# Refinishing Cabinets with Varathane



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

My daughter started pulling the oak doors off of her kitchen cabinets and sanding them down. She only did one, but so far it came out so nice that I pulled one of the doors out of my bath room to show her how I did mine using stripper. Hers still makes mine look bad and she is going to continue to sand by hand.

Anyway, I’m now committed to refinish my Oak bath cabinets with 4 doors and 6 drawers. I'm going to buy a quart or two for both my daughters and my cabinets, because I remember having a lot left over that went bad.. 

I did my own kitchen cabinets about 10 years ago using a Varathane product, but I can’t remember now what I used exactly. I wanted something that was completely waterproof for cleaning. They still are holding up great after all this time even with washing them with kitchen cleaners to remove peanut butter & jelly from the kids. 

I also have a place where my coffeemaker was damaging the old finish of the upper cabinet from steam, but now it is unharmed and we make 2 to 3 pots of coffee a day.

So anybody have an idea of what I may have used or if any new better products came out in the past 10 yrs?

----update---

NEVER MIND! I found it, was mistaken about the brand. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint/...st-drying-polyurethane-satin-quart-55169.html


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Varathane is made by Rustoleum. I'm not fond of Rustoleum products so I've never tried their clear finishes. I know they make a oil based and water based polyurethane. If you really want the finish waterproof I would go with a marine grade varnish. It is what is used on boats. Otherwise I would use the polyurethane.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

There's not much difference in what you used with the similar product from Varathane (oil base polyurethane).








 







.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks guys,

When my oldest daughter was born, I built a rocking chair for my wife to set in while feeding her. It was to be a surprise so I assembled and finished it in a shed using a kerosene heater to help dry it in the winter and I had a real problem with dust and soot getting into my finish. I had to sand it down 2 or 4 time and start over and time was running out. I was getting so frustrated that I finally bought some spray can of Rustoleum Varathane to finish it off. 

It was terrible and I was so disappointed after all the wood work I did, that I decided I would never try to finish anything again. When I finally got up the nerve to do the kitchen cabinets and they came out so great, I figured I would never try any other product.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Sleeper said:


> Thanks guys,
> 
> When my oldest daughter was born, I built a rocking chair for my wife to set in while feeding her. It was to be a surprise so I assembled and finished it in a shed using a kerosene heater to help dry it in the winter and I had a real problem with dust and soot getting into my finish. I had to sand it down 2 or 4 time and start over and time was running out. I was getting so frustrated that I finally bought some spray can of Rustoleum Varathane to finish it off.
> 
> It was terrible and I was so disappointed after all the wood work I did, that I decided I would never try to finish anything again. When I finally got up the nerve to do the kitchen cabinets and they came out so great, I figured I would never try any other product.


You have to be very careful using a kerosene heater around oil based finishes. The vapors can ignite explosively.


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## haree (May 8, 2012)

Its great idea and awesome creativity which I observe. Well I want to re install mine kitchen cabinet for that purpose I am looking for the trusted company which could be trusted as well as not more expensive...


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Steve Neul said:


> You have to be very careful using a kerosene heater around oil based finishes. The vapors can ignite explosively.


 Thanks, kerosene heaters were popular at the time and were sold everywhere including grocery stores, but then there were the news reports warning about fires and Carbon monoxide poisonings so I got rid of the thing.


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