Tried & True Finishes

[Kent Brobeck]

Wondering which one of their finishes would be best for kitchen cabinets. Does it matter if the cabinets will be stained or not? I'm pretty sure I've seen some of you guys talk about the product here. Which is why I post it here instead of on the finishes forum.

[MarkMc]

Better might be the varnish oil, but none would be my first choice for kitchen cabs that you want to be low maint, high durability, or fast drying/dust free [if a concern]. Over stain check with manu, but likely be ok over water or alcohol aniline. Like any oil fin it can look great, just be aware of the pitfall potential[s].

[steve demetrick]

Kent,
I've use both their varnish oil and the beeswax finish on a number of projects. The Varnish oil does give the best protection so would probably be the better choice for kitchen cabinets. As you probably know, oil finishes don't give anywhere near the protection of a lacquer or other film finish. If someone splatters the spaghetti sauce, lets it dry overnight, and scrubs off the caked on mess the next day with a brillo pad they will be very sorry about their choice in finishes. That said, I have done one kitchen in red elm with their varnish oil, and priced out another for this spring in fir with the varnish oil. To both customers I explained the realities of an oil finish and just told them to be honest about how clean they are in the kitchen. The red elm job has held up great, going on 7 years. Customer is very clean and doesn't cook a lot.

I've never tried to stain under/over the oil. Ask the guys at Homestead finishing. I personally wouldn't stain a project that asked for a finish as elegant as Tried and True. If going through all of that work for that type/level of finish, I'd recommend selecting a species that matches the color palette you are striving for, and taking a little extra time in selecting the visible wood so that staining isn't necessary. The real strength in their finishes is what they do to enhance the beauty of the natural wood.

-Steve

[dave_k]

never mind :)

[Kent Brobeck]

never mind :)

Dave, I read your reply earlier today and just got some time to reply. I agree with you, that all those finishes are good choices. The one thing I'm trying to avoid is a plastic look. I'm interested in a hand rubbed look.

Why did you delete your post and say "never mind" ?

[dave_k]

Why did you delete your post and say "never mind" ?

I was kinda puzzled by the other responses so I re-read your post and realized you were looking at Tried and True Brand finishes instead of a tried and true finish.

I used to do a lot of tung oil and Danish oil finishes and I would still use them on the right project but in my opinion they don't offer a lot of protection and they don't last in a kitchen environment.

You can get a similar lustrous, low sheen look by using a flat and/or a satin lacquer mixed to customize the look you are after. In my opinion it's a question of performance. You get a finish that can be scrubbed clean, handled and has a high degree of chemical and grease resistance.

You get a certain amount of that protection with polymerize oils, The advantage of products like Tried and True is that they work right out of the can whereas you would have to invest some time and materials experimenting to find the look you are after using lacquers....and you get better results spraying. Wipe on oils are easy to get a flawless finish you have to deal with the little biddies that get in the lacquer if you don't have a booth, or rub the finish out so I guess that the tradeoff.