I would let him do his thing with the lacquer. It is much more easily fixed and, while it isn't quite as tough as polyurethane, it shouldn't be problematic. You're also likely to get a better-looking finish with the lacquer.

Polyurethane is more water-resistant and very durable but it doesn't spray well and tends to pick up dust nibs during its long drying time.

Cabinet shops that want a tougher finish than lacquer are likely to use a sort of finish called "conversion varnish," which does spray well and is catalyzed so it dries very quickly. It's also really bad to breathe, so you've got to have a great ventilation system to use it safely. There are also some great water-base finishes on the market.

There's a learning curve for applying each of these, and you don't want to be the contractor's guinea pig. I would let him do the sort of finish he's comfortable with.

The cabinets in my 4 year old kitchen are done in lacquer. Some areas have needed touch ups, which is easily accomplished. You can by aerosol cans of lacquer and perform the touch ups yourself. I have no experience with spraying polyurethane, but I have used in wipe on applications for furniture projects that I have built. Poly is definatly tougher, but I agree with Jon. I would not want to be a contractors guinea pig.

Thank you both so much for educating me!

I"ve heard of "conversion varnish".... isn't that method use mainly by the manufactures (pre-made cabinet)??? Or that can also be used, in my case, by my cabinet contractor?

For sure I don't want to be my contractor's guinea pig! I'll do more research & hoping to learn more!

Thanks again you guys!

Production manufacturers don't have any monopoly on conversion varnish; I can buy it at my friendly neighborhood Sherwin Williams store. However, I don't have a sufficient ventilation system to make it safe; that's the big limitation. Some salesman for production cabinets will claim their "baked on" finish is superior to what can be achieved by a local guy, but the "baking" is just a warm oven that accelerates the drying time to keep their production line moving at a brisk pace; it doesn't improve the finish one whit.

The major gotcha with lacquer is that it water damages easily---ie-----rings. Since you won't be setting water glasses on your cabinets---do the lacquer.

Poly chips when hit---and cannot be feathered---.

New lacquer will partially disolve the old lacquer and blend to make a new surface.

I owned a furniture factory for 20 years and used both conventional nitrocellulose lacquer and conversion varnish. I sprayed my own kitchen cabinets 30 years ago with lacquer and they still look like new (except for the top edges of some of the base cabinet doors where we tend to grab the door rather than bending down to grab the handle). If your cabinet maker has not used conversion varnish before, you don't want to be his guinea pig. It can be tricky to work with. I have had to strip and refinish hundreds of pieces where the 2nd topcoat didn't adhere to the first topcoat, causing checking. Just be assured that he is going to put a sanding sealer coat follwed by 2 (two) topcoats of lacquer, not one topcoat.
Lindac, it sounds like your daughter's kitchen was done with either an inferior quality lacquer or it was improperly applied. Lacquer should not be that delicate. It is used by practically all of the top quality furniture manufacturers.
All this being said, a properly applied conversion varnish, such as used by most kitchen cabinet manufacturers, does have water and chemical resistance superior to lacquer.

"The major gotcha with lacquer is that it water damages easily"

Enough coats of lacquer are pretty water resistant. It is not alchol resistant though.

The "builder laquer" described sounds a lot more like shellac than lacquer. A thin coat of lacuer is not very water resisstant, but shellac has no water resistance at all. It blushes whits within minutes of water being placed on the surface.

I am a recent lacquer convert. I used to use oil-based varnishes for all of my furniture, but have recently switched to pre-cat lacquer. The newest lacquers are exceptionally tough. And when coupled with a vinyl sealer, you get more than adequate protection. Not to mention, the finish is beautiful.

Good luck.

marc

I am rethinking this same problem of how to finish my new kitchen cabinets then I remembered the solid oak cabinet with raised panels that made and finished 25 years ago with polyurethane - brushed on. It looks great today. I didn't use a portable dust painting chamber. I just brushed it on. It looks better than our 26 year old cabinets that I am replacing. This time I will build a low dust chamber as the kitchen is a much bigger project.

I use lacquer and prefer it. It is a harder finish and less prone to scratches than oil. I will say that oil does better with moisture and yellows more than lacquer. Lacquer dries faster and oils dries longer and the finish process takes longer. Those are your pros and cons.

happy remodeling