I am looking for opinions if anyone has experienced this. Do you think it's because the cabinets were not prepped correctly? or it's something else?

what would the solution be? strip/sand and start again?

I did my kitchen myself and I have exactly one spot where this happened: trash pullout.

In your picks it also looks as if it is just happening close to the pulls, upper part of a (pull out?) cabinet door.

My guess would also be it is an adhesion problem. I sanded down the trash pullout upper door part (hubby likes to pull on the whole door instead of the cabinet pull ) and touches up this part. Its not visible that I touched it up and it didn’t happen again.

When did you have them refinished? I’d call the company/whoever did that back out and ask for a solution.

Oh, one other thing: do you have long fingernails? Because that can cause the problem as well. The grain is catching your nails much easier and your scratching off the paint in the grain with your nail.

I doubt long fingernails are the cause...

I painted my kitchen cabinets over 6 years ago and I have scraped crap off my cabinets with my long fingernails and the paint still stays on...

It's my guess this "pro" either didn't prep correctly, used cheap paint/stain, or both. I cleaned my cabinets, sanded them, primed and painted with quality paint.

Solution.. tough one. First, ask for a refund or see if this pro will correct the mess (although I wouldn't trust him again). I can't imagine sanding and repainting, but I guess it's possible. Use quality paint like Cabinet Coat or BM Advance paint.

You hired a cheap hack who didn’t know what he was doing. What did he charge you? 2K? 3K? The job starts at more than double that if you want a professional result.

He probably didn’t clean, or sand, or use the right primer, and just slapped on cheap housepaint. Did he at least remove the doors and not paint the hinges? Typical hack work.

Not really fixable without sanding it all off, down to bare wood. Then start over. Which would cost more money in labor than buying new cabinets.

Have you tried using a gel stain pen? They can do wonders if you can't get resolution from the person who refinished. Though if it is black, I wouldn't be above trying a washable crayola marker on it first.

Thanks for the replies.

The cabinets prior to refinishing didn't have handles, so there was some build up around those areas. So I am thinking he must not have cleaned and sanded those areas properly. He did remove the doors and took them to his location to work on them.

When I hired him, he said uses paint that professionals use and the cabinets would hold up just as good as new cabinets. He also states he has been doing this for a long time and I am the first to have this problem. I have not abused the cabinets and done nothing other than wipe them when needed. The cabinets have no damage, they are in good condition, so it seemed like a great idea to refinish them and save money to update the kitchen.

I asked him to refund the money since his job is not what he promised, but he says he will never do that. I sent him some pictures to suggest what solutions he has for the problem, he says he can't offer solutions with pictures and also can't come out to look at them for another 3-4 months because he is busy. But when I was looking into hiring him, he was available immediately.

If I were to hire someone else to redo his job, the cost would equal to replacing new cabinets. Then I would have another problem, I installed new quartz countertops the same week he was working on the cabinets and they would also need to be removed.

You can remove the quartz and reuse on new cabinets. You just need the right GC to manage the interface between the demo, install, and counter reinstall.

There were classic red flags that were ignored. Instant availability is red flag #1.

Failure to prep would be my first instinct, but also not using the proper materials for the job could be the culprit.

"I asked him to refund the money since his job is not what he promised, but he says he will never do that. I sent him some pictures to suggest what solutions he has for the problem, he says he can't offer solutions with pictures and also can't come out to look at them for another 3-4 months because he is busy. But when I was looking into hiring him, he was available immediately."

I'd give him one more chance at a refund (even a partial refund). If he tells you "no" and that 3-4 months is the best he can do then tell him you're not interested and let him know you'll be filing a complaint with the BBB and with your state attorney general immediately. If he has a website or Google ratings then leave negative feedback with detailed/factual info.

In the meantime, get in touch with a true pro and see what it would cost to fix this mess. Then take that # to your other guy when asking for a refund.

A third grader with instructions could have completed this job better!

Good luck.

Did he even prime? I would think one would be seeing primer, not the raw wood. Any paint store will tell you, you need a bonding primer and Ben Moore Stix is what is often recommended, with Ben Moore Advance as the durable paint. I would find out exactly what he used, then seek legal advice. I hope you have a contract that states all aspects of the project.

