[kuma]

Hi!

I'm trying to finish my kitchen design plan today, and encountered "cover panel" issue.

Looks like IKEA cover panel is 1/2'' wide and kind of expensive, so I would like to find the replacement which is thinner/zero inch wide and a little inexpensive.

I found the following ikeafan page has very useful "Finish Match" information. But I'm not sure I can stain/paint the IKEA cabinet side itself with this solution. Or do I need to have a sheet of wood stained/painted and attach to the cabinet side?? If so, any recommendation of the wood sheet?

http://ikeafans.com/FAQModificationFinishMatches.htm

If anyone has any successful experience to use inexpensive cover panel replacement solution, please share your story!

Many thanks in advance!

[jen_va]

You can't stain the melamine cabinet boxes -- you'd have to attach wood veneer to do that. I'll let someone who knows more about it address the feasibility of that, but my initial reaction is that I wouldn't do it in my kitchen, because I'd be afraid that the glue holding on the veneer would eventually loosen (due to heat, moisture, grease, etc.). But I may be overly paranoid. I also wonder if the cost of the veneer and stain might not be that much cheaper than the cover panels, but since I rarely buy veneer or stain, I really have no idea.

Guess this message wasn't much help, huh?

[Tigratrus]

Jen's right... You can't stain the cabinet side.

As to putting a veneer on it. it's possible, but it's likely to be a lot of trial and error, and I'm not sure you're going to be able to match the grain/color with any degree of accuracy.

I don't know anything about your layout, but is it a possibility to do something different like maybe make the cabinet sidewall a blackboard (blackboard paint), use the cabinet side as a decorative element like a sign, or mosaic or something similarly creative?

James