White Oak Kitchen Cabinets - Bona NaturalSeal? Milesi Natural 2k?
Ryan Danielson
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (27)
Ryan Danielson
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Help- Natural or brown tone finish on white oak floor using MINWAX
Comments (3)LIve wire oak mentions many things...the biggest red flag is the 'professional' (ahem...) using a low-grade DIY product such as Minwax. Minwax stains are OIL based. They take time to cure (72 hours anyone?) before a product such as Loba can be applied (water based product out of Germany). And just like oil and water NOT mixing, Loba and Minwax do NOT mix. Loba has their own line of water based stains. They are expensive, but beautiful. A SOLVENT (aka oil based) based finish (like Minwax) turns ORANGE. Not just 'yellow' but ORANGE!!!!! So...you can kick Minwax to the curb IMMEDIATELY!!! Like YESTERDAY! Water based polyurethanes (such as Loba 2K Supra AT; Loba WS 2K Supra; Bona Traffic HD; Bona Traffic; etc) do NOT TURN YELLOW! They are referred to as "clear coats" by many. White Oak NEEDS a sealant (Loba Easyprime = Loba sealant) when working with water based polyurethane. If you do NOT use the sealant (because you are using a WATER BASED polyurethane) then you will find the White Oak tannins (the stuff that gives wood its colour) will move to the surface of the wood and sit there = turn yellowish over time. Whew! So first things first: find ANOTHER refinisher. Water based stains are a B!tch to work with if you DO NOT have the training. And NO, you do NOT WANT to be the 'project' they floor dude uses to learn the product. Water based polyurethanes are ANOTHER issue all together. As easy as Loba is to work with....it still takes PLENTY of practice to 'figure out'. Especially if you are an 'oil guy' for 20+ years. Please find the nearest professional: www.nwfa.org An NWFA Certified Flooring Sander/Refinisher is going to charge $5+ per square foot to work with the high end stuff. But it is TOTALLY worth it. And that $5/sf is JUST the staining/finishing. The TOTAL cost for installation is going to add a few more $$ per square foot for the labour to cut/install the wood floor itself....See MoreHow to get rid of bubbles in Loba 2K Supra AT?
Comments (17)@Chelsea Ivers I have only done door panels on sides of boxes, and they turned out reasonably well, but I am still having problems perfecting my finishing method. The doors and drawer fronts will be the next things I tackle. My latest issue is pock marks, otherwise known as fisheyes, that I think are appearing due to excessive humidity. I have created an enclosed painting booth that tends to trap vapor as it evaporates from the coating, and during a rainy week here where I live, I could not control the pock marks appearing in all layers of Loba 2K Supra AT even with opening a couple of windows that adjoin the booth. The WS EasyPrime did not have this issue, but again, that was the first layer, and successive coats in the 4-coat system released more humidity into the air. Other things can cause fisheyes like excessively thick coats or improper temperatures of the air and substrates, but I believe in my case it is humidity and will be trying to address this going forward with a robust dehumidifier inside the painting booth. I would be happy to personally speak to you about the process, but it would really be better if you started your own thread and posted questions there so that everyone searching for Loba application information in the future could benefit. Alternately, I just switched my settings over to allow you to be able to message me privately, but if I don't hear from you, I'll be switching that back off by the end of January 2021. You should be nervous, actually! This is a terrible coating to apply on cabinetry, and I highly encourage you to select a different finish! I'm in the middle of a project so already committed, but many times during the 16 coats I have already done with 6 to 8 hours of prep for each coat (with the exception of the hot coat of Supra 1 hour after primer) and at least half of the work left to go for a small kitchen, I have regretted ever signing up for this monumental task. If you haven't read my other thread on Loba for cabinetry and followed the links within the posts there, it would be of benefit to you: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5927222/loba-2k-supra-a-t-coating-questions#n=26 If you haven't yet purchased your Loba products, please visit the Envirolak website and check out their clear coat finishes. Envirolak would be much more suited to a cabinetry application. Envirolak is based in Canada and is gaining a solid reputation for robust, one-part waterborne coatings, including clear coats, that are created to be brushed and rolled on. If you don't have a dealer near you, you may contact Envirolak directly, and they'll be able to work with you to get their products. This would be the next-best thing in durability to a catalyzed 2K (two-part) finish such as the Loba 2K Supra A.T. Another alternative would be General Finishes. They do some beautiful one-part waterborne clear coats that are probably not as resilient as Envirolak's but are easy to apply with brush and roller, and many people who have posted in the Houzz forum have used General Finishes to satisfactorily coat their cabinetry projects. Here is one thread with more information about that: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5633128/most-natural-matte-satin-finish-white-oak-cabinets#n=33 One of the first problems you will encounter with Loba 2K Supra A.T., or indeed any of Loba's 2K coatings, is that they begin to set up at lightning speed. You must lay the coating down and walk off and leave it within no more than 10 minutes per piece, and really more like 3 minutes per each section of each piece. The learning curve is steep, and I'm still having problems getting my coating to lay down without brush marks as the quick drying occurs. Another problem you will encounter with Loba's products is that they are formulated with no vertical hang properties. All the leveling properties are horizontally self-leveling. So, any time you have something other than a perfectly flat surface, the Loba coating will drip, run, or puddle. I have created a complex system of taping off low-lying areas, then wiping the puddles with a microfiber cloth, then removing the tape with care not to drip onto finished sections, then painting the previously taped areas, then sponging off more puddles, then wiping out more puddles with craft swabs. This all happens within seconds as I move quickly with no wasted motion as the