Furniture Wax for Kitchen Cabinets?

We are in the process of painting our kitchen cabinets. We are distressing the cabinets and we want a matte finish. Instead of polyurethane we are looking for something else we can do to the cabinets.

I remember seeing a home decorating show where the person doing the work put a coat of some sort of wax on a piece of distressed furniture. It may not have been wax, but that's what I seem to remember.

Will that work for kitchen cabinets? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Typically, I use wax as a final "finish" on what I call show pieces - items that are there for looks, and won't get much use.

Kitchen cabinets don't seem to fit that category.

My choice for a final finish coat providing protection and the sheen you're after would be polyurethane.

Wax is NOT a durable final coat - it's for appearance and must be refreshed or replaced periodically.

 

Thanks George! Someone told me recently that they put a glaze on their kitchen cabinets and let that be their final coat instead of poly. They said the cainets had held up well.

Do you think that is an appropriate top coat? If we use a poly, it will have to be a satin finish. We really, really don't want these cabinets to shine. My husband is using a satin finish paint. Is this a bad idea for cabinets? If it is I need to stop him now!

 

If your friend has had these cabinets finished for a year or more and the finish is still acceptable, I see no reason why it wouldn't work for you.

 

What about the satin paint George? Is that okay, or should we be using a semi-gloss? We don't want a shine to the cabinets, but maybe if we should be using semi-gloss the glaze would dull the shine.

 

Generally speaking, the higher the shine, the more durable the finish - especially in paint.

There is very little difference between satin and semi-gloss; I'd go with the look you want.

 

Depending on the glaze you use, you should likely topcoat the cabinets. Many glazes are not sufficient top coats, especially for high traffic/abuse items, e.g. cabinets, which you will want to clean later. Most glazes will say whether they need topcoating, but generally because you are cutting the paint with the glaze product you loose some adhesion/durability. Satin is an excellent base for glazing/distressing.

For a matte finish, you can use a matte poly. Modern Masters and others make good "dead flat" acrylic varnishes. Ben Moore makes an oil based that is pretty flat too. With any flat top coat make sure you mix well because the flattening agents will sink to the bottom.

A wax finish is not durable and will not be scrubbable. You could plan to redo the wax annually, but if you ever change your mind you will have to strip the wax (assuming you are using a furniture was, e.g. Briwax, etc.) with paint thinner or spirits before recoating. That is generally why most people choose not to use wax on kitchen cabinets. Wax just doesn't stand up to cleaning, chemicals, water, etc.