Can you paint over polyurethane?

Question

I painted my cabinets and then sealed them with a satin poly. Now they are so glossy that i don't like them. Is it ok to paint another coat of paint over the poly or do i have to sand them down and start over?

Answer 1

use 100 grit sand paper and lightly scuff it up, then use a Zinseer product called cover stain which is an excellent bonding primer this product can also be tinted to the final finish coat color. This is an oil based product that adheres very well. Remember that paint doesn't cure for at least 2 wks and up to 30 days so go easy on your cabinets until that time period is up. good luck

Answer 2

You can do it, but not with a straight paint application, as most latex- or oil-based paints will not adhere very well.

If you are in USA or Canada you can buy a product from Zinsser
called BIN. It is a shellac-based primer.

Applied straight onto glossy polyurethane, with nosanding at all, BIN will stick well enough that you need considerable effort to scrape it off, but a light sanding of the original surface before application should improve its performance even more.

BIN has a strong smell, but dries very quickly to an off-white finish, and you can then apply any standard paint on top of it.

BIN can be also used for hiding stains and blocking odours, such as fire or tobacco smoke.

It worked very well for me when I had to paint an entire house, walls and celings, as the previous owners were heavy smokers, and I have a smoke allergy.

Despite the sheets spread to prevent it happening, some of it got onto the glossy urethane-covered hardwood floors, and any spots that I missed cleaning up dried there. Once dry it stuck so well that I needed a razor blade scraper to remove even the small spots. This is why I suggest you try it on your cupboards.

Answer 3

You need to give the whole thing a light sanding with at least a 400 grit sand paper. The new coating needs the fine grooves from the sand paper to adhere too. If you just paint them the paint will peel.