# Inslx Cabinet Coat For New Kitchen Cabinets?



## yerrato (Jun 4, 2016)

Ordering new RTA kitchen cabinets and have the option of finished / unfinished.

My workflow for re-finishing old cabinets is typically stix/bin as a primer and Inslx Cabinet Coat sprayed with a Graco FFLP tip.

I will save around $3-4k finishing the new cabinets myself.

The factory finish from the cabinet maker is a conversion varnish I believe.

My question is... How much will I be sacrificing not going with the factory finish???


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## vwbowman (May 15, 2017)

No doubt that the conversion varnish is a harder surface. However the main downfall is that when cv is damaged it is very difficult to touch up or repair. Your existing system will result in beautiful cabinets and something that when damage occurs, you will be able to repair. I would save the money.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

I still like good old impervo for new stuff.


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## irishjim21 (Feb 2, 2017)

vwbowman said:


> No doubt that the conversion varnish is a harder surface. However the main downfall is that when cv is damaged it is very difficult to touch up or repair. Your existing system will result in beautiful cabinets and something that when damage occurs, you will be able to repair. I would save the money.



Disagree 100% touch ups and repairs would be done the same way with either product. The conversion varnish is less likely to get damaged in the first place, will look alot better, and hold up alot better. CV is what you want on cabinets. Not saying insl-x is bad, but it def isnt nearly as good as CV


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Why not spray them yourself with a CV? Problem solved?Win win?


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

The best results I've had spraying conversion varnish is with a cup gun. You may be able to get by with using a turbine set up. 
I wouldn't go with using an airless for a couple of reasons:

Conversion varnish is a two-part mix. Not exactly cheap, so you want to keep waste at a minimum. You also have to be mindful of the mixed pot-life. If it sets up in the gun, you're gonna be doing some disassembly and cleaning. The advantages of the cup gun is that you can mix the cv a cup at a time. 

I've never had a problem touching up conversion varnish finishes. 

To be honest, if money and time were no objects, I would have preferred using it over any other finish. A strong, hard, durable finish. Which is why it's used on high end cabinets and furniture from the mfgs.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Wolfgang said:


> The best results I've had spraying conversion varnish is with a cup gun. You may be able to get by with using a turbine set up.
> I wouldn't go with using an airless for a couple of reasons:
> 
> Conversion varnish is a two-part mix. Not exactly cheap, so you want to keep waste at a minimum. You also have to be mindful of the mixed pot-life. If it sets up in the gun, you're gonna be doing some disassembly and cleaning. The advantages of the cup gun is that you can mix the cv a cup at a time.
> ...



We have sprayed CV airless, don't like shooting HVLP because you end up needed to add expensive retarder to the mix to slow down the drying as a turbine heats the air quite a bit. We find CV is best used using a fog coat, medium coat then one heavy coat.


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## Scum138 (Nov 21, 2020)

I’ve had a few jobs where pre finished cabinets were bought in white at a discount
, and clients wanted grey,blue, and green (different jobs)

I cleaned, scuffed and shot Breakthrough no primer on one set. Turned out unbelievable. Btwo others same prep but vinyl sealer and pre cat, those also turned out perfect, but almost twice as much time so I wouldn’t hesitate to do the breakthrough again on new.

buyin unfinished let’s you do exactly what you want in total control but I would say based off of quality, There’s nothing I can spray at my shop that would out perform the factory cv unfortunately.


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## Raska (Nov 24, 2020)

I guess spraying them yourself will make it simpler.


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