Common finishes found on kitchen cabinets include:

Conversion Finishes: Catalyzed lacquer, pre-catalyzed lacquer, conversion varnish, epoxy finish, moisture-curing polyurethane, two-part polyurethane, polyester finish, and ultraviolet-curing finish. Today, most often your cabinet finishes will be a conversion finish or lacquer. Conversion finishes are what the cabinet industry uses, both factory built and custom built. When it comes to cleaning wood kitchen cabinets, these are easy to keep clean.

Never put lemon oil on your finish before its six months old. Cleaning wood kitchen cabinets at this stage means to only wipe down with soap and water. Murphy’s Oil Soap is also a good cleaner for your kitchen cabinets. No oil or lye is left in the finished product, so you don’t have to worry about getting any oil on your cabinet finish (making any future refinishing easier).

True “oil” finishes, such as linseed oil, tung oil, or walnut oil, are rarely found on kitchen cabinets. In today’s cabinets, the only piece of wood that will have an actual oil finish is the bread board.