Finish for Bathroom & Kitchen cabinets?

[DarkHorse03]

Hi All,

I'm building new kitchen and bathroom cabinets as my first "real" woodworking project. They're made out of red oak, 3/4 solid oak for the face frame and raised panel doors and 3/4 ply for the rest (sides, back bottom etc.)

My question is about the finish to put on them. I want them to look nice, of course, but I am most worried about durability as I have 4 kids who, it sometimes seems, think dad builds things just for them to destroy.

I have used Verathane brand polyurathane in the past and it seems pretty decent, but I thought I'd post on here and see what the "experts" think.

Here's a link to what I am using:

http://www.varathane.com/product.asp...ct_id=68&SBL=1

I'm using a air spray gun to put it on with.

Thanks!

Donald

[arcticfox46]

Donald,

Great project. Do you thing you need 3/4 Oak plywood for the backs? Will 1/4 oak ply work as well but less money??

I don't have tons of experience with finises but I have played around with a few. Shellac if great to work with, and I have done small stuff with laquer. My favorite so far is Poly. Easy to work with and whay thinned with Naptha dries relatively quickly. Poly, in my opinion is about the best when it come to water resistence. You can spill on it and nothing happens. I have heard that FRESH shellac has good water resistance, but I don't think it is as good as poly.