Expert: Greg Scholl - 3/13/2009

Question
QUESTION: Our kitchen cabinet lacquer seems to be disappearing!!! About 4 years ago we had nice solid oak kitchen cabinets installed. The cabinetmaker used oak hardwood for the face frames, finish end panels are oak exteriors, and the doors are solid oak raised panel. That's in the invoice but I don't know what all of the terminology means.

In a lot of places (most everywhere except for the facings) it seems like the lacquer has been soaked into the wood and it looks like bare wood. What's left looks very thin.  I also see what looks like white toothpaste in the wood grain that I never noticed before. It reminds me of the dust that remains in the recesses of wood after its been sanded and then wiped.  The cabinets have been cleaned very seldom over the years and only then with a slightly damp cloth in spots.  The cabinetmaker's invoice specified three coats of sealer and three coats of lacquer and I think he was trying to do the best job possible. I think he may have even applied extra sealer and lacquer because he said it needed it.

Is it common for solid oak to soak up lacquer after a few years? And does it sound like we need a complete refinishing or could they be touched up in places?




ANSWER: Hi Billie, It is not common for cabinets to "soak" up a finish like lacquer. And three coats of sealer is not a good practice. The typical lacquer finish has one, maybe 2, coats of sealer and then 2-3 coats of lacquer. Your description basically means Oak plywood carcasses, solid wood faceframes and doors/drawer fronts...the industry standard. It sounds to me like they skimped on the finishing....or some parts did not get the same amount of coats. I would contact them and have them come look at your cabinets...4 years is way to short for a finish like this to be showing signs of age. They could be prepped and recoated without stripping if done properly...but make no mistake, it's a big job, and they will be reluctant to do it. Also, they may have used an improper material for kitchen cabinets, as standard furniture lacquer doesn't cut it as a kitchen finish. The person applying the finish may not have applied it thick enough or properly mixed as well...the whitish "dust" you describe sounds like what sanding sealer looks like after sanding and before the topcoats of lacquer are applied..... Todays, modern kitchen cabinet finishes are typically catalyzed or two part finishes that are extremely durable, designed to a standard (KCMA), and should last 20-30 years with almost no maintenance. I think they owe you an evaluation and a solution....hope that helps- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Greg,  Thanks for your advice.  Before calling the cabinet maker I was checking everything out again and saw a few areas (also on the bottom and a couple on top of the door/drawer fronts) that look like water drops had removed the finish. I know as my wife used our kitchen the drawers and cabinets would sometimes get touched with wet hands and she always tried to make sure everything got dried but sometimes would miss places. Do you think the finish should be susceptible to water so early?   The finish seems so thin that it didn't take much to remove it and I hope the contractor won't say it all is due to wear and tear from water or that the thin coat is normal.- Billie  

Answer
Water alone shouldn't have this affect on properly finished 4 year old cabinets, especially if you were careful to wipe it off...it sounds like to me that the finish wasn't applied to the proper thickness, and/or more likely it wasn't a proper finish for kitchen cabinets...I wouldn't hesitate to contact them to complain....properly finished, with the right finish, they should last for 20+ years......