Recently had 17 year old kitchen cabinets cleaned and stained and in one year they are turning yellow. Heavy smoker lived in home. Is that the reason? How to fix?

What sort of wood are they? What sort of stain was used? Did they seal it after staining?

It could be the smoking, or it could be one of the above.

Need more info. :)

Not sure of wood, or stain -yes sealed. Light color. My painter now saying caused by nicotine. Bath cabs also showing some yellow. Says he will now have to sand prime and paint

It could be the product he used to seal it, especially if there's lots of natural light in your kitchen and bathroom.

Sadly nicotine does yellowing. You'd be amazed. My mother in law always had wallpaper in her kitchen. She put plastic rails around so the kitchen chairs wouldn't damage it. A year after putting up new wallpaper she decided she didn't like it. When we took the plastic rails off I was shocked. If I hadn't seen the original color of the wallpaper under the rails, I never would have noticed the yellowing. She smoked 2 packs a day.

He can paint, but I fear you'll just end up with the same problem in another year.

The only way to prevent it is to ask the smoker to move it outside.

Not sure of wood, or stain -yes sealed. Light color. My painter now saying caused by nicotine. Bath cabs also showing some yellow. Says he will now have to sand prime and paint

The smoker is out over a year and entire interior painted after using Kilz on walls and wood shutters which seem to be OK. Not a light expusure problem.

So this issue happened even though the smoker isn't there, wasn't there when the cabinets where sanded and stained?

If that's the case than I'd say it's a problem with the sealer or the stain.

I can't be certain though.

Is there any way for you to find out the brand name of the stain used, and the sealer?

The smoker is out over a year and entire interior painted after using Kilz on walls and wood shutters which seem to be OK. Not a light expusure problem.

Correct - smoker had left -will try to find answers to questions. Thanks for your response. I like our painter- just trying to determine if he was at fault.

He may well be.

It could be that he used old sealer, or that he used water based stain with an oil based sealer, or vice versa. Oil and water don't mix and can cause yellowing.

Is he willing to re-sand and paint for free, or is he charging you?

If he's charging I'd wait to find out for sure that it's not the products he used that caused this.

I wish I could be more help, but without knowing the products he used, I can only guess.

Correct - smoker had left -will try to find answers to questions. Thanks for your response. I like our painter- just trying to determine if he was at fault.

Yes he wants to charge to re do all cabs . He is a pro and been around for long time and we like work he did on interior and exterior but I will try to get answers.

Yes he wants to charge to re do all cabs . He is a pro and been around for long time and we like work he did on interior and exterior but I will try to get answers.

yes he wants to charge to re do all cabs . He is a pro and been around for long time and we like work he did on interior and exterior but i will try to get answers.

When you do just post it here and I'll see what I can find out. :)

I'm not a professional painter, but I do build my own furniture and work with wood, stain and sealer a lot.

I'm sure he's a professional, I just can't see any way that the yellowing was caused by smoking if the smoker was gone before you had this done and you used Kilz on the rest of the house. It shouldn't happen, so if it's not the smoking it has to be the products used.

Again, this is just a guess, but I'll be able to give you better advice when you find out the products used. :)

Checked and both stain and sealer oil based.

If an oil-based poly was used to seal the cabinets then that is your culprit. Oil based poly yellows with sunlight. Nicotine stains can be cleaned.

Thanks for response- kitchen does not get much sun. Also notice yellowing in bath vanity cabinets that werer done same way. But not as bad as kitchen.
My painter says cabinets are on cheap side an and the nicotine permeated throughout.

I have painted mant things and if the cabinets were originally stained then a good oil-based primer and then good enamel paint over that should not cause any yellowing. I have cleaned nicotine from walls and cabinets using a citrus based cleaner and degreaser. Zep makes one that is available at Home Depot.

Cabinets were cleaned sanded then stained and sealed about 1 yr ago when smoker left the house. Now yellowing . But when you open kitchen cabs the
The outine underneath has not yellowed. Only outside surface. Are you saying the yellowing can be cleaned with a cleaner?

Do you know what the cabinets were sealed with?

DEFT Sealer, VARATHANE stain both oil based

I just noticed you said cabinets were cleaned and stained. That isn't how things should be done unless the cabinets never had a sealer or poly coat to start with. A finished cabinet would have stain and poly or varnish. Once the poly of varnish is on the wood you can't just CLEAN and then expect stain to soak in like it should. Altenweg is looking in the right direction, at your painter. He did something incorrectly but its hard to know what since there are so many ways to do things wrong, only a few ways to do it right.

I blame it on the oil-based sealer for the yellowing.
Oil based paint versus latex based paint (http://www.homeadditionplus.com/Painting-info/Oil-vs-Latex-Based-Paint.htm)
All About Oil Based Varnish | Article | Woodworking (http://woodworking.com/ww/Article/All_About_Oil_Based_Varnish_7519.aspx)

If you have Ceiling Fans, and you have white blades, Yellowing from a Smoker is Typical.

Exposure to light causes the yellowing. The inside of the cabinet doesn't get the constant exposure to daylight. The problem is with the product used to seal the cabinets. What kind of wood are the cabinets made of and what color are they stained?
You said the painter said the cabinets are on the cheap side... if they are made from plywood then it is either birch or pine. The painter should have known what he was dealing with before attempting to produce a certain result. I blame the painter and don't let him blame it on nicotine.

I would agree.