Putting polyurethane on unfinished kitchen cabinets…should I use a foam brush or regular?
My husband and I bought all new unfinished kitchen cabinets. They are oak. I bought a colored stain. Since they are oak, they don't absorb a whole lot of stain, but that's okay. But when it comes to applying the polyurethane, is a foam brush okay our should I stick with a regular brush? Also how many coats of finish should I apply? 2 or 3? I understand that with each coat I need to let it dry 4-6 hours and with the final coat, it says 24 hours. Also, why do we need to sand between each dry coat? If anyone has done this before and has some helpful hints, I would appreciate it!
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definitely use a foam brush , it wont leave any hairs behind like a regular brush might , plus the foam doesnt leave as many air bubbles
make sure you do full long strokes from one end to the other without stopping and dont go over it multiple times , that will lead to air bubbles
you sand with 00 steel wool between coats to remove any little air bumps and any surface dust that may have been in the finish, make sure you wipe off the surface really well before appying the next coat
i’d apply 3 coats
B.
I use a foam brush everytime I urethane anything, I find it works much better personally.
You need at least two thin coats, 3 is better, I would do 4.
You don’t necessarily need to sand between coats if you recoat within 12-24 hours depending upon humidity and temperature. Usually if you reacoat after the poly is dry but before completely cured the next coat will be fine. If you let it fully cure, the following coat may not adhere well. A light sanding to break the gloss will solve that problem. So, if you recoat within 12 hours, you should not need to sand. After 24 hours, you should sand. In between depends upon the environment. Some poly’s have different drying characteristics, so read the can and follow the directions there.
For cabinets, I would go with a good nylon brush. Angled brush for the corners and recesses, wider flat brush for the rest. It is hard to get the recesses without squeezing bubbles out of a foam brush and you should use the same type on all of the cabinets to make sure the texture of the finish is the same. For other projects where it is mostly flat work, either is fine.
why do you want to stain oak?a nice clear satin varnish would bring the oak grain out lovely.apply with a foam roller and cut in with a brush.only sand after first coat has completely dried(usually day after)gently sand with a fine grain wet and dry paper .then second coat will add the finish.I’m a painter of 15years.