We had a skylight leak last year and of course it was a wet year for us. The leak ran right down the front of the refrigerator door.
After the sticker shock of replacing the panels, and being a amateur woodworker, I figured that I would sand them back and re-stain. Seems logocal, right? I removed the dridge doors and slid out the door panels.
Well, Here is what I learned. The finishing process is not the same as a traditional process. These door panels are made from a very dense hardwood. The factory finish sets up on top of the wood and does not penetrate much at all. This is why the finish failed and flaked off down to bare wood when it got wet. It acted like maple which does not like to take dark stains very well. I spent several hours choosing and having custom stains mixed only to be very dissapointed in the results.
We decided to just paint them. My wife and daughter started looking for a color that would compliment the color pallet of the trailers interior.
I sanded off the rest of the finish and prepped for paint.
I decided to surprise my wife and add a feature that would allow her a place for her refrigerator magnets she buys everywhere we go. I found a metal panel on amazon that was almost the right size. It was easy to trim down and mount.
Here are the results.
She is happy which means I am happy.
Safe travels!
After the sticker shock of replacing the panels, and being a amateur woodworker, I figured that I would sand them back and re-stain. Seems logocal, right? I removed the dridge doors and slid out the door panels.
Well, Here is what I learned. The finishing process is not the same as a traditional process. These door panels are made from a very dense hardwood. The factory finish sets up on top of the wood and does not penetrate much at all. This is why the finish failed and flaked off down to bare wood when it got wet. It acted like maple which does not like to take dark stains very well. I spent several hours choosing and having custom stains mixed only to be very dissapointed in the results.
We decided to just paint them. My wife and daughter started looking for a color that would compliment the color pallet of the trailers interior.
I sanded off the rest of the finish and prepped for paint.
I decided to surprise my wife and add a feature that would allow her a place for her refrigerator magnets she buys everywhere we go. I found a metal panel on amazon that was almost the right size. It was easy to trim down and mount.
Here are the results.
She is happy which means I am happy.
Safe travels!
