Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/30/2007

Question
Can you please tell what I can do to fix this problem? I have a brand new custom home with custom Maple cabinets. The painter that our builder uses has ruined my cabinets. I assume that he has never worked with Maple.... because he did a really bad job. I walked in and I wanted to scream. It looks like ten different kinds of wood. There are so many different colors all over my cabinets. It looks like I have two different kinds of wood. I was told that the doors are Hardwood Maple and the side is a type of Maple plywood. Can I remove all this mess and start over? I was told that there is nothing that I can do to the cabinets except painting them(NO WAY)! Please help me. I can send you a photo, but I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about.
Thank YOU!!!

Answer
Hi Crystal
Nice to hear from you but not under these circumstances.
This is terrible.
There is something that can be done, but what a huge job.
First everything will need to be stripped from the doors.
This by itself will not remove all these spots.
Everything will need to be sanded.
The painter or someone should have known that maple is very tricky wood to stain and very prone to blotching and it needs a sealcoat or two before staining.
Even at that, on a huge expanse of maple cupboards, you cannot get everything uniform and perfect. Each tree the wood is cut from..(and there will be many in your cupboards) will take the stain color a bit differently.
Crystal thats the reason most maple cupboards are laquered. The laquer will have color right in it which makes everything uniform.
So the answer to your question "can I remove this mess and start over?" The answer is yes, but if you have never done this type of work, this is not the place to start. And you may end up with a bigger mess.
Personally, I would remove the doors and drawers and send them out to be professionally laquered.
If the builder refuses to come good for the expense, then you could do some of the rough work yourself to save money.
By that I mean, if everything needs stripping to apply the laquer, you could do that part (huge job though).
But perhaps they can apply the laquer over the existing finish with just sanding prior. Don't know what the existing finish is but its possible.
And you can certainly remove and put back all hardware, doors etc. to save money there.
Then there is the problem of the cases of the cupboards.
For some reason, I find the maple plywood more forgiving when it comes to staining than the solid wood. Not sure of the reason.
I would remove one door as is.
Take it to a place that does this type of work. Get some advice from a real pro.
Crystal I do not envy your situation.
Keep me posted
Kindest Regards
Eileen