Email help question/reply.

Kitchen Cabinet Paint, Oil Or Acrylic

Subject: Kitchen Cabinets, what is the finish oil or acrylic

Email question: How can I test my cabinets to find out if the finish or paint is oil or acrylic?

Andrea

Email reply:

Hi Andrea

I'm not aware of any tests to tell the difference between oil and acrylic on kitchen cabinets.

I've read that you can test exterior paint by wiping with a denatured alcohol dampened cloth. The oil paint will chalk with age and some color will come off on the cloth, whereas the acrylic may soften. I've never tried the test, but I doubt the acrylic would soften much with alcohol, since the acrylic is plastic. A water dampened cloth would remove some chalked color too.

The test wouldn't work on kitchen cabinets though, because the surface would have to be left untouched for a long period of time and kitchen cabinets get wiped frequently.

If you're planning to repaint about the only way to tell if the new paint would be compatible with the old is to apply some of the new paint in an out of the way place and see if it dries ok and doesn't pucker the old paint. Be sure to prepare the surface first.

Liquid deglosser makes the preparation quick and easy. It cleans the surface and gives "tooth" for the new paint to stick.

For clear finishes you can check for shellac by dabbing an out of the way place with denatured alcohol and if it softens it's shellac. Shellac wouldn't be used for kitchen cabinets though, it would be damaged by steam and other excess moisture.

A dab with lacquer thinner would tell if the finish is lacquer. Other types of clear finishes are the same guessing game as with the paint. Just test to see if the new would be compatible with the old.