Carpentry and Woodworking - Fixing a wornout stain

We have custom stained cabinets (cherry) and in a number of places it looks like the finish has come off and the stain faded. We are trying to sell and the cabinets look bad. How do I repair the stain/finish to get these spots to look better. Most of the spots are on the edges of the panels and alot around the dish washer and glass cabinet. Not sure if the water/humidity has caused finish to peel but think so. Tried something called Restore-A-Finish but it did nothing. Any ideas helpful. Want to avoid going back to the custom Cab guy as he will cost an arm and a leg to fix.

To make the touchups you desire so that they are not noticeble would be a challenge. The finish was probably a multi step, lacquer based, cabinet finish. You would have to replicate the original layers of finish, some of which may have contained color. Poly will not bond well with lacquer. You would need to use the same type of stain. Sometimes builders use dye stains rather than oil stains. An invisible repair is not possible.

Perhaps the builder can provide you with a small (pint-size) amount of each stain or color coat used for finishing your cabinets (clear lacquer top coats are available in aerosol cans from your local store).

It may be worth the money to hire the builder, if he is willing, to make the touch ups. This might result in less visible repairs that get done more quickly in order to sell the home.

I agree it would be best to consult the cabinet maker. Tell him what you need, I'm sure he'd supply you with the coatings needed for a small fee - he probably wouldn't be interested in doing a small job anyway [assuming he stays busy:D]