No one cares, and no one is willing to help me in a timely manner. I recently repainted my kitchen with its nearly new Aristokraft kitchen cabinets (less than 3 years old). To mask, I purchased Scott's painters tape at Home Depot. When we pulled the tape off, off came the finish from the sides of 8 kitchen cabinets. I now have a kitchen full of cabinets that have at least an 1" streak of missing "paper veneer" that apparently is used to cover the sides of all kitchen cabinets. Nothing is solid wood anymore.
I went back and read the little tiny print on the tape, and while it doesn't say anything about veneer, it does say not to use on wood floors~ It also clearly states that it is not liable for any damage resulting from its product.
Aristocraft's corporate customer service person rudely referred me to the store (Seigel's, now Stock Cabinet Company) where I purchased them. The "service rep" at Aristocraft told me she could not give me any information on "what color stain" I should buy) since that was an industry secret. She said the only thing I could do was to purchase a repair kit from them (which I am willing to do but she said it needed to be ordered through a store and that I could not receive it within two days). Also, it is something that is not stocked by anyone. One of the sales staff at Seigel's gave me the name and phone # of the regional sales rep, who was actually very service-oriented and offered to come look at them (I am selling the house and the new people are taking possession on Saturday); he went onto tell me that this is a common complaint, and that it was impossible to stain the missing pieces since this is just a thin paper and that the material underneath is just particular board which wouldn't take the stain. He also thought perhaps ordering "skins" was an option. Unfortunately, he called me back yesterday afternoon to say he didn't get a chance to stop by, but was hopeful he could make it on Friday. That gives me exactly one day to figure out what to do.
Even though Aristokraft guarantees its cabinets for 5 years, apparently the sides are not guaranteed!!!
I am very unhappy with not only the cabinets themselves but with the attitude of nearly everyone involved other than the regional sales rep. I would warn everybody about purchase cabinets that have this thin veneer coating on the side (the doors are solid) and to use caution when masking for painting purposes. I have previously purchased painters tape at Sherwin Williams and never had any kind of problem, even when used on these same kitchen cabinets 6 months ago. Whether my problem was buying flimsy cabinets (although not cheap) or buying tape that perhaps had sat on the shelf too long, I would hope that others could learn from my experience.
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