How To Repair Pressed Wood Cabinet Doors

Mark the doors and cabinets with tape where they go.

How to repair pressed wood cabinet doors. Take the door down dry it completely then go ahead and sand over the existing laminate. Unfortunately pressed wood is ill suited for adhesion and will reject a painted finish unless it is treated with primer beforehand. Water damage causes the fibers to swell and weakens the wood considerably. Use a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust after sanding.

Scrape each surface of your cabinets doors and drawers using a firm circular stroke. Allow the glue to dry for the appropriate length of time outlined on the package. Sand the patched area with a medium grit sanding block. The cabinet doors and the surface of the frame will all need to be thoroughly cleaned with soap and water or a cleaning agent such as trisodium phosphate to remove dirt grime grease and body.

Applying laminate to particleboard cabinet doors a second strategy works best if the swelling mostly affects the back of the cabinet door. Prime with a stain blocking primer like zinsser 123 kilz or bin and have it tinted to the color of the top coat. Remove the sanding dust with a vacuum. Select the right type of primer or you will eventually end up with rampant flaking and use the proper application tool or you will see brushstrokes in the finish coat.

Affix the broken piece if the piece is still attached to the particle board then dry fit it first to determine how well it will sit. Lightly sand the doors and cabinets to remove any gloss and roughen the surface for paint with 120 to 220 grit sandpaper. Apply a second layer of wood filler and allow it to dry completely. To remove the current finish or paint get a sheet of sandpaper.

Use a 120 to 180 grit sandpaper to sand your cabinets doors and drawers. Sand and smooth the wood filler. Wait several minutes for the wood glue to get tacky and press the piece in place. Then remove the clamp and plastic backing.

You may want to use an aerosol glue activator to help keep the repair strong. Push the separated pieces of the cabinet back together and use a clamp to hold the two pieces together. When the back of the door is completely flat glue on a new sheet of laminate. It will continue to get worse as it absorbs moisture from the air.

There is no way to fix pressed wood.