I asked him to refund the money since his job is not what he promised, but he says he will never do that. I sent him some pictures to suggest what solutions he has for the problem, he says he can't offer solutions with pictures and also can't come out to look at them for another 3-4 months because he is busy. But when I was looking into hiring him, he was available immediately.

Write him an email showing the pictures and ask him if he is willing to put his name to this quality. Tell him if he says yes, then he won't mind you posting his name and the pictures all over the internet. And let him know you'll be doing it the next day.

Agree with everyone. Document everything, check your contract (if there is one) or Invoice. It seems as though he did not prep at all hence the peeling of the finish. Contact the BBB and the state attorney. These hacks will only get away with what you let them. Keep us posted.

The BBB is toothless in most towns and the state attorney general is plodding at best. Carpet-bomb on social media and send him a link to every review you post. Google, yelp, Angie's List, Facebook, twitter, anything you can think of.

And no workman will give you a total refund. Best you will do is probably 20%. When you ask for a full refund, he'll write you off as a nut.

I contacted him today and he says that I am harassing him. I am not sure how since this is the third time I have personally contacted him. He says he will be contacting the police and will see me in court.

I contacted the state attorney generals office and filed a complaint. The representative on the phone gave me some consumer advocate office numbers and advised me to contact them as well. I have done that. Now I guess I will gather evidence and wait for court.

What did he charge for this shoddy mess?

Did you have a contract stating the exact process he would follow or at the very least the scope? Is he licensed and insured?

"I contacted him today and he says that I am harassing him. I am not sure how since this is the third time I have personally contacted him. He says he will be contacting the police and will see me in court."

Whoa Nelly!! This guy has a lot of nerve threatening to call the police; it's almost laughable. You're taking the right steps filing complaints. I wouldn't waste your time contacting this guy again though. He's a lost cause. Let the court/system deal with him.

How much did you pay him? Are we talking $500, $1000, $2500? Give us some insight please. And remember, it doesn't matter if you paid him $200 or $2000. If someone tells you they are going to complete a job then there is a standard out there. And yes, I know... the "standard" cost money & is subjective. I'm just stating that if someone is paid less than what the going rate is that doesn't give this same person a free pass to do a crappy job. (Yeah yeah.. I know... "you get what you pay for." Really? So there is a free pass for jobs that are paid less? Now I'm rambling and asking myself ?s and answering them... lol)

Good luck and keep us posted.

I paid $3k for this job. And yes, he told me at the time of hiring, that he would do a great professional then that is what's expected. I did not hire someone who paints walls or is a handyman. He said he only does cabinets and furniture refinishing.

On the invoice there is no specific details on how the job would be done, since all this was agreed orally when he came to talk about the job and color of paint before I hired him. The invoice only has the paint he would use, which is chemcraft, that I paid him and a 5 year warranty on his job. (This warranty did not seem far fetched, as I had other pros offer either a 3 or 5 year warranty on their jobs as well).

I hired him through thumbtack, so I had contacted them to help me on my issue. Thumbtack agreed to help me through fairclams (this is an online court) and they would cover the filing fee. Thumbtack called the pro and he agreed to sign up for fairclams. A week had gone by and he did not sign up, so thumbtack contacted him again. After that, Thumbtack sent me an email stating "he is not willing to communicate with them and they have removed him from their platform, as this is not what thumbtack represents."

I have thought about taking him to court as recommended by AG office, thumbtack and the consumer advocate offices, but even if I win, I know he will not pay. Then I will have lost more money in filling for court, wasted my time, to only have a paper saying that he did not do what he agreed to.

What a bummer.

Send him a certified demand letter with photos. Something he has to sign for for proof he received. State the warranty & the failure of paint. Keep it polite & professional. Give him 10 business days to send a full refund or you'll have no other choice but to take the matter to court & it will cost him more time & $ for attorney fees.

If you do not get refund, that letter & his signature, will be valuable in court. If it's worth your time to go, you can try & represent yourself in court. You have a valid case.

I have done this before with a landlord. They & their attorney showed up for court. We had to go in a room to share our proof. The attorney whispered in their ear. They wrote a check & threw it in anger. I smiled & went to the bank. They knew they were going to lose & rather go in front of judge, settled.

Hope that helps.