Laquers, CV's, pre cat's., any solvent based materials are never brushed. They all contain hot solvents that flash off in seconds. You wouldn't even get halfway down the door with the first brush stroke before it would dry. It wouldn't be pretty. They do make a brushable lacquer but this is hardly ever used and no reason to. If you're going to hand brush something you would use a different type of paint. The thing is I could tell you what I think or what I would use but it comes down to what your painter is comfortable and experienced with. Regular lacquer is not good in a wet environment. It will lift if exposed to water for any length of time. Pre-cat. is not bad but personally I would use conversion varnish because it's harder, practically water-proof and essentially the same process as using the pre-catalyzed lacquer. This is the finished used by all major cabinet brands. One reason someone might be reluctant to use it is pre-cat. is shot right out of the can as is where as CV you add a catalyst and it's only good for about 6 hours (pot life) so if you don't clean your equipment well you're in a lot of sh%#t. This is why it's a harder finish. You'll find out just how hard if you get lazy and let it sit in your gun overnight. Nothing breaks it down. You asked about the smell. Everything except water-based is going to smell. If you have asthma you don't what to be anywhere near the others when they're being sprayed. The smell pretty much dissipates overnight. Depending on atmospheric conditions it may linger slightly for another day or two. The majority of the spraying (the doors) should be done in the shop anyway. John P.S. I wish I could just paint our cabinets for you so I don't have to keep writing these long answers. It's not that I mind it's just I don't type that fast or spell that well.

The Torlys link will be spectacular...and they will NOT be as low as $3/sf. Torlys is a premium cork brand that has branched out into vinyl, etc. They don't make anything 'budget friendly'. But then again everything they do is FANTASTIC...so no wonder the vinyl floor doesn't feel like vinyl It's from Torlys. A LOW END engineered hardwood is $5/sf. And the amount of head ache that goes with it will be horrible. I would stick with laminate or vinyl in that price range. And for a good laminate you will want to look at the higher priced products = $7/sf. A low-range vinyl can be found for $3-$4/sf. I personally prefer a HIGH END laminate for $4.50/sf instead of a low-midrange vinyl for $4.50/sf.

No. You cannot 'pop out' planks like that. You either cut them out (average cost for labour = $75/plank...plus the cost of the extra planks you have sitting in storage) or you 'unzip' the floor to the point of the last plank...and then switch out a few planks...and then put them back. It 'sounds' easy to remove the floor to that point...but vinyl products are NOTORIOUS for broken edges. The click edges are SUPER delicate (because they are rigid AND thin). As soon as an edge is damaged the plank is useless. If you go with the 'unzip' method, you will need to have 25% extra on hand (assume you will lose 1 in 4 planks to damage) to 'fix' the problem. Assuming you have enough on hand, you can get it done. Labour will cost the 'minimum job' price for a professional. In expensive Canadian cities we pay $400 for a 'minimum job'. Whether it takes them 30 minutes or 3 hours...the price is the same. Either way you go for it, you will need to rely on your own replacement cache. Vinyl products have a LONG history of being discontinued within 18 months of hitting the market.

So is lacquer better or worse than polyurethane? I know the guy used lacquer on my cabinets. When we had to refinish one of the old bathroom cabinets he told us what he used. Benjamin Moore said only 2 states carry it, Oklahoma and Texas. That tells me it should NOT be used. It is banned in other states. It sounds like I am ready to sand? I can quit trying to get the glossy parts off where the cracks are. (Where the 2 planks meet.) They will just sand off? I moved the TV cabinet away from the wall. That wall used to have a built in entertainment center with doors and drawers, but my TV was wider, so we removed the entertainment center. We found the original flooring had not been lacquered or polyurethane where the old cabinets had been. We can see that the wood turned more yellow and darker in the rest of the room. The room is huge and includes the kitchen. 42' x 28' plus 12' x 4' hallway. I am sanding around the perimeter first except for the hall and kitchen area. Then I will move the aquarium, couches, and TV cabinet back in place against the walls. They are all sitting on soft sliders so they will not scratch the floor. Then I can sand the rest of the floor. I have no place to move the furniture so it will have to be done in sections. Once the sanding is finished and the floor is clean, I don't know if I can finish the floor in sections. Can that be done? Thanks.