cloudy or even etch the underlying finish.” And use even less with finished surfaces.

When a piece is completely covered with wax, buff it out. Ryan says he uses a cotton terry cloth or a natural bristle brush. “Natural bristles don’t clog up and bring out the sheen in minutes.”

Two or three applications will achieve a “museum quality finish” and there is virtually no wait time between coatings. And, contrary to myth, Briwax doesn’t build up. “Every time you apply wax to maintain the shine, a solvent lifts away the dirt and grime, as well as the old finish,” explains Morvan. “It lays down a new finish. If you don’t like the finish, you can always reverse the process. Our wax comes right off with mineral spirits.”

Which finish is on the wood?
The type of finish on the wood, not the type of wood, determines how to care for it, clean it and repair damage. Clear finishes on wood may be soft (oiled) or hard (lacquer, shellac, varnish or polyurethane).

• If you don’t know what type of finish is on the cabinetry in question, try the following tests in an inconspicuous place:
• Rub a few drops of boiled linseed oil into the wood. If it absorbs, the wood has an oil finish. If it beads up, the wood has a hard finish.
• To identify which hard finish, rub acetone over a spot in a gentle, circular motion. Lacquer will dissolve in 30 seconds with rubbing. Polyurethane finishes will shed acetone like water. Varnishes and shellacs will turn to sticky, gel-like substances in a minute or two.

To determine if a finish is shellac or varnish, sprinkle a few drops of denatured alcohol on the wood. Shellac dissolves quickly, while varnish reacts slowly.

As a general rule, if the finish is very old (75 years or more), dark and alcohol melts it away, it’s probably shellac. Refinish with shellac, oil-based varnish or oil-based polyurethane.

If alcohol has no effect on the finish and it’s anywhere between 15 to 50 years old, it’s probably varnish or polyurethane. Refinish with an oil-based varnish or polyurethane.

If the finish is less than 10 years old and alcohol dissolves it, it’s a pretty safe bet to say it’s water-based. Refinish with a water-based or waterborne product.”

The Michigan State University Extension contributed information for this article.