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You can clean your project with ammonia only if you will be working with an oil based finish. Ammonia can cause a water based finish to blush or turn white. If using a water based finish, a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water is best.

Note: Avoid using oil-soap or silcone-based daily cleaners such as Pledge, Endust or Murphy's Oil. These types of products can contaminate your finish, preventing further applications of paints or topcoats in the future.  

Although some companies promote their products as "no prep," that is nonsense. If you skip this step the finish can fail. General Finishes's standard for a good finish is it must adhere well and stand the test of time.

Although some companies promote their products as "no prep", that is nonsense. If you skip this step the finish can fail.

General Finishes standard for a good finish is it must adhere well and stand the test of time. 

1. PREP CLEANING:

Cleaning an existing finish removes dirt, grime and many common contaminants such as oil from hands. Dirt, grime, and oil prevent good adhesion causing the possibility of chipping, peeling and flaking - all signs of a failed finish.

This response is true of prepping and existing finish on furniture, but kitchen cabinets are more problematic because they are work areas where grease, steam, food splatters and oil from hands are common. Prep is basically degreasing and abrading the surface for better adhesion. Oil or substances on hands really show up on a failed re-finish around doorknobs and hands if the surface is not cleaned thoroughly.

Our recommendation to fix white cabinets that have yellowed is to do a thorough sanding and precleaning and recoat with the following products:

After your finish has cured, the best way to clean is with a water-damp rag. If your surface requires deep cleaning due to grease or grime build-up, add a speck of a strong dish detergent, such as Dawn or a bit of vinegar to your damp rag.

If need deeper cleaning, use General Finishes Orange Oil Polish.

There are several reasons:

1. The cabinets were not prep cleaned and sanded properly. Sanding and cleaning are an essential part of any refinishing process.

In most cases, you can use a 220 sanding pad to scuff the surface and clean with a 50|50 mix of water and denatured alcohol.

GF advises extra care and prep when applying any finish over laminate surfaces because they are specifically designed not to mar and therefore they are not very "sand-able", making adherence difficult.

In addition to this non-permeable surface factor, General Finishes Gel Stain is an oil-based product, and it is more difficult to obtain proper drying characteristics over a dense manufactured surface such as laminate. Gel stains, as all wood stains, were formulated to go over raw wood which has an "open" surface and can absorb some of the stain.

A primer is your best defense under light-colored paint.

Another technique to avoid the slight color change that sometimes occurs when applying topcoat is to add 10-15% of the paint you are using to your topcoat. This technique layers additional coats of color over your piece as well as providing the protection of a topcoat. If you don't like measuring, just add enough paint until you can see a bit of the hue in the topcoat. This method works with a brush or a spray gun.

To maintain the full-strength protection of the topcoat, DO NOT TINT YOUR FINAL COAT of topcoat.

Never use mineral spirits to prep clean before applying water-based finishes.

You can correct this problem by cleaning again with a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water.

Let your project dry 24 hours before applying water-based products.