Unfinished Oak Cabinets: Hang And Then Finish Or Vice Versa ?

bahed

I am re-habbing a house and I was wondering the proper order. Should I hang the kitchen unfinished oak cabinets first and then lacquer them .. or .. lacquer them say in my garage or outside if the weather is good and then hang them afterwards ? I would hope the latter is preferred since my walls have already been painted.

Also, I love spraying shellac with my HVLP turbine system. I can warm up the tone very easily to move away from the dreaded red oak color towards more of a white oak (golden look) with my ColorTone tints.

Do folks have a problem with shellac on cabinets ? There will be handles on the doors. I know spirit-based lacquer is more durable; I just hate using and cleaning up with the stuff - especially if it is recommended that I hang the cabinets first and then spray indoors !!

Thanks for any help in this matter.

Bret

Woz the Painter

I would spray in em in garage then hang them. Shellac as top coat could be bad in the long haul as far as holding up to moisture and oils given off by the skin when opening and closing. I would go with a polyurethane finish if your going to live there for any length of time.

only126db

Hang then finish, will be easier in my opinion to get an even color across the cab's

Trimcat

I sprayed laquer in a kitchen one time..... with a respirator... and got higher than a kite. It was thick in there.... that was with good ventilation. I will never do that again. I woud finish first, hang second. Cabinets are hung 99% of the time already finished. Given the option with unfinished cabinets, I would still opt to install a finished cabinet. Just my opinion. I don't think there's a right or a wrong here.

Teetorbilt

Do them in a controlled enviroment (yours) then hang them. Our custom work is pre-finished as much as possible prior to installation.

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