Thank you, Klem. I was told by a carpenter that it was lacquer. When I gently wipe with water and a microfiber towel, the towel turns reddish. the cabinets are shaker style and reddish brown.

"When I gently wipe with water and a microfiber towel, the towel turns reddish"

In that case I wouldn't bet on there being any kind of clear coat on it. Sound's like water base gel stain. Did he leave any containers that you can look at? Odds of making things worse are great when existing finish is unknown. If you are clueless about what has been applied,maybe try this. Remove one or more least used doors and wipe INTERIOR SIDE thoroughly with wet cloth to remove poorly adhered stain,immediately wipe dry then allow to air dry 24 hours or more. Follow directions on water base stain to see if you can get a satisfactory tint. When stain has dried recommended time before top coat,examine and feel the surface. If it has fuzz/whiskers,follow directions on stain to remove them. I generally apply one coat of top coat and lightly sand after it's dry to remove whiskers before completing top coats. . Use top coat according to stain recommendation. If stain fisheye's or otherwise not go on well,try oil base stain. If oil base doesn't go on well either,apply a single coat of one pound shellac then try using gel stain. It's risky at best but if you play around with door sides that don't matter much you will come up with a plan.

Thank you. This makes sense. The doors are dull. They were mass produced and spray finished. Horrible job. I *thought* I was getting custom cabinets. I was told that they were being 'built' in their warehouse.... however, I later found that they are Chinese ready to assemble cabinets and the cheapest ones in the line.

Each time you post,you add another bit of information that confuse's me. Are you saying the cabinets are as recieved from manufacture? I was under the impression that your contractor applied the finish. If the factory finish come's off on a wet cloth I can only imagine what construction might look like.

No, I had a carpenter out to look at the project independently. The contractor did not apply the finish. They were Chinese cabinets mass produced. I am told that the finish is sprayed on. And, yes, the cabinets are horrible. Joints don't meet. Alignment is way off, finish is horrendous. All pulls were not put on and soft close drawers keep flying open because of not being level. But, we do not have 20k to redo, so are looking for a way to make all of this ugly look presentable.

I had a Kitchen Remodeling Company do the job. They say it will cost me more to take them to court (lawyer fees) than to eat the loss!! Florida is horrible for this sort of thing.

Having grappled with this for a year without bringing it to conclusion would pretty much say the handwriting is on the wall. I'm not sure I could add to what I've already suggested other than wish you luck.

Small Claims Court in Florida has an upper limit of $5000 and no lawyer is involved. Mediation is offered as an option. File and serve them. $5k will go a long way toward some decent quality Ikea cabs with a real warranty.

Ikea door styles

I am very ill and wonder what kind of stress small claims court would put me through. I have excellent documentation and plenty of estimates to repair/replace.

"I am very ill and wonder what kind of stress small claims court would put me through"

Probably less than a year's worth of fretting over it.

You have all the documentation. File and get them served. Mediation is likely. Your health will improve with every step you take because you're in the right.

Once you get the $5k post in the Kitchens section and we'll help you rebuild.