Expert: Eileen Cronk - 8/12/2008

Question
We are remodeling a home and we had someone come in and build us brand new cabinets.  The wood we used was mostly birch.  We couldn't decide whether to stain or paint but we finally went with a stain. We used a stain that said already came with the polyurethane in it.  I went to go look at the finished product yesterday and I was very dissapointed.  There are places where you can tell he didn't wipe because you can see drip marks.  My baseboards look horrible and some pieces are darker than others.  It's just not a good job at all!

Even though the stain said it had the polyurethane in it, it doesn't look like it at all.  The color is dull.

Is there any way on this earth to repair it without having to strip ALL the cabinets?

Answer
Hi Blanca
Oh my gosh you must be sick over this.
I really think the person who did this should come back and do it over.
This stain/poly is a product I would never recommend for this application (not too many would).
I wish I could tell you an easy fix but in order to keep the wood look this finish must be removed.
It can be done with paint stripper.
It would require no sanding after being properly stripped, but stripping baseboards and built ins is a miserable job at best.
Now having said that, my personal recommendation at this point would be to get the guy back, sand all surfaces lightly and apply a couple more coats of (I hate to say it)...the same stain / poly he used before.
Blanca we grow and mill a good bit of birch here on our place.
I have used a lot of birch in woodworking projects and find it takes a stain and finish beautifully.
I don't find it prone to uneven color absorbtion like pine or maple.
Now this is Canadian birch and maybe your birch is different, but I see no reason why this job could not have been done to your satisfaction.
Good Luck
Eileen