I was just wondering about the PianoLac finish mentioned by Jon Page.
I think that stuff is water-based lacquer.  I have used water-based on
other things, like a table, for instance, and found it to be less
than satisfactory.  For kitchen cabinets, I think it is just about
perfect, but I'd like to know if this stuff dries to a less than rock
hard surface.

The water-based lacquer I used looked a little purple going down, then
dried to a clear, hard surface.  You could give it a polish or a satin
sheen, but in feeling it, I noticed that it felt like vinyl.  That was
another brand, of course.  I don't want to knock anything I don't know
about.

The next question I have is, How do you repair it?  The little
scratches that can happen during the course of a rebuild have to be
fixed -- perfectly.  I found water-based lacquer to be almost
impossible to get right.

Also, what do you do to get around fish-eye?  Water-based lacquers
fish-eye really badly.  There are additives you can add to them.
I had to get some of that, but even with fish-eye killer for
water-based lacquers, I found myself dusting on coats on a heated
surface and keeping the hair-dryer going, working a square foot or so
at a time.  Miserable!

Can you use a regular siphon spray gun, or do you have to use a low
pressure gun?

The last question is, How do you strip it off? Or, do you? Can you use
ordinary stripper? Or do you need $60/gal stuff and a lot of extra
time?  Have you ever tried stripping water-based lacquer?

My experience with it was probably 7-8 years ago, so I'm sure they have
improved it by now.  It did have good build properties, but not much
better than regular lacquer, in my opinion.  The main advantage to it
was the odor.  It has one, but dissipates quickly.

Craig Brougher