coating is already flash drying in surrounding areas. The process is difficult, stressful, and not entirely successful as I have many surface blemishes throughout the project thus far. I have had to coat each plane separately using several rounds of Frog Tape with plastic draping to mask off non-working sides. Please, if you have any other options, go with the other options. The best thing would be to order prefinished cabinetry or to have a professional spray the project with Milesi or Renner. You may learn more about professional spraying options at this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/diycabinetrefinishing The Loba 2K Supra A.T. with a 4-coat system including WS EasyPrime primer as the first coat is basically impervious. You'll never be able to refinish your cabinetry pieces unless they are flat surfaces that can be mechanically sanded. It's that tough. You may even have a hard time hand sanding between layers prior to full cure due to the incredible resilience. It's like dipping everything in plastic. The finish is beautiful, but I think in most cases that the durability is overkill for cabinetry. Loba's 2K products are designed to last 20 years on a flooring surface that you walk on during those decades. The Envirolak or General Finishes one-part waterborne products should give you plenty of years of wear without the headache of dealing with 2K application concerns. I hope this is helpful to you. If you would like to start a new thread with your own project and photos, please be sure to link it back here so we can follow and comment on your new thread....See MoreFinishing White Oak Floors So They Stay Natural and Don't Yellow
Comments (18)@lv2plyglfgal No...I have not tried those products..just the Bona Naturalle. My goal wasn't to get totally unchanged raw look, but to find a product that gave a slightly fumed look like my inspo picture below, that could also be protected by poly if necessary, and find a protective coating that did not alter the colors. The Pallman's white came close, as you can see from picture above, but it looked too pink on larger sample. Apparently, certain character grades of white oak can include a small percentage of red planks. I did like the sample I have of a board with a bit of reactive stain and poly, but it did have a tint of yellow from the Bona. I started this process months ago and totally went down the rabbit hole trying to figure out how to achieve this look below without spending a zillion dollars, Lol. We even literally fumed some planks ourselves. Rubio's Monocoat smoke was nearly perfect in appearance, but it just has too many reported issues and no poly coatings that the company "recognizes" as adhering. The Ciranova Unico did the same thing with better protection options,etc.. I'm also testing options for my cabinets, stains, waxes, etc.. There is a woman who wants what you want...here is a link to her blog keeping white oak(if that is allowed here.) When you start testing, I'd love to see your results; we can narrow things down without each buying everything..LOL...my DH would rather me spend 100s now to help decide rather than thousands later if I hate what we did. But the biggest issue I have had is replicating results on larger samples...(Oh, and PS, apparently the Fortico is much easier to apply that Bona. You do not need a Phd in flooring...)...See Morered oak floor solution to look like white oak
Comments (38)I ended up going with special walnut. One coat with a satin water based poly (not shiny). We love it. After the floor stainer put samples down of the lighter colors it really did look pink. I feared having my whole house “being ruined” so I went with the “safer” color and I couldn’t be happier. Someone gave me the advice that most of your hardwood floors will be eventually covered by area rugs anyways so no need to stress! The picture was taken at night with overhead lighting on. Not the best time to take a photo but you get the idea! Good luck!!!...See MoreRyan Danielson
2 years agoMerrilyn Schlenker
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoHughey
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoAbigail Barber Burgum
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoMerrilyn Schlenker
2 years agoRyan Danielson
2 years agoMerrilyn Schlenker
2 years agoAngela Watkins
2 years agoAngela Watkins
2 years agohapahaole
2 years agoTami Koompin
2 years agokp2299
2 years agoElaine Gauthier Art
2 years agostephclarke311
last yearElaine Gauthier Art
last yearJessica Lirag
last yearsusanrhill34
last yearABC
last yearlast modified: last yearJessica Lirag
last yearJOSH TAYLOR
5 months agolast modified: 5 months ago
Related Stories
KITCHEN DESIGNBleached White Oak Cabinets Star in This Two-Tone Kitchen
The cabinets and a new layout transform a once-dark New Jersey kitchen into a light and bright space
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNSeeing Green: Some Kitchens Ditch White for Mother Nature’s Neutral
It’s typically the primary color in gardens. Now green is having a moment in the kitchen
Full StoryKITCHEN CABINETSHold Everything — Your White Kitchen Cabinets Just Got Better
These design moves will add even more to white kitchen cabinets’ appeal
Full StoryWHITE KITCHENSWhite Cabinets Remain at the Top of Kitchen Wish Lists
Find out the most popular countertop, flooring, cabinet, backsplash and paint picks among homeowners who are renovating
Full StoryMOST POPULARIs This the Year Blue and Green Kitchen Cabinets Edge Out White?
Neutrals still dominate cabinet color. But some of the most popular recent kitchens on Houzz tell a different story
Full StoryKITCHEN CABINETSNew This Week: 3 Knockout Kitchens With Natural Wood Cabinets
Whether light and breezy or rich and moody, these wood-rich kitchens might make you rethink painted cabinets
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNTrending Now: 11 Popular Kitchens That Rock Not-White Cabinets
If you favor a little color in your kitchen, look to these spaces that run the gamut from light to dark
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNNew This Week: 3 Welcoming White-Cabinet Kitchens
See how the most popular kitchen cabinet color effortlessly supports a variety of inviting design features
Full StoryKITCHEN CABINETSNew This Week: 6 Stylish Not-White Kitchen Cabinet Colors
Tired of white? Consider greige, blush, distressed blue or one of these other instant-classic cabinet colors
Full StoryNEW THIS WEEK4 Kitchens With White Cabinets and a Wood Island
Try this classic kitchen combination for a design that’s warm and inviting
Full StorySponsored
More Discussions
Jessica Lirag