Euro Cabs with Pre-finished doors. Edge banding and open cabinets finish advice

[firepilot]

Hi All,

Looking for a bit of advice from you all. I am building my kitchen cabinets here in the next week or so. All the doors and Dovetail drawers are being pre-finished by the company in Oregon making them. They will be done in conversion varnish, and are a natural finish.

The edge banding and doors are Hickory. I am making the Refer panels and open cabinets out of Hickory plywood. I can pre-finish the parts flat before assembly.

I don't have any spray equipment anymore so looking at an alternative if possible. I do have a semi booth at work I can use for finishing but since they do aircraft stuff in there the equipment is not available.

I also have a fair amount of trim work, some crown etc I could spray if I "need" to get a HVLP. I have spent the last few hours researching various units. Looks like the Fuji 4Q is a good unit. After buying as much Festool as I have in the last few months sticker shock has a new relative feel to it.

I wish I had my old Kremlin unit but no more. It was pretty sweet. I was looking at the General wipe on top coats as an alternative but looking for some direction.

Thanks

Phil

 

[tjbnwi]

I have the Q4 Golg with the G-Xps gun. Great set up.

Look into Zar Ultra Max wipe on.

 

[tiralie]

Phil
I have not used General's Seal-A-Cell, which is the product I believe you are referring to above but I have used Enduro Var (water Bourne urethane based) and like it quite a bit. Enduro Var's color is very close to classic varnish (honey) and may be a good compliment match for the natural finish on your doors and drawers. It can be brushed or sprayed, but if you are gonna brush I would suggest a slight (10-15%) thinning.
You can of course achieve the same color with some amber shellac as a sealer and a clear polyurethane top coat.

I have a Q4 and highly recommend it for this kind of a project. You could use the the Q4 to spray your crown and trim particularly if you are spraying a clear.

Tim

 

[Cort]

I was looking at the General wipe on top coats as an alternative but looking for some direction.

Thanks

Phil

I've hand applied quite a few finishes, and sometimes, I am shocked at the good quality of a hand applied finish.  You can do it by hand.  However, for me, this is very labor intensive.  I think you are heading in the right direction looking at the HVLP if you have any quantity of material to cover.  Good luck.

 

[firepilot]

Thanks for the replies guys.

After careful deliberation and exhaustive over analysis I ordered the Fuji 4Q with the gravity feed gun.

Most of the shops in the area are using Sherwin Williams Sherwood pre cat around here and the support is good so I am going with that. I found I can heat my little shop to 70 so I may spray a bit here. I also have a booth/spray room at work I can use after hours/weekends. Right now cutting parts and will be edge banding and assembling the base cabinets.

The upper cabinets  can go together and get finished next week. Have to get the bases set for the granite template next Friday.

Thanks again for the help.

Phil

 

[firepilot]

Hey All,

Just an update. I received the Fuji 4Q Gold about a week and a half ago and finally had the chance to try it today. I had a cabinet height Book case out of hickory for the end run of my new cabinets.

I used a hi build Pre cat from Sherwin Williams. I took several pieces of cardboard and played with a bit of lacquer thinner. After a bit strained some of the lacquer in her and gave it a whirl. I se the the back of the cabinet up between 2 clamps and sprayed it vertical. Also shot the sides of the cabinet that will get Deco panels first.

The gun sprayed really nicely and the finish layer out real well. I was a bit heavy on the lower shelf on the sealer but after a while sanded it well and then went with the top coat.

All in all happy with the system. It worked well, was really quiet and I got the results I wanted. I'll be spraying all the trim and crown, toe kick and lots of other stuff.

Thanks for the suggestions I also have a bunch of chair rail, base board and crown to spray and I believe the 4 stage ought to do the job.

Phil