Missed a spot during cabinet assembly? Dried wood glue can leave behind rough patches and uneven sheen, but it doesn’t mean your cabinet is ruined. This video walks through a simple method for removing dried wood glue from cabinet face frames.
Key Takeaways:
- The easiest way to soften dried glue before removal
- How to avoid damaging the cabinet finish during cleanup
- Fixing sheen differences with a clear top coat
- Tips to prevent glue buildup during cabinet assembly
Whether you’re a DIYer or a professional, these tips will help you achieve a high-quality result. If you have questions about cabinet touch-ups, finish repairs, or assembly best practices, reach out to your Cabinet Coach or call us at 888-211-6482.
Video Transcript
It's a glorious day here at Cabinet Joint. I'm Justin, and in today's video I'm going to be showing you what to do if you have dried glue on your face frame.
Now, this is a problem that can be avoided as you're assembling. Have a wet rag with you and just make sure you are always washing any glue that you have on your frame. Just wash that off. But in a situation where you might miss some and it dries, it can be a little tricky to get off.
When you're looking at the cabinet itself, you can't really notice it unless it's in particular lighting. You'll see that the sheen is off, and when you feel it, you'll notice it's a little rough. It's not that smooth finish that you typically get with your face frame.
If you just try to take it off dry, it's going to, one, be pretty difficult and complicated, and two, you might risk damaging your front frame.
To get rid of that glue, you will just need a couple of household items. You need some paper towels as well as Windex. I have this plastic scraper here, but you can also just use a fingernail. In some instances, you might need to talk to your cabinet coach so you can get this clear top coat.
What this process is going to look like is you're going to take your paper towel, spray some Windex on it, and then rub the affected area on your front frame. You're going to let that sit and saturate for a couple of seconds. Then, while it's still wet, take your scraper or your fingernail and gently scrape it off. Make sure you aren't too aggressive because you don't want to risk damaging your front frame.
After the first time, I noticed there was still some on it. So, I went ahead and did it again. I sprayed some on, rubbed it, and took my scraper again.
In this instance, I noticed that where the glue was, it left a little bit of a sheen difference from before. I've done this a handful of times now, and this is the first time I've noticed it, but there's a quick fix for that as well. Just talk to your cabinet coach, get this spray can of clear top coat, and spray a light coat on top. That seemed to fix the issue.
Nine times out of ten, just the paper towel, the Windex, and something to scrape with will get you by. But in some instances, you might need to get a can of clear coat just to make sure that your sheen is right.
If you can't get it 100% perfect, keep in mind that, like in this video, I have studio lights pointed directly at the problem. Your kitchen, while you might have a bright light on it as you're building it or you're looking directly at it from a couple inches away, is going to have totally different lighting once it's installed on your wall. That 1% difference might not look all that significant once it's actually installed.
With that being said, you can use the spray coat to get a better finish that's up to par with the rest of your front frame.
If you have any other questions, you can reach out to your cabinet coach, or you can call us at 888-211-6482.
Thank you for watching. Have a great day.
