Primer recommendations wanted for upcycling timber cabinets - white or clear?

[Amibyles]

Hi all, 

I’m upcycling a few old timber cabinets I got for a steal. Problem I have is I’m not sure if I should use a white flat primer and then paint the final colour on top or if I should use clear? I have 3 cabinets and they will all be different (natural tone) colours. I’ve read that white primer helps bring out the top colour but would hate to go through the process of priming & painting to only have to strip it all back again if white actually ruins the finished colours. 

any help is appreciated!!

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Amibyles. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about priming timber.

I haven't heard of clear primers before, and typically, they are white for timber. Will you use paint on these units once you've primed them? If so, commonly, you'd use a white primer and then your topcoat paint. Having a white primer that blocks the underlying colour allows the topcoat to appear as it should. I've never heard of a white primer ruining the appearance of a topcoat. Typically, when the manufacturer creates colours, they are tested over stark white. The only time I've heard of a topcoat colour being ruined is by darker colours underneath bleeding through it, as no primer was used.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell