Appreciation post: the old guy at the ReStore in Akron who told me to skip the cabinet refacing kit

Grace Hunt · 2026-09-25T14:00:03.72576+00:00

I was standing in the aisle with a $75 refacing kit in my cart when he walked by and asked what I was doing. When I told him I was covering up 40 year old oak doors, he just shook his head and showed me the $12 can of gel stain on the shelf behind me. He explained that veneer peels off in a bathroom within 2 or 3 humid summers, but stain soaks in and stays put. I returned the kit, spent a Saturday degreasing and staining 8 doors, and they look like new wood instead of plastic. Two winters in and not one corner has lifted, which I honestly did not expect. Why do big box stores push refacing so hard when stain costs a sixth of the price?

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Appreciation post: the old guy at the ReStore in Akron who told me to skip the cabinet refacing kit | DIY Home Projects - Guest Forum