Our cupboards are 26 years old.

The cupboard 'box' was made out of particleboard (sort of ground up sawdust
with glue holding it together). The only problem we had with this material
was water dripping off still wet glasses causing the surface under the
glasses to swell. We recently sanded down the surface & painted it with Bin
primer then 3 coats of Melamine paint. If we had painted it from the
beginning this would not have occurred.

The doors were solid oak frames with oak plywood panel inserts, stained and
varnished. Back then the handles were placed dead centre on the door
panels - which meant the door outside corner finish was worn down as that is
where people grab to open the door.

After getting prices for new cabinet doors - we ended up lightly sanding
each door (to remove the grime & add some grip to the existing finish),
getting a local paint store to make up some stain that matched the color of
the existing finish (after 26 years - slightly yellowed varnished wood) then
put on 2 coats of clear satin polyurethane & the end result is they look
like new.

The only thing we wish we could change would be the position of the door
handles - but it was a lot cheaper to just replace the existing handles.

Hope this helps...




"Carpenter Ant" wrote in message
...

"Clifford Keele" wrote in message
t...
The moral to the story.... MAKE SURE YOU ASK HOW THE CABINETS WILL BE
FINISHED, INSIDE AND OUT. PLYWOOD DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE ACTUALLY
MADE FINISHED WOOD.

Give me a break. I know that the world is encouraging economy and mass
production. But, don't ignore the quality and workmanship of the final
product.

----- CK -----



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AMEN
couldn't have said it better myself
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