Paint and sprayer

[Jim Tobias]

My son and daughter in law want to spray paint their kitchen cabinets. They want to use a water based product. Would you suggest acrylic enamel or latex enamel? Also, any experience with either an Earlex or Wagner sprayer to deliver the product to the cabinets??

Thanks,
Jim

[Josiah Bartlett]

I have no experience spraying either product, but acrylic enamel tends to harden to a less sticky surface than latex. This is important in a kitchen.

[Curt Harms]

I sprayed an outdoor trellis with acrylic enamel through an Earlex 5000. I added maybe 5% water and ran it through a medium cone strainer. It sprayed fine. A larger tip will likely work better. I used a 2.0.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Wagner is to sprayers what Black and Decker is to tools.

Ok for a one time shot or some very small homeowner type projects - a wicker chair or similar.

It's 50/50 if one would make it through a decent size kitchen.
I've had two of them. An older 300 Pro model and a Paint Crew.
The 300 just made it through the 12 gallons of stain I used on the fence before it quit.
The Paint Crew surprised me by lasting through the fence and a few other small jobs.

The Earlex appears to be a decent machine. It's (the 5000) about three times more than the Wagner though.
The good news there is that they might be able to turn around and sell it after they're done & recoup some of the cost.

Never use latex enamel on the inside of cabinets. Things will stick to it for years. It's called "blocking". Try not to use latex enamel on the outside either.
Acrylic works much better.

[Frank Dominski]

If you were to use latex enamel would covering it with a water base polyacrylic keep it from having a sticky surface. I was going to paint a book case with latex enamel that I have and cover it with a water based clear polyacrylic, is that a bad idea.

[Peter Quinn]

I'd look at something like target coatings EM6000 lacquer (available tinted from Homestead Finishing) or hydrocoat resithane from Hood Finishing Products. Both are water based acrylic spray finishes designed to perform as architectural coatings on things like cabinets, both spray very well out of the can, and both are very durable. They can be tinted with UTC's, and Homestead has a number of colors ready to go.

I have used Benjamin Moore's statin impervo for cabinet projects, but I find it is not performing well in my own kitchen, I don't feel it is durable enough for a heavy use application on its own. I have also used it on a bathroom project and some projects for clients (mantels) where it has worked very well. I haven't tried spraying it, though I'm told it can be sprayed if reduced with water and a latex extender like XIM for decent results. On the upside, impervo is readily available, can be easily tinted to lots of colors by any dealer, and is relatively inexpensive. I would top coat with a durable acrylic poly if using impervo. Impervo is a 100% acrylic latex, FYI.