Wow- these must have been very badly finished cabinets to look like this. How did they look when you moved in?

try a product called old(e) English. can't remember if it has the e or not.

Clean with Orange Glo, it's a good product for a temporary fix that'll last a few months. Also might give Almond Stick a go. If these are the only cab doors that are in this shape, it might be worthwhile to have them refinished by a cabinet maker. I just reread your post, if you are a tenant I think you might have a good case for normal wear and tear. Just depends on the circumstances and what state you live in.

You can also try using a brown shoe polish and rubbing it in to stain, then polish with what is mentioned above. That sometimes works like a charm.

HI -- Tinted furniture wax should bring them to life again . I think it's called cabinet makes wax . I used shoe polish once and it looked great .

Thank you for your suggestions! I tried old English scratch cover and it didn't work. Someone suggested walnut and that didn't work either. I live in California and have lived here 4 years. My landlord is a pretty nice guy. He put the condo on sale so I'm accommodating him by having ppl drop in to check out the place whenever. I'm also going to get the place professionally cleaned before I move out and he told me he would give me 100% of my deposit back. I'm pretty sure he's not gonna open the drawers at our final walk through but I just want to fix it because I feel that is the right thing to do. At the same time I think it is normal wear and read for 4 years given that it's the drawer used the most. I'm gonna try shoe polish. Should I use the liquid kind or wax?

This is the drawer that worries me the most!!!!!

HI , Use the wax .

My cabinets were installed in 2005. I have nothing that looks remotely like this kind of damage. These cabinets are awful looking. I suspect they couldn't have Ben in great shape when you moved in. I guess the take home message is to document their condition from the outset.

a little sanding.....a little stain in the same color should make it go away.

See I'd you can find a min wax paste with color to rub in...

See if...

And yes you will need to sand a little...

Hi guys thank you for your suggestions. Cabinets were brand new when we moved in. I went to Home Depot and they told me it was laminate so staining wouldn't work. I got crayons for laminate and didn't work. I'm just gonna have to deal with it.

Sure doesn't look like laminate in the photo. No sign of manufacturer's name inside the drawers?

Before we look at the solutions, its important to identify the problem so that you don't keep having the same issue. From the looks of things, the profile you have on your countertop could be guiding stray water/liquids directly to the tops of the drawers where you are seeing this damage.

I would recommend taking one of them into your local cabinet shop (one that does refinishing or builds the cabinets on site) for a quote. If you are looking for a do it yourself solution:

1. Wash your cabinets down really good (to get rid of the crayons etc)
2. Sand the effected areas
3. Use stain then varnish to repair (or minwax that does both in one step)

But again, you will get a more long term solution by having it professionally repaired.

Try buying a tube of oil paint--probably a sienna would work--and squeeze a very small amount on a soft rag and rub it into the top of the drawer then wipe it off. Don't know if it works on laminate but it works on wood if it's the right color. I use burnt umber on my wood but it's probably too dark for yours. If it takes the color you may have to do several applications, wiping it off with a clean rag each time. You'd have to then leave your drawer open for a few days to dry. Acrylic is cheaper and dries faster but does not work well for me.

From your pictures it looks like water damage on wood (not laminate). Sand, stain, finish is the correct solution.

For the best solution, yes but I fixed cabinets and drawers in one of our rental properties that looked exactly like these with the oil paint--you just have to find the right color and make sure you get it rubbed out all over the surface so it blends. Surely was an easy fix on ours and they looked great .

Landlord was very gracious and gave me full deposit back! He didn't even notice!

This looks just like our cabinets, which looked beautiful at first.. Water
damage is the cause of the problem. It appeared very soon after installation.
We have tried all of the suggested fixes but oil art paints and Minwax. (We
have acres of cabinets in our kitchen which has made us avoid replacement.
Retailer and manufacturer went out of business soon after we bought.) Now
my husband is considering epoxy paint, thinking if it will stick on fiberglass boats
it should stick on our cabinets.....

@pattitus: sounds like a familiar problem. Please consider taking some photos and starting your own new thread. Posts with photos get more comments.