Expert: Eileen Cronk - 1/6/2008

Question
I have been looking through the postings on refinishing / restoring Oak kitchen cabinets. Found some common themes, but trying to keep what could be a small job from getting huge. My cabinets are ~25 years old, solid Oak, medium stain, overall good shape with very good quality materials and craftsmanship. In just a few areas especially around the sink, the lacquer is worn/chipped off and light colored wood is exposed. A few other areas simply have water spotting. Is there a way to successfully spot repair?

Answer
Hi Mark
Nice to hear from you.
OK..heres what I would do.
But pick the worst door first and sample this.
Possibly on the door back as it will likely have the same finish.
Give the surface an aggressive scrub with a medium steel wool pad dipped in a TSP solution. Let dry.
Get a can of Minwax stain in the existing color.
Wipe this on with a rag over the entire door. Let dry well.
Could take up to 48 hours to dry.
The door back probably has no worn finish like the fronts, but areas where there is no finish will still be very noticeable after this procedure so you will need to apply some finish.
Not a lot of folks can say what the existing finish is but yours is lacquer.
If you told me you did not know what the finish was I would tell you to apply a coat of tung oil over the entire area as I know it can be used this way over lacquer or poly...did it many times on cupboards so no na sayers please LOL.
You know you have a lacquer finish, you could apply a coat of that if you prefer.
Mark the only tricky part of the entire process will be getting the worn areas the same color as the surrounding area.
Once again a small test is always the best.
So test a worn area after the scrub. Wipe some stain on the wear...see if its the same color as the unworn area..
If not some adjustments in stain will be needed to darker or lighter.
And if you use the oil, you can rub some on with a rag at any time down the road (a few months or a year) but before the wood is exposed from wear. Thats the beauty of the method.
Cupboards just wear in these areas so we must keep on top of them.
Good Luck
Regards
Eileen