varnish problem

[leon spinks]

my tale of woe.
I live in Southern California and just finished an expensive renovation on my kitchen. All custom cabintry, Maple cabinets, all solid wood behind the veneers everywhere. Before the cabinets were installed I had a long converstaion with my cabinet maker regarding finishes, I was told to use a post-catalytic varnish, he uses a pre-catalytic varnish. He said they are all the same, blah, blah, blah, and because i can't build or make anything and am entirely off my area of expertise i acquisced and let him do what he normally does. Well we've been in the house for about 3 months now and I started to notice that the bottoms of the cabinet doors near the sink are starting to show wear. The finish is
disappearing in little streaks that look like a mountain range, about 1/4" high in places now, but I'm sure it's going to get worse.

When I called him to ask what was happening he said that this was my fault because i wanted counter edges that were flush which causes water to drip down the front of the cabinets and the drips were hanging at the bottom of the doors and this was causing the finish to disappear. On the face he's right, water does drip down the cabinet doors, but we are talking drips not streams of water (both me and my wife could earn OCD couple of the year awards for keeping our house cleaner than the inside of a microchip factory).

He also said that no varnish is water resistant and that if water stands long enough it's going to get through the finish. I guess i was surprised because one, we're talking about vertical surfaces not places where water is standing like a counter top with a sweating glass of water, and two, even on the horizontal surfaces where I'm also seeing the finish disappear, like the top of the drawers in the bathrooms, we're talking about drops of water, not puddles. I would hope the water would evaporate before it would get through the finish.

He agreeed to come fix the problem (letting me know that he doesn't guarantee the finish and usually charges for fixes, but would do this one gratis), but I told him not to come yet (I wanted to gather enough information so that i could have a informed converstaion with him before they attempted to fix anything). Of course his boys showed up anyway while I wasn't at home and wanted to fix the problem, my wife said they couldnt' take the doors away and they said they weren't gong to take them away, they were going to fix them there. She stood firm and they left.

So here are my questions:
1) is there a difference between post and pre catalytic finishes?
2) is one more reccomended for use around sinks?
3) is there anyway that drips from a sink should take a finish off?
4) it is possible to fix this and match the finish (it's a clear satin
coat)?
5) how could they fix this finish without taking the doors off and
taking them to some dust controlled shop to re-spray them?

also, as i was looking around for other water damage, which i found in other places in the kitchen (near the stove-top, and the bathrooms) i noticed that some of the panels that make up the sides of the cabinets feel like they have very small ridges that run down the cabinet. it's hard to describe, but it feels like very, skinny creases. when I asked the cabinet maker about it, he told me that i was feeling the grain (this does not feel like the grain), which is complete ********, since I thought these are veneers and they are sanded and finished and i've never felt the grain on a finished piece of furniture unless that was the was the way it was designed. I asked the cabinet guy if the veneer could be coming off and he told me that it was not possible, the veneer was heat adheised to the wood and it could not come off. Anyone have any ideas what I'm feeling?

Sorry this was so long winded, but as is the case with all the things that have gone wrong in my renovation i've found that knowledge is the best defense, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Richardwoodhead]

Sounds like the varnish stuff wasn't water resistant. I used a spray-on 2 pack polyurethane on wet area (kitchen & bathroom) wooden bench tops and 2 pack spray-on lacquer for wet area cabinet doors. After 3 years of severe abuse (2 teenage kids etc) the finish is unblemished. Stand up to water, heat, and are fairly scratch resistant also. Maybe need to sand back and re-coat with a better product?

[jur]

Seriously, it sounds like you need to fire your cabinet maker. Or if you're the Leon Spinks I'm thinking of, you could do one or two other things to him. There are some people who ******** their way through life. I would take these doors down and take them to a place who could finish them properly - cut your losses.

Varnish tends to be very thin at corners (a result of surface tension) and there is scope for water to ingress at the bottom of the doors right at the corners where the front surface meets the bottom of the door. This would explain why you only notice it there. However, this should not really happen if the varnish has been applied several coats. The veneer being raised on the panels sounds like confirmation that only one (or at most two) coat has been applied which is really inadequate for kitchens and bathrooms with all the moisture vapour hanging around. Some tradespeople are always looking for ways to cut costs, and not necessarily do what is best for you the paying customer - diluting the varnish too far or spraying it on so thin that the coverage is inadequate.

No varnish is completely waterproof, but moisture movement is slowed down to such an extent that it ceases to be a problem if done properly.