Paint options for cabinets

[Jeffrey Martel]

I will be building a murphy bed and a pair of side cabinets for a friend and she has stated that she wants it painted. The plan is to go with birch plywood and probably soft maple trim. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best option for making it look good and be durable.

My initial reaction and what I'm still leaning towards is General Finishes "Milk Paint" (really just an Acrylic) because of all of the good reviews it seems to get. I've also heard good things about SW Proclassic and Benjamin Moore's Advanced. It will be sprayed with a HVLP gun. I have heard that the Proclassic is a bit thick and needs to be thinned considerably (~15-20%), and I've heard that the BM Advanced has a tendency to run easily. I've got some time until I will be spraying since I haven't even started building yet, but I'd like to figure it out.

It looks like the GF will be about $83 including shipping for a gallon, vs $65ish plus tax for the SW. I haven't looked up the price on the BM stuff yet.

Any other recommendations? Anyone tried multiple types and figured out a favorite?

[Mark Kornell]

What about a tinted lacquer? Similar price range but a considerably tougher finish.

[Justin Jump]

Jeff,

Look into one more option, its called INSLX Cabinet Coat.

This is a bit on the thick side also like ProClassic, but both products can be thinned to properly spray with HVLP, following the guidelines in Jeff Jewitts book on spray finishing.

I have used both products with success on a few projects over the past couple of years, based on a ton of advice received from the people here.

Recently this summer I started, and I am almost complete on my kitchen cabinets, which I built then choose the INSLX Cabinet Coat as the finish. A little trial and error, but I have achieved what I think are good results.

Here is a couple pics, I have a few others spread out over the forums.....

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[Bryan Hunt]

I have sprayed several cabinets with SW Proclassic - both the water base and oil base with an HVLP conversion gun using a 1.7 tip. As you mentioned, you have to thin the stuff to get it through the gun. The wife was very happy with the results. The water base cures reasonably hard and I found it ok for cabinets not to mention easy cleanup. If I were going to do a high-end commission piece, I would probably use oil base because I think it cures better than the water base. The downside is of course the messy solvent cleanup.

[Jeffrey Martel]

Bryan,

I've seen a few references to the Proclassic taking a duller sheen after thinning and spraying. I.e. If you want Satin, you should buy semi-gloss. Any truth to this?

Mark,

I'm unsure of where to buy any of that local. Haven't looked into it much. I've also heard that it is even less forgiving of prep work than paint.

[Bryan Hunt]

I don't recall having any problems with the sheen, but then semi-gloss and satin pretty much look the same to me :rolleyes:

[Bryan Hunt]

Just ran out to the shop ... the water-base Proclassic I used last was satin.

[John TenEyck]

I didn't seen any change in the sheen when I sprayed the WB ProClassic. I had to thin it 18% to spray it through a 1.8 mm gravity feed HVLP gun; how it can be sprayed through a 0.7 mm gun is a mystery unless it was a pressure feed gun. I really like the finish it produced, very hard and doesn't block with books or china sitting on it, but I would look to go with a pressure feed or airless gun if I have to spray it again.

John

[Bryan Hunt]

Oops, should have been 1.7 tip - I edited my post.

[Mark Kornell]

Mark,

I'm unsure of where to buy any of that local. Haven't looked into it much. I've also heard that it is even less forgiving of prep work than paint.

If you live in a city large enough to have a cabinet shop, there'll be a commercial suppler nearby.

Target Coatings also sells a white base lacquer that can be tinted if you need to go the mail order route.