If those are the staples coming through, I can’t imagine sanding is going to help. Can you feel them?

Clueless Hack. Staples don’t belong anywhere near there. Nor caulk at the joints, which you can see is too shiny. And no freaking Paint either.

This guy is a fake. A $1.98 wannabe. Nothing custom about ordering parts and pieces and putting them together WRONG. Get that crapola out of your house and get your money back.

Go buy something real. It won’t be $1.98.

"he has agreed to re-sand and paint the problem areas in the future,"

AKA kicking the can down the road. Get different cabinets,those will never stand the test of time.

I really think what look's like paint blisters may also be wood buckling. At any rate I doubt anyone can tell your GC how to lick his calf to make it ok.

If the problem were just paint, there would be all kinds of areas bubbling, not just over the staples.

There is a problem overall, since it looks like every spot where staples are present is bubbling. It could be the staple gun air pressure or depth setting was incorrect, letting the crown(head) of the staples sit above the surface of the wood. Proper staple setting would be for the crown to be sunk below the surface, requiring filling the divots.

Or the problem is the wrong filler was used(if used) and is expanding.

Either way, the job is substandard, IMHO.

Thank you for the pointers and information! Obviously, I am filled with regret and livid over this whole ordeal. The overall kitchen remodel looks great, but if the cabinets are not going to wear well or be functional, then what was the point?!

The boxes are frameless. The shelves themselves are also plywood and the supports seem like standard adjustable metal pegs. The cabinet and drawer hardware is all soft close, but I do not know the brand. All of this stuff seems pretty sturdy.

The cabinet doors are manufactured by Walzcraft, a WI company. Unlike, the box ends, where he stapled the rails to the outside of the plywood, you can tell the cabinet doors were manufactured correctly with the inset floating between the rails. This is probably why we have not had any issues with the doors, just the box ends.

As far as paint, he did use a catalyzed product from a local coating company when he sprayed the cabinets. I made sure of that. Notwithstanding, it is cracking on the box ends (but again, not the doors). There was no caulk used, I think what you see in the pic is a glare from the light where the paint is bubbling and starting to crack on one of the ends.

The kitchen area is approx. 300 sq feet and for the cabinets, we paid a price comparable to Kraftmaid cabinetry from Home Depot.

J cali , despite your rejection of everything we have said to this point,I'm willing to look farther at this if you make it clear what if anything you are asking us and answer questions we might ask you. All you said was "Thoughts". To which more than one person resonded with what they think based on pictures you furnished. The first response was from natesg who asked"Can you feel them", which you haven't answered. None of us have magic powers and therefore must depend on observations and facts in order to come to conclusions. There's a huge difference between posting a picture and saying"THOUGHTS" and posting a picture and saying"can you help me fix this". I honestly believe we are beating a dead horse trying to figure out what went wrong so that you can train the installer. NOW,what do those spots feel like when pressed with a fingertip,as firm as rest of surface,almost as firm as rest of surface or about like the tip of your nose? Can you pop/burst one of those with a fingernail?

Not rejecting anyone's comments or advice. I am looking for other's thoughts on my issue, whether it be from homeowners who have dealt with a similar issue, or professional opinions on the cause and a potential fix, if there is one.

My response to natesg was that I do not believe the staples are coming thru the surface (i.e., I do not feel any metal staples poking thru). To answer your question, the surface feels slightly less firm than the rest of the surface, almost like a wood filler. Bur definitely not metal.

"the surface feels slightly less firm than the rest of the surface, almost like a wood filler. Bur definitely not metal."

That doesn't sound like paint blistering which feels soft with air behind it. Wood filler is soft before completely dry and hard as wood after completely dry. Since those must be sanded down before repair,I suggest using a knife point to penetrate one or two and scrape paint off the raised area. I expect you will find uncured wood filler or raised plywood veneer. Depending on what you find out by scraping,we can move a step closer to what you want to know.

Ok. Thanks for the advice!

Finishing cabinets is a whole 'nuther trade than cabinetmaking and a finisher would have told him he wasn't going to paint over the staples for the reasons shown.

The staples can't be just sanded and repainted. They'll probably have to be driven below flush with a nail set and bondoed, primed, and painted if the cabinets can be saved at all.