How to replace a discontinued cabinet door

Question: My 20-year-old kitchen cabinet doors are wood composite with a white plastic coating. I recently got a new gas range, and the heat melted and warped the plastic on an adjacent cabinet door. I cant find a manufacturers name anywhere on the cabinets, and I am told that the design on the front, with rounded corners, is no longer made. I dont want to have to replace all 16 of my cabinet doors. Is there any way to repair this or reproduce one door to match the others?

Falls Church

Answer: From the pictures you sent, its clear that the plastic coating is thermofoil a colored layer topped by clear vinyl thats applied to the door in a process that uses a vacuum and heat. Unfortunately, if this kind of finish gets too hot, it melts and deforms. You cant just reheat it and press it back into shape.

There are a few things you can try short of replacing all the doors. First, look around the kitchen or even other rooms to see if you have matching doors the same size and swing direction. If so, you might just need to swap the damaged door for one in a less noticeable place.

You can also try trimming away the melted finish with a sharp utility knife. Fill in for the finish layer with wood putty or an auto-body filler, then prime and paint. (Get matching paint by taking the door to a paint store.)

As a third option, buy a new thermofoil door thats as close a match as possible. Matching the color is relatively easy; the hardest part is finding a matching profile, according to Tom Fowler of Toms Cabinets & Design in Springfield (703-451-2227; http://www.tomscabinets.com).

As youve learned, many manufacturers of thermofoil cabinets have moved beyond the door style in your kitchen. Theyre trying to better mimic the traditional panel-and-frame door, which has a crisp-cornered frame of solid wood around a separate panel. A thermofoil door, by contrast, typically consists of a single piece of medium-density fiberboard shaped with a router to resemble a frame and panel. The rounded corners on the frame arent there as a style statement; theyre just the shape that routers cut.

Although manufacturers now try to minimize rounded corners, doors similar to yours are still available. The home page on the Toms Cabinets Web site has a link to a thermofoil door catalogue that includes doors with rounded corners. (See the Advantage Series.)

If you do decide to replace the door but cant find an exact match, consider replacing nearby doors so everything at close range looks the same. If doors across the room are a little different, only those with young eyes will notice.

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How to replace a discontinued cabinet door