Cabinet paint sealer?

[conwaygolfer]

I recently made new cabinets for my sons kitchen. The DIL wanted them painted white ( doors and face frames ). I applied 2 coats of 100% acrylic latex paint. My question is: can I or should I apply some type sealer such as poly or lacquer, etc? Or just leave them as is?

Also can I or should I lightly sand the doors to get a little smoother surface? I used a small foam roller to apply the paint and wish it was a bit smoother. We are talking about 22 doors here.

Thanks for any insight you may have.

Conwaygolfer

[TB Roye]

I did the same as you. I lightly sanded the doors down with 220 and then sprayed them with a water based polyurethane. I only had 8 doors. Good luck

Tom

[JimD]

I like Resisthane sold by Hood finishing. It is a water based finish described as a catalyzed lacquer. They sell it tinted in white and black. I've also read of people mixing it with paint (the clear finish) to toughen it.

If you can spray, I would lightly sand and then shoot the cabinets and doors with a coat or two of tinted Resisthane. It dries quickly so you could easily spray all the doors in a day. If you have no spray equipment, you can still use Resisthane but it will take longer. You can apply it with a brush or roller. It dries quickly, however, so you may habe a bit of difficulty keeping a wet edge. It should be possible on a door, however. The tinted Resisthane is not a "good coverage" type finish. I used it on Plantation shutters but applied their sprayable primer first. As long as your sanding does not go through anywhere, you should be fine to put Resisthane over the paint. If you do go through, you may want to spot paint or prime before applying the Resisthane.

Jim

[conwaygolfer]

Thanks for the input. I have used Resisthane before and may still have some. I used to use it on bare oak cabinets, but it seemed to turn them dark to a degree. Just like oak turns dark when it gets wet.

Thanks again,
Conwaygolfer

[JimD]

It does darken oak as any finish I've tried will. It does not impart an amber tint which I like on oak so I usually use oil based poly on oak - to obtain that tint.