Cabinet Ends -help!

15 years ago

I am not sure what the correct name of this part of the cabinet is called. It is the end panel of my cabinets and I think it is a thin veneer rather than solid wood like the rest of the cabinet. Anyhow, some ends have faded badly and what I want to know is does one replace this or could I restain them where they are. If I do replace them, do I get replacement sheets at Home Depot type places? I hope someone here knows what I am talking about. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (4)

lucy
15 years ago
Well I guess the easy answer would be to restain them, but it can be murder trying to match a stain exactly, especially if it's not new, as they fade. You could try for replacements, but again, would the store (HD?) still have that color in stock, in the same wood, and would it then look 'too new' next to the cabinets that aren't? If you can remove a small piece of veneer that encompasses the general shade(s) of the existing pieces and find a place with a reasonable veneer match, that could be the way to go.
brickeyee
15 years ago
It is is not a framed out end panel, it is likely a thin section of plywood referred to as a 'skin.'

It can take multiple tries to achieve a decent match to existing finishes.
While the end may have faded more, it is very likely all the surfaces have changed some.

Depending on how the skin was attached they can be easy to remove (held by a few finish nails) or nearly impossible (glued on).
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live_wire_oak
15 years ago
Wood changes over time, mainly darkening. What I bet happened is that your KD opted for the vinyl print or laminate skins rather than the wood skins, and now that the wood's darkened, they don't match. (This is one of the reasons I only use the wood skins or recommend a false door front to finish off a cabinet side.)

The best option would be to find out what brand of cabinet you have and order the wood skins or a false cabinet front and then lay it out in the sun to absorb the UV before installing. You're really not going to "refinish" the vinyl or melamine side panels, and finding a veneer in the same species backed to the right thickness of panel and then staining and finishing it yourself will be an almost impossible job. So, your second best option would be to call a custom cabinet maker who has a lot of experience in creating custom stains and have him try to do this for you. But, this wont be that cheap an option, and it's not guarantee to be sucessful. So, the third option, and the easiest, would be to just accept it and live with it.
brickeyee
15 years ago
"Wood changes over time, mainly darkening."

Far more woods lighten from UV exposure than darken.