# Best type of paint for Painted Cabinets



## Cliffc

Hey guys,
I have been building cabinets for a long time and over the years have both stained and painted Cabinets. My question to you guys is what is your opinion of the best paint for durability, finish ,ease of spraying, etc. I'm a wood guy not a paint guy. So figured I would ask the experts. Thanks in advance. Have used different types and brands but never really completely happy .


----------



## Jimithing616

Cliffc said:


> Hey guys,
> I have been building cabinets for a long time and over the years have both stained and painted Cabinets. My question to you guys is what is your opinion of the best paint for durability, finish ,ease of spraying, etc. I'm a wood guy not a paint guy. So figured I would ask the experts. Thanks in advance. Have used different types and brands but never really completely happy .


I am also in your shoes, I’m a painter, but, I have a longer history in furniture building, however I always used brush or wipe on finishes or the occasional spray can poly, etc.

So, I’m a bit ahead of you on the research side of things and from what I have been able to learn in here and from talking to reps at the 3 big paint stores in town here, is this.

Prep/prime - if pre finished, use deglosser and scuff sand, then use shellac primer like Zinsser BIN, this hides tannins, also if the cabinets are grainy wood like oak, you back brush or back roll that coat of sprayed BIN to get it into the grain.
Then some guys do a second coat of primer (BIN) and others don’t, with unfinished wood it may be a good idea. 

Top coat- if you want to go paint (best for beginners over precat lacquers etc) then the 3 big system are Ben Moore Advance (water Bourne) Or PPG Breakthrough (waterborne) or California Paints UltraPlate (waterbourne) also there is Sherwin Williams who has both ProClassic (tried and true, older paint) and Emerald Urethane Enamel (very new, mixed feelings on here)

You will need to research all those systems and see what works best for you, go talk to reps,

also it makes a big difference in which one you choose depending on the type of sprayer or application tech you will use.

Some work better in HVLP than others, some, like Breakthrough, dry extremely fast which is great for re coating times but can also cause issues when brush/rolling and also spraying so a lot of people will use extenders to combat this. 

Some are better in white, where others do better in deep or dark bases. 

Some only come in one sheen, so if you desire a high gloss, for me here in MN the UltraPlate only comes in Satin, so while that’s one of the better options, it won’t work if you need a high gloss. 

Also, let’s say you don’t want to or can’t use an oil based primer like BIN Shellac Primer, then you need to find a water based latex primer that is still going to stick well and also hide grain and hide any tannins that might bleed through. A lot of old schools have told me this doesn’t exist. I don’t know if that’s true or not, because I’m only at the research stage, however, for, what I’ve learned PPG does have a special undercoater they use with the breakthrough that they recommend, Sherwin Williams has a couple decent water based primers (more than anyone else actually) one is called “extreme bond primer” and from what I’ve heard it will work nearly as good as oil, but, you need to wait 4-6 hours before you recoat or top coat to get good results, where as BIN or another oil will be ready in 45 min easily. 

So, talk to reps, take what they say with a grain of salt, because they do want to sell their product, regardless of if it’s the best or not. But if you sift through the salesman in all them, they do have good info they’ve gleaned from other painters who actually have the knowledge you need! Haha 

As far as application goes, HVLP may give the best results, you can move slower and get smoother coats. 

Airless systems like a Graco 395 and Fine Finish Low Pressure tips (the 395 or higher in Graco line up have a great pressure control system that allow you to dial in pressure for use with these tips) will give you great results too, but, it sprays ALOT faster, good for production, bad for mistakes. You need to plan out your arm and hand movements before you make them as if you stop while spraying it comes out so fast you’ll have a pool of paint... so, it can be tricky, but, those FF LP (fine finish) tips (they are green) are a great option and you can do amazing work on cabinets with them, that’s the system it seems like most people here use.

The reason a lot of PTers don’t use HVLP (from what I’ve been able to read and understand from them) is because they are hard to dial in, they don’t have the high pressure needed in some cases to push the paint through and atomize it to get a good finish. So you may need to thin some paints, which means adding water with any of the above products except the BIN. 

Also you would need at least a 4 stage Turbine HVLP unit like the Titan Capspray 95 as the more turbine stages (number of fans) the more power to push the paint. They even make 5 and 6 stage units, but, a 4 is a good place to start, however, the 6 stage apparently doesn’t even need the paint thinned in most cases. YMMV of course,

Well, I hope this helps. I admit I still have more questions than answers myself and I am no expert by any means. BUT what I wrote above is, I guess, a summary of sorts on what a few weeks of research on here, at trade shows, with paint reps, and Titan and Graco reps has taught me. Take it with a grain of salt and hopefully someone else will chime in and correct me if I said anything wrong or add more of their own true experiences in here.


----------



## PACman

got nothing to add. sounds good as long as you get the Ultraplate. (LOL)


----------



## Tprice2193

Well there seems to be and omission of the pigmented lacquers from consideration. I would recommend this hands down over paint for new unfinished wood. Some of these are KCMA approved such as Kem Aqua + and offer many other advantages over paint. Paint as described above is a consideration for refinishes, however I still tend to use waterbourne pigmented lacquers for production and quality reasons. If using an HVLP you will be much happier with the waterbourne lacquers than paints. A natural extension for spray on clears...very similar process.


----------



## Cliffc

Thanks Guys, A lot of great advice. I also thought about the pigmented lacquers. We used to use a conversion varnish long time ago. Love the finish, durability, etc. just a pain since cup life is so short once catalyzed . If needed small touch ups etc. or even touch ups after install. That's a whole different thing.... We use Pre cat. Lac from SW which i have used for years and have always been very happy with, as far as clear coats go. Just didn't know if the pigmented lacquers would give me same results? but will for sure be something I will look into. Our local SW store has changed reps so many times, not sure new one would even know if i asked him. lol... Again thanks for the info.


----------



## lilpaintchic

Lenmar conversion varnish.love it.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


----------



## Tprice2193

@Cliffc - If you have used waterbourne clear lacquers you will find the pigmented to be very similar. Ken Aqua + and generalfinishes white poly do not need to be thinned for HVLP. I use the same prep method previously decribed with BIN as my primer. The dry quickly and sand nicely. Could get 3 coats in one day. You can even wet sand and rub them out like clears. Best move I have made getting away from Proclassic latex. The generalfinishes Enduro line is good waterbourne clears and pigmented and conversion varnish. I use SW now for convenience and price.


----------



## finishesbykevyn

Tprice2193 said:


> Well there seems to be and omission of the pigmented lacquers from consideration. I would recommend this hands down over paint for new unfinished wood. Some of these are KCMA approved such as Kem Aqua + and offer many other advantages over paint. Paint as described above is a consideration for refinishes, however I still tend to use waterbourne pigmented lacquers for production and quality reasons. If using an HVLP you will be much happier with the waterbourne lacquers than paints. A natural extension for spray on clears...very similar process.


TPrice. Which brand of waterborne lacquer are you using and is this product better sprayed through hvlp or airless. .?


----------



## Lazlo

If you live in the south-west I can't say enough good things about Dunn Edwards Aristoshield for cabinets. It is a fantastic urethane alkyd. I am sure some of you are thinking that you have tried the SW version and it isn't hard enough for cabinets and I agree. But Aristoshield has a much harder shell. I have been using it on cabinets for 4 years and have not had a single call back for yellowing and only 2 call backs for chipping, and those were extreme conditions in which the customer mistreated the cabinet.


----------



## Tprice2193

@finishesbykevyn - I use Kem Aqua + pigmented and General Finishes Enduro White poly.


----------

