Thanks. I'm so disappointed, I paid a lot for these cabinets and to have them looking like this so soon is discouraging. I am going to try to get a matching stain and see if I can apply with a Q-tip or something....

I would suggest writing the cabinet company and showing them these photos and asking them what to do. My cabinets are 5 years old and I abuse them and they look as good as the day I got them.

What brand is this? What was the warranty?

I got them custom made from a local cabinet maker, although I know they ordered the doors from another company.

Wow, I would contact the company. There is no way stain should do that after just 7 years. I'm currently remodeling a 44 year old kitchen with stained cabinets and none of the cabinets look that bad. It's my parent's old home so I know the history. There is one cabinet where Mom would put a towel through the cabinet pull so the damp towel degraded the surface in that spot but the rest are in good shape. In fact, if kept cleaned and oiled, they look pretty well new. Ugly style but in good condition.

I hope a local cabinet maker wants to protect their reputation enough to help cover the repairs to your cabinet surface.

Most locally made cabinets come with only a 1 year warranty. The most that I have ever seen a ''cabinet guy'' give is a 5 year warranty. Unfortunately, this is something I've seen all to often when customers hear ''custom'' and don't know enough to ask questions to judge the real (lack of) quality. Ordering parts and pieces to assemble and spray with a tinted topcoat doesn't really equate to a true custom shop that cares about their rep. It's worth asking them, if they are still in business, but I wouldn't expect them to do a thing.

I don't think this company will do anything. I didn't realize at the time that the cabinets would be sprayed (naive), I didn't ask that question. So I am going to try to touch it up/. I'm smarter now but still spent $$ on these cabinets and now not sure what to do.

If it is a small local cabinet maker I would call the owner and have him come out and look at them. Maybe he will work with you and touch them up.

I hate this happened to you. I don't think touch up will fix your problem if they continue to peel. You're just delaying redoing them.

Do you feel comfortable sanding or gel staining?

Sophie Wheeler,

I am using local custom cabinet maker to do mine.

What should I ask for?

Thanks

Your paint store will have touch-up stain markers. Like a sharpie but with stain inside. Min-wax has a line of them. The most mild on the chart might work. Very easy to test it if you buy the three on the lower end. I have one in my kitchen drawer that i found works for my cabinets if we get a nick. My cabinets are custom 1962 built in teak. I've had the same two markers for 8yrs now and use them all the time. Marker the nick, then wipe off. Wait for it to dry, then add a bit of oil. (your finish is not oil like mine).

You would want to do the same, let dry, and maybe stain marker again, then add a clean cloth wipe of the same sealer that your finisher used. It will not be 'like new', but it will keep up with the exposed flaking and stop any moisture getting in and making it worse.

I agree to contact them first. They used a clear coat that did not create a good bond with the wood. Unfortunately it is very common. So disappointing when i see that. Cabinets should not have such a short life-span.

Gel stains are pretty good these days. Just harder to match for a touch-up. I like the markers so you can build up slower by doing a test area first in an out-of-the-way area. Like an inside drawer or cabinet as a test.

Thanks for all your comments. I am not ready to redo them yet so will investigate the marker for a touch up. Lesson learned, I hope this thread will help someone avoid this situation.

fillagirl

I don't see this as something you could have avoided. How would you know you could not trust the cabinet maker to build/buy the proper cabinets for you? Unfortunately, when you have a house remodeled or built you rely and trust the person who is contracted. We have all had mishaps over the years and sometimes it is beyond our control. Many of my friends who remodeled their homes got excellent references on the contractor only to get shoddy work or someone who doesn't show up.

Don't beat yourself up.

I would call the cabinet maker because he didn't make the doors, a door company did. He'd want to know, and they might replace them to keep his business, or at least discount replacement doors. How many doors are involved?

Hi, there are numerous doors that would need to be replaced, so it would be a total re-do. And this cabinet maker is nearing retirement, so not sure how motivated he will be to "right" this. But certainly worth a try, just need to get my gumption up as it has been 7 years. I think what I'll do is dig up the invoice and see what it says on it....and then go see him with the pics and see what he suggests. I might also get a quote from another cabinet maker to see how much it would cost to get these redone.

If the cabinet maker cannot or will not help do try the gel stain before anything else. If you get the right color it works really well and is easy to apply. You can mix two together to get the right color. The smallest size (pint) will probably do all your cabinets, and you will need a rub on poly over the stain as well. I use it for scratches and worn areas on my oak floor regularly, and to cover scratches and worn areas on my older furniture.

Same exact thing just happened to me. Local cabinet maker. I found it so interesting because I’m looking at what to do now. Same color cabinets. Five years old... loook terrible and paid a lot of money for them. At least I know I’m not the only one!

Same thing happened to me. Had the cabinets customed built with the home and they are doing that in all the bathrooms and the kitchen. I moved from a home that was 50 years old and did not have this problem. My home is 15 years old and I have this problem in numerous areas. Super disappointing because if I replace all the doors I am not sure they can match the cabinets.

Also having the same problem. Contacted the cabinet maker and they want to charge me $75 bucks an hour to come look at the cabinets. They confirmed they were sprayed and that they would have to replace the panels at my cost. So I can do this again in five years? What is most disappointing is that this is my second set of custom cabinets from this local company. Didn’t have this issue with the first set and they were 12 years of old when I sold that home.

Yes! all my bathroom cabnients like yours but 10 times worse. My son in law says condensation but I'm not sure and I sure don't know how to fix it.

We have the same problem with our cabinets and were very disappointed. Only had them a few years and the finish started wearing off especially around the sink area. The cabinet maker wouldn't do anything "for free". We recently talked to another cabinet company and he said that this is very common these days. Our county actually has regulations that prevents the use of certain chemicals to properly finish cabinets. We are looking at getting them painted eventually. We won't have the wood look but there are some very attractive colors out there.

Our custom bathroom cabinet is peeling after 1.5 years. We barely even use the sink. I don’t know if we left a wet towel there for a while some time back. Our cabinet builder told us it’s a custom stain, and their finisher is no longer working for them. The new finisher charges $375 for a minimum of four hours and $75 per hour after if needed. It’s such a small touch up. Unfortunately, it is on the fixed front, so we can’t bring it to them.

Getting an exact stain match isn't necessary, especially on a spot that small and inconspicuous. Stain it with a close match and coat the whole area with furniture wax when it dry.