Conversion Varnish or Lacquer for kitchen cabinets?

[Charissa Bass]

Thinking about building new cabinets. Trying to figure out the cost and what type of finish would be durable. I'm sure I'm in the minority here but for most things I prefer painted vs stained. Are conversion varnish and lacquer clear top coats that you would spray over a painted surface or can they be tinted? If they can't be tinted what type of paint would you recommend for face frames and doors. Cabinets boxes would be built out of prefinished plywood.

What type of setup do you need to spray the solvent based conversion varnish or lacquer safely and which is better? (My bf has a big air compressor, and a spray gun that he has sprayed solvent based auto paint with in our detached garage) I have heard that lacquer can chip and is hard to touch up. I'm assuming conversion varnish must have some downside?

Thanks in advance.

[Jamie Buxton]

If what you want is painted cabinets, just paint them. Don't bother with clear coat on top of the paint.

[John TenEyck]

I personally don't spray solvent based stuff, except shellac, because of the explosion risk. W/O a proper spray it just seems like a foolish thing to do, although I know lots of people do it. But there are many high quality water based products available so I really see no need to take the risk. If you want painted kitchen cabinets, I'd either use a paint like Sherwin Williams' Pro Classic, or General Finishes Enduro Pigmented Poly: http://generalfinishes.com/professio...h#.U8BsK7Hb6iV. Both are very hard and durable and both can be tinted to any color you would want. The SW Pro Classic is really high viscosity and sprays best with an airless sprayer. The GF Enduro Poly can be sprayed with an HVLP gun with the proper needle/orifice.

John