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+-- Thread: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? (/showthread.php?tid=7339785)
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what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - EricU - 05-25-2018
We had a cabinet that had some long particle board shelves that were supported only at the ends. So over the years they sagged badly. I added supports in the center, but now they are only touching the center supports, and it takes a lot of weight to get them anywhere near the end supports. So I'm going to replace them with some birch plywood that is on the way. I'm curious what finish people think works best for this application.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - Splinter Puller - 05-25-2018
(05-25-2018, 08:42 AM)EricU Wrote: We had a cabinet that had some long particle board shelves that were supported only at the ends. So over the years they sagged badly. I added supports in the center, but now they are only touching the center supports, and it takes a lot of weight to get them anywhere near the end supports. So I'm going to replace them with some birch plywood that is on the way. I'm curious what finish people think works best for this application.
I use waterborne varnish or waterborne poly for all my kitchen cabinet shelves and inner faces. No issues in a decade of kitchens. I prefer waterborne as I can spray on finish and re-coat a few times all in a few hours.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - Roly - 05-25-2018
(05-25-2018, 08:42 AM)EricU Wrote: We had a cabinet that had some long particle board shelves that were supported only at the ends. So over the years they sagged badly. I added supports in the center, but now they are only touching the center supports, and it takes a lot of weight to get them anywhere near the end supports. So I'm going to replace them with some birch plywood that is on the way. I'm curious what finish people think works best for this application.
Too late now but this is where UV prefinished ply excels. Also adding a hardwood front edge adds a lot of strength. As said a waterborne finish will prevent the oil based odor. Roly
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - EricU - 05-25-2018
This is the kitchen cabinet that we store our dishes in.
I realized I had a suitable piece of plywood in the basement, if I can only get my tablesaw into position to rip it. Going to face it with some walnut to match the existing shelves. Everything else in the entire kitchen is stained maple, but they found some walnut for the hardwood shelf faces.
Not really set up to spray right now. Well, I guess I have everything I need, have to think about it.
going downstairs to move some lathes
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - Cooler - 05-25-2018
Long shelves? How long?
Certainly plywood will be more substantial.
The longest shelves in my kitchen (30") are in a cabinet with a center stile on the face frame. The face frame and the rear panel are drilled for pins. If your cabinet is so equipped, I would not bother with front a hardwood front edge.
What is the current finish? You are going to want something that looks similar.
What are the actual dimensions for the warped shelves.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - EricU - 05-25-2018
they are about 40" long, give or take a few inches. Too long to have heavy weights on them only supported on the ends, that's for sure. I just added supports behind the two middle stiles yesterday, so the unsupported length is short enough I don't need to worry about stiffening the ply. I'm going to do hardwood edging just to match the other shelves, I would have to go buy laminate edging anyway, and I have a lifetime supply of walnut. I'm pretty sure I have some pieces that are just the right size for edging
I think they have lacquer on them now. They also have the same stain as the cabinets, which makes the particle board pretty dark. I think I will just stain the shelves to match the cabinets.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - Cooler - 05-25-2018
(05-25-2018, 10:46 AM)EricU Wrote: they are about 40" long, give or take a few inches. Too long to have heavy weights on them only supported on the ends, that's for sure. I just added supports behind the two middle stiles yesterday, so the unsupported length is short enough I don't need to worry about stiffening the ply. I'm going to do hardwood edging just to match the other shelves, I would have to go buy laminate edging anyway, and I have a lifetime supply of walnut. I'm pretty sure I have some pieces that are just the right size for edging
I think they have lacquer on them now. They also have the same stain as the cabinets, which makes the particle board pretty dark. I think I will just stain the shelves to match the cabinets.
I've recently read the specs for the construction of about a dozen high end cabinet makers. Of course the better cabinets are all made from 5/8" or 3/4" plywood. They all seem to edge the shelves with veneer. Since they are all using pre-finished plywood, I guess they use pre-finished veneer too.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - fredhargis - 05-25-2018
Avoid anything oil based for sure. NC lacquer could work, but won't e all that durable. My choice would be a good quality waterborne.
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - Stwood_ - 05-25-2018
(05-25-2018, 09:01 AM)Splinter Puller Wrote: I use waterborne varnish or waterborne poly for all my kitchen cabinet shelves and inner faces. No issues in a decade of kitchens. I prefer waterborne as I can spray on finish and re-coat a few times all in a few hours.
+1
RE: what finish for kitchen cabinet shelves? - EricU - 05-26-2018
I have about 10 square inches where there was no lacquer on the outside of the cabinets. Hopefully I still have some lacquer for that. Not going to do that inside the cabinets. I do have some waterborne poly, so I'll be using that.
Going to have to practice staining, I couldn't tell if the Borg Minwax stains are oil-based. I don't feel that it's too critical on the shelves, but I want a good match on the exposed part. Fortunately, I took out a cabinet and salvaged the wood, so I have plenty of practice area.
Didn't get the shop unscrambled, it was harder than it looked, and it didn't look easy.