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paint/stain chipping from old custom cabinets

11 months ago

Hello, our custom kitchen cabinets came with the house and most of them still look really good after close to 20 years (they may be older, just going by the last kitchen reno date on the house description). The picture I show is the worst area of them from usage, how can I fix it without having to paint them all? Newbie here! Thanks for suggestions!

Comments (7)

  • 11 months ago

    Wood stain pens. Even on gigantic areas like this. Just get a multi-pack of colors and make a few sample dabs starting with the lightest color to see what will work well as a match. I have colored in very large portions of my floor with wood stain pens to great effect. It is easy and kind of relaxing!

  • 11 months ago

    Thank you so much for replying! Any particular brand you liked or loved? I’m searching for wood stain pens now 😊

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Those cabinets were not stained, they were sprayed with a colored finish to mimic stain, then (probably) topcoated with a clear.


    A stain pen will add color, but you will not have a protective coating on top, and the finish will continue to degrade.

  • 11 months ago

    I agree with PPF. But, I assume you are looking for an imperfect solution to get you through to someday in which you will invest in new cabinets.


    I liked these better than some of the more expensive ones. They just blended in well. I had to buy a lot of them because the get used up quickly.


  • 11 months ago

    Those cabinet doors are pretty bad. I doubt you will be able to match them in so they look good. I cant tell, if they are uppers or lowers, but, whichever they are, I would paint them all so they look decent, until you can replace them.

  • PRO
    11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Oils from hands are the culprit at the knobs, and un wiped up water elsewhere. That's something to be aware of for future care, as both are considered abusive behavior which isn't warrantied for damage.


    Those are at the age and condition that you either strip them back to bare wood, and then either stain or paint. Staining is way harder than painting to get a good result, as evidenced by them using a toner coat for that rather than a penetrating stain. They likely are a lower class of wood, masked a bit by the semi opaque toning.


    You would need about 1K in tools, and another 1K in professional products and finishes, to get them back to factory new. Or, 10-12K+ for a pro to do it. Depends on size, and if you want stained or painted. Painted is cheaper, and easier. But less nice than the original wood.

  • 9 months ago

    @PPF can you tell me if my maple cabinets were also not stained but sprayed? These were custom built when we built our house in 2016. The stain has been chipping/nicking since week 2 of moving in. Is it the wood or the stain that is the issue? Thank you. P.S. I use a touch up pen all of the time.

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