www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

hi all, not sure how to title this issue ! a lot of bloomin' ad's have crept into my posting, hope they don't confuse if seen - the text has 3 pics included of the door.
One of my neighbours has black gloss finish kitchen cabinet doors - looked posh - these were all fitted at least 10 years ago, before they moved here.
They suddenly found one door's film coating had torn/split away, not even knowing beforehand that the coating was a thin skin that seemed to be stretched around the wooden door. They wondered if I could help by just glue-ing this back on.
They don't think the door had any knock or puncture force, just finding it one morning !
1-new to me, theses coatings, worried about any glue dissolving the thin film and also no longer being stretched will shown not only the join lines but also all sorts of reflections from the different areas. There is no original bonding to the wood face, maybe I guess around the edges.
2-is there any recovering technique, or service provider, to repair.
3-any replacement doors available with this finish.
4-or any other suggestions.
Couldn't take decent pictures to show, but adding best I can.
Any help appreciated.

Sadly it is toast. The doors have been covered in a foil finish, a bit like a car wrap. It can dry out and crack over time, it is quite common, and there is little you can do to repair it. I may have inadvertently come up with the idea of using car wrap as a solution. These car wrap firms may well have gloss black offcuts that they could apply, just an idea. Amazon sell panel sizes for under a tenner.

DWD

thanks dewaldisney, again many times my saviour !
Yes, I did think similar to all this 'car wrapping' I see on car restoration programmes.
I'll see what I can find to replace - always something new to learn every day !

I have no experience with this but I suspect that the substrate has to be really smooth for it to stick. Might be an idea to have a chat with a car wrap firm, there are loads about. The more I think about it the more it seems to be a good way to go. I suspect that there is a degree of planned obsolescence in some of these kitchen cabinets as the makers consider ten years to be the life of the units these days it seems.

DWD

I've found some youtube videos that show how to wrap kitchen cabinet doors, with film that seems to bleed out air bubbles. Rather than stretching it across the from and clinging to the sides it seems it is adhesive all over so may not be so much a stretch, just a wrap !
So, on our door in question, seems any adhesive that may of originally been there has dried out and absorbed into the wood as it appears dry/clean underneath.
I may give it a go myself, but will talk to a wrapping supplier first.