# Cabinet repair help



## Sonny184 (5 Apr 2020)

Hello everyone

Amateur here and could really do with your help. 
My wife (private nurse) is at work Mon-Fri, so it is a huge understatement to say boredom is getting to me during the lockdown. Stuck at home like many people and have decided on some repairs whilst waiting to see if I will have a job to go back to. 

I have a bathroom cabinet to repair, which will go into a corner in the living room if I can do a good enough job. It's a very dark cabinet and the wood has a layer of, I believe to be, some sort of synthetic stuck onto it, which is now showing cracks at the edges. 

Would a dark filler + wood stain be enough for the job? 
I was thinking along these steps:

Clean and Sand using 100 grit paper
Apply https://oakwoodsoutlet.co.uk/product/osmo-wood-filler/
or https://www.wickes.co.uk/Ronseal-Multi- ... g/p/117935
followed by wipe and another sanding
Apply 2 coats https://www.wickes.co.uk/Ronseal-10-Yea ... l/p/177963
And possibly finish with some interior varnish which I have in the shed.
Having some trouble deciding on the coluor for the filler + stain and general methodology.
Thanks

Sonny Jim

Ps. Link for pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMp4dW5


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## TheTiddles (5 Apr 2020)

Looks like a plastic coating lifting from the substrate, can you pry it up at all with a thin blade?

If so, whatever you do don’t sand it, it’s pre-finished and you’ll never get it back. It might just need some thin glue running in under it and clamping up

Aidan


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## Sonny184 (5 Apr 2020)

TheTiddles":2zoouou5 said:


> Looks like a plastic coating lifting from the substrate, can you pry it up at all with a thin blade?
> 
> If so, whatever you do don’t sand it, it’s pre-finished and you’ll never get it back. It might just need some thin glue running in under it and clamping up
> 
> Aidan



Thank goodness I posted here before starting! Very difficult to pry up. It's been put on really well. Had the cabinet for at least 10 years. Just wanted to cver the cracks with something, that's all. That or throw it away, which would be a huge waste.

Could a bit of glue be mixed with some sort of cabinet matching colourant/stain and then be rubbed on?


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## TheTiddles (5 Apr 2020)

If it’s plastic veneer, it’s very hard to do anything. If not you can match in a repair with shellac sticks. But if you’re not that attached to it, maybe save yourself the effort 

Aidan


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## Sonny184 (5 Apr 2020)

Only thing is, Mrs had the bright idea of buying 3 baskets, which cannot be returned now for the shelves of the cabinet. To be fair to her, it was a good idea at the time and makes the cabinet suit the living room nicely. Of course , she will blame me, saying I promised to restore it, and that's why she went and bought them! 

I've taken a close-up of the very worst bit, which is about 3 inches in length if that's any to help you. That exposed cross section is about 3mm in width.


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## owen (6 Apr 2020)

Could you put some kind of trim around the front and stain it to match the cabinet? assuming the worst damage is on that front edge? Something like an l shaped trim?


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## Eric The Viking (6 Apr 2020)

Wood stain (spirit-based, not water-based) might work on the edges (arrises), if not, and you can get red and black (or better actual brown) permanent markers (Sharpies?) you might disguise the scuffed arrises (sharp corners) sufficiently. if only red+black, tiny dots of each might do it, to give you "brown" if you squint.

I think what you were suggesting is brown coloured epoxy, which ought to help the bigger damage (probably). I doubt it will stick on the arrises (hence the sharpie). Experiment on a part that's mostly out of sight (low down, and/or at the back of side panel). Don't forget to degrease well before starting anything though, or not even the sharpie will stick. Acetone if you have it, meths if not.

Fingers and alcohol (e.g. meths) will both remove Sharpie, so you will probably need to protect the arrises afterwards though - something like a melamine finish will be pretty tough. Protect the undamaged sides with masking tape and paper, leaving only the edge exposed, then spray lightly. Several coats avoids runs and gives you better control, especially as you want a semi-matt finish

This stuff is good, I find, but I think they have stopped doing it in aerosol form. It is on Amazon, but the price is a bit eyestretching and you will waste rather a lot.

But be realistic: it's all disguise in the best Monty Python style - you'll never hide the damage like Swiss military camouflage.


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## Sonny184 (6 Apr 2020)

owen":3pehvyr6 said:


> Could you put some kind of trim around the front and stain it to match the cabinet? assuming the worst damage is on that front edge? Something like an l shaped trim?



Good morning. I'm afraid that's something I would make a right mess of. I have an idea of filling the small and very shallow cracks with a closely matching filler and then varnishing the whole thing. Hopefully the location of the cabinet in the corner o the room means it will be away from close inspection by anyone!
Good morning. I'm afraid that's something I would make a right mess of. I have an idea of filling the small and very shallow cracks with a closely matching filler and then varnishing the whole thing. Hopefully the location of the cabinet in the corner o the room means it will be away from close inspection by anyone!

Eric + Coley. thanks very much. Looking into those methods right now.


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## ColeyS1 (6 Apr 2020)

I wonder whether some dark furniture wax might improve it slightly. Something like





Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


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## Sonny184 (6 Apr 2020)

Going to try a soft filler stick approach first and see where that gets me. Fingers crossed. 

For example,
https://www.veneersonline.co.uk/collect ... 1885186091

Came across this article from 1981. 
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/03/gard ... neers.html
Not a lot has changed to this great field of artistry.


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