Waterborne Cabinet Coatings are the Most widely used where refinishing is concerned, What is the BEST Choice for your Cabinets?

 

The best choice depends entirely on your project's durability needs, appropriate preparations, application equipment, and safety setup where toxic coatings exist.

 

Direct Comparison Overview of Waterborne: Alkyd Enamel, 1K hybrid, 2K & Aluminum Oxide Coatings for wood surfaces.

 

 Deep Dive Product Breakdown

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• Waterborne Alkyd Enamel

  • Application: Applies easily with a brush, roller, or airless sprayer.

  • Leveling: Flows out beautifully to mimic traditional oil-based paint without the heavy yellowing.

  • Downside: Extremely slow cure time; has a lower but not bad Chemical, water & scratch resistance compared to the following.

• 1K Hybrid Cross Linking Urethane

  • Application: Designed primarily for professional shop spraying but requires no mixing with a toxic catalyst. Can be rolled, brushed or sprayed due to the cross linkers ability to quickly self level.

  • Speed: Dries to the touch in minutes, allowing for faster turnaround times.

  • Durability: Bridges the gap between DIY paint and industrial coatings, offering excellent household chemical, water & scratch resistance.

• 2K (Urethane Water-Based Topcoat) Where a catalyst & cross linker are added at the time of use.

  • Application: Requires precise mixing with a hardener/catalyst and must be sprayed.

  • Performance: Superior durability, chemical resistance, and hardness compared to standard retail paints. They achieve this through a chemical cross-linking reaction activated by mixing a resin and a hardener.

  • Downside: These products are toxic and hazardous in their liquid state, primarily due to ingredients like polyisocyanates and organic solvents. They can cause severe health issues if inhaled, touched, or swallowed, though they become inert and much safer once fully cured into a solid film. Strict pot life (must use within hours of mixing) and requires proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Requires extensive sealing  of any areas where sanding of or spraying takes place, filtered ventilation required for proper solvent & dust  capturing.

• Waterborne Aluminum Oxide Floor Finish

  • Application: Formulated for flooring surfaces where high scratch resistance is needed.

  • Abrasion Resistance: Infused with microscopic ceramic particles to stop scuffs, scratches, and marks.

  • Downside: Hard to spray vertically, one application coat allowed over other coatings to keep flexibility of coloured undercoat.

 

Key Selection Factors

 

1. Skill and Equipment Level

If you are DIYing with a brush and roller with little skill, Waterborne Alkyd is a reasonable choice. Both 1K Hybrid EVO Eclipse can be sprayed or rolled on vertical surfaces and 2K products require high-quality HVLP or airless spray setups to level correctly and avoid heavy runs. Aluminum Oxide floor finish can be rolled or sprayed professionally.

 

2. Curing and Turnaround Time

If you need to stack or reinstall your doors quickly, avoid Waterborne Alkyd, 1K Evo Eclipse and 2K dry to handle 1 to 3 hours. Alkyds can take weeks to reach full chemical hardness, during which they can stick together if stacked. 1K with infra red heating cures in 20 to 30 minutes for installing or 2 weeks without heat lamps, 2K full curing is 24 hrs to 7 days.

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Application Summary:

With our vast experience in waterborne wood coatings we have experimented & over the last 15 years created what Spray It Like New believes is the best of all products.

Our system can be used by DIY'rs or pros, we use the non toxic 1K hybrid that allows for a factory fine finish with the flexibility needed for solid wood expansion & contraction in Southern Ontario, we then apply a single coat of clear aluminum oxide finish to your doors & drawer fronts to give the surface a harder finish then 2K products can without the toxicity of 2K products.