Vinyl covered kitchen cabinets are "bulging"

[Freedom55]

I have several kitchen cabinets that are a white vinyl veneer material which I presume were factory sprayed on an MDF type product. Some of cabinet doors are showing a bulge in that the veneer seems to be separating from the MDF and the edging also appears to be starting to peel away. I get the feeling now that they are poor quality. Are they repairable? Could I, for instance, use a heat gun to "shrink" the vinyl back in place? Risky?

I am trying to see if I can find the original warranty for the cabinets but given that they are 8 years old I doubt that the warranty is still good.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ron

[Duane Bozarth]

Suggestions:

1) Ditch them and get something decent... :)

2) Depending on how handy you are, you might be able to salvage something, but it's probably a long shot...

If it is a laminated surface and the lamination is all that is lifting, it might be possible to work some fresh contact cement underneath if it is a slab and you can manage to raise the rest--but that's a real long shot. If, otoh, it's a case of moisture having gotten to the substrate and caused swelling, they're toast. If the edges have separated, that's quite possible, particularly if the ones in question are directly over the stove, a microwave, dishwashwer, etc., where there's a combination of water and heat (read steam). Heat will not re-activate contact cement, at least long term, and if there is water absorbed, may just exacerbate the swelling.

[Freedom55]

The substrate is not swollen. The laminate has simply become unglued. I agree with you. They are cheap (now we know, then we didn't) and they may need to be replaced - lesson learned.

Thanks

[default]

Heat makes vinyl grow, it will make matters worse.

Drill a little hole in the veneer, squirt epoxy under it, clamp it in place with a shower-curtain rod. Cover the hole with a butterfly sticker, or something.