Polyurethane Oil Paint Quality

Hi guys,

I am wondering if there is much difference between Sherwin Williams Polyurethane Clear Oil Paint, Home Depots ones, Lowes, Benjamin Moore or any other manufacturer.

Thank you

 

Are you talking about polyurethane paint or clear poly like you'd use over stained wood?
SWP, BM and most of the major paint manufactures coatings are fairly similar.... providing you are comparing similar grades. Big box stores tend to stock coatings based more on low price than quality.

 

clear coat like in my posting.

That's what I thought about the big box stores.
But people always saying that their paint are very good.
Never used paint from the big box stores. Always SW, but I was a little confused now because of all the good reputations about the big box stores paint.
So I stick with SW.

Reason: I am painting my kitchen cabinets and would like to get a really hard surface and a very shiny one.

 

I did a quick Google search for two things:

"Clear Polyurethane Oil Paint".... and found no results.

"Polyurethane Clear Oil Paint".... and found one result... (your post above)

What I think marksr is getting at is that there is Polyurethane paint, like you would use for a porch floor, and there is Clear Polyurethane wood finish, like you would apply to a floor.

At any rate, the general consensus is that it is not usually a good idea to apply a clear poly finish over a paint job. Oil based Polyurethanes will usually yellow over time, meaning they will not always be "clear". And even if you do use a poly that says it will remain clear, there may be adhesion issues if used on top of paint. Polyurethane needs to be applied to a substrate that it will bond well to, or there will be problems with flaking, checking, or peeling. Polyurethane is also not easily repairable, so if you get a knick in the wood any touchups you do will look like you added clear nail polish on top of the repair.

If you do insist on putting a clear coat on your painted wood, you probably want Polycrylic, or a waterbourne polyurethane, but not an oil based polyurethane.

If you always stick with SW and want a hard finish, they have paints that will do that. Just ask for their most durable paint (oil or waterbourne) and see what they say. I bet they will steer you toward their Pro Classic Alkyd, especially if you are painting cabinets that had an oil based finish on them to begin with.

What sort of finish was on the cabinets originally?

 

I agree, it's rarely a good idea to clear coat residential paints. If the current paint is oil base you need to stick with oil base enamel or coat the cabinets with a solvent based primer before switching to latex or waterborne. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/pa...latex-oil.html

Oil base [alkyd] dries to the hardest film but waterborne is a close 2nd. Latex paints have the softest finish although there is a big difference between the high quality enamels and their cheaper counterpart.

What color do you intend to paint the cabinets? Oil base whites are bad to yellow over time.

 

I am using SW Pro Classic Alkyd high gloss white and would like to paint the cabinets with this, because I am trying to make the cabinets very shiny.
But since you mention that white can yellowing I am not sure anymore. Is there a white type out that does not yellowing?

That's how the cabinets look like right now when I bought the house.
Ugly and depressing brown.





EDIT: Just found this

How to Stop White Paint From Turning Yellow | eHow.com

In this posting the author says the complete opposite and recommends using a lacquer or varnish on top as a finish.

 

There's no one right answer but I would not use an oil based white for fear of yellowing with time. The same would apply to any top coat (even though I would not use one) - oil based will not stay clear, it will yellow or amber the color of the white beneath it.

My choice would be a waterborne latex enamel.

 

Just a waterborne latex enamel? No top coat? How do I get it shiny and does it get as hard and resistant like oil-based?

 

Nope, I don't topcoat paint.

As hard as oil based, nope. Close, yep.

 

I'd sand/clean the cabinets, remove the hardware and coat them with an oil primer. Sand lighty and apply 2 coats of SWP's ProClassic Waterborne enamel. It won't yellow and wears extremely well. It's what I have on all of the painted woodwork in my house, also on the 2 cabinets that support the 2 ends of my desk.

Here's some more info that should help - http://www.doityourself.com/forum/pa...t-repaint.html

 

On the link posting it does not say what color was used.

My project kitchen: Took the hardware of, sanded the cabinets with a 120 paper, but I used X-I-M Primer, Sealer and Bonder. Sticks pretty good on laminated cabinets.
Tomorrow I will put the first coat SWP's ProClassic Waterborne enamel white on and on another day a second coat. I would like to have the cabinets gloss, so I think using a waterborne polyurethane clear coat too.