Touching Up Your Cabinets

As careful as you may be, life happens. Let us help you make those minor blemishes on your cabinets virtually disappear.

Touching up painted cabinets, or stained ones, is a relatively easy task you can do yourself. Follow these tips to get a repair that blends seamlessly into your existing finish. In no time at all, you’ll learn how to touch up kitchen cabinets so they look as good as new.

Touch-Up Kits for Stained & Painted Cabinets

Orders of 10+ cabinets come with a touch-up kit to match the cabinet finish. You can also buy touch-up products on this site or through the store where you purchased your KraftMaid® cabinets.

How to Touch Up Painted Cabinets Using a Touch-Up Pen

Touch-up pens mask worn spots, scuffs and scratches of your cabinet paint. Touch-up pens are best suited for small, minor imperfections. For larger areas or significant damage, you may need to consider other options, such as repainting the entire cabinet or seeking professional help.

1. Evaluate the damaged area – is it repairable? How much touch-up will be required? Is professional help required? Proceed only if confident of skill level.
2. Buff the damaged area, as well as the surrounding area, with a Scotch-Brite™ pad to achieve a blend of surface sheen. Example: Use the Scotch-Brite pad on the entire vertical member. (Be sure to practice first in an inconspicuous area.)
3. Shake the touch-up pen vigorously with the cap on.
4. Depress the pen’s felt tip on a piece of cardboard or scrap wood until the tip becomes saturated, but not dripping.
5. Apply the touch-up liquid with light, even strokes, using your fingertip to blend.
6. Allow to dry 1-2 minutes; if desired, spray with Clear Coat (available from your local KraftMaid retailer), or any commercially available clear polyurethane spray. We recommend a semi-gloss (21-25 sheen).

How do you paint chipped cabinets?

To cover chipped paint on your cabinets, apply the matching paint using a touch-up pen, paint brush or a foam brush. Dab the paint onto the surface lightly and allow it to dry before applying additional coats. You may need to apply a few coats to completely blend in the chipped paint.

Using a Soft Fill Stick to Fix Worn Spots on Cabinets

Fill sticks fill cosmetic defects like nicks, gouges, nail holes and small scratches.

Cabinets are prone to developing different signs of wear and tear over time. Signs can range from discoloration and scratches to dents, all resulting from the continuous use of your cabinets in the busiest area of your home.

1. Evaluate the damaged area – is it repairable? How much touch-up will be required? Is professional help required? Proceed only if confident of skill level.
2. Apply the fill with an even back-and-forth motion to completely fill in the damaged area. (Hint: For easier application, you may soften the fill stick by carefully heating the end over a small flame.)
3. Gently remove excess fill by scraping with a plastic card and/or rubbing with a dry cloth.
4. Apply grain marks if necessary with the touch-up pen.
5. If desired, spray with Clear Coat or clear, semi-gloss (21-25 sheen) polyurethane to seal.