Wood Grained formica

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:58 am

The wood grained formica in my cabin and more so in the cockpit's cabin bulkhead and sliding hatch appear dried out and faded looking. I have tried pledge and old english, which helped alot until they dried out completely and then they looked worse. This washed out appearance is all the more noticeable since I sanded and revarnished all the teak. Any fixes out there???

pilgrim32 · Post by **pilgrim32** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:43 pm

Ahoy foofer b I don't have any answers just suggestions how about using a clear urthane will that keep it shining or how about that stuff "poly glow " for faded gel coats maybe they will restore the shine. Another answer would be to resurface the laminate with a thinner thickness sheet of what ever color or pattern you like the same way they resurface kitchen cabinet face fronts I know it would be a lot of work but its doabul. Also that is one fine looking F-26 you have there, I just pickup the exact same model is yours a 1978? pilgrim32

jimbo36 · Post by **jimbo36** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:32 pm

Foofer, I have been there on other project boats too. Face it, woodgrain formica is history, even when it's in good condition. I would never, never, paint any kind of wood but laminate, absolutly. Wipe it down with interlux 202, (or acetone) to remove all wax, etc. light sand with 220, Paint with malmine paint. roll and tip method. Or, cover with a high grade vinyl wall covering. The kind you apply paste to the surface. (Not your regular wallpaper) Lasts forever and looks great. Just a suggestion. Jimbo

1967 seavoyager · Post by **1967 seavoyager** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:13 pm

A coat of satin finish varnish might look nice.

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:59 am

Pilgrim 32, thank you, yours is nice too. Email me some pics of her inside and outside. royslawnservice1@bellsouth.net

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:50 am

I re-faced all of the formica in mine with a white formica. It makes the cabin look alot more open and bright.

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:22 am

I've considered that., tho with white cushions, wall coverings, white and blue curtains and light tan carpet, it is very airy and bright. Good old Google found Hope's polish for me that is supposed to restore old formica. I will let the forum know how it works.

Reely Hall'n · Post by **Reely Hall'n** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Hello Foofer B,

I was a cabinet maker for may years specializing in laminate. It is very hard to bring back the old luster of laminate. Basically it is very thin plastic and is subject to fading and ware.

If the products you try don't work for pollishing, like someone said previously, sanding and painting is a great option. You can also sand the surface of the laminate and re-aply new laminate right over the old. You can purchase V-32 thickness wood grain laminate from any lumber yard that sells counter tops. If you use a router with a laminate bit you can cut all the pieces to any size you need and apply with contact cement. Not hard at all. If you are not comfortable I'm sure a local cabinet shop could help you.
Good Luck

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:53 am

Reely Hall'n wrote:Hello Foofer B,

I was a cabinet maker for may years specializing in laminate. It is very hard to bring back the old luster of laminate. Basically it is very thin plastic and is subject to fading and ware.

If the products you try don't work for pollishing, like someone said previously, sanding and painting is a great option. You can also sand the surface of the laminate and re-aply new laminate right over the old. You can purchase V-32 thickness wood grain laminate from any lumber yard that sells counter tops. If you use a router with a laminate bit you can cut all the pieces to any size you need and apply with contact cement. Not hard at all. If you are not comfortable I'm sure a local cabinet shop could help you.
Good Luck

Perfect advice.

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:57 pm

The verdict is in- the formica treatment from Hope's formica restorer did nothing for my faded wood grain formica on my boat's hatch or bulkhead. Thank you all for the input, I will now contemplate whether or not it is unsightly enough to try to repair it. Roy

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:40 am

Lots of good info here.

I was considering refacing my countertops, table and wetbar this summer with new formica applied directly over the old laminate, but have been told that adhesion will be a problem.

Is thus true?

Should I be using a specific adhesive to do this ?

Can I leave the side laminate alone and just do the top surface?

What angle router bit should be used when doing it that way?

RWS

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:50 am

You can laminate over existing laminate; you need to sand the original first. You will want to use a coarse grit paper. Use a belt sander with 50-80 grit belt. Get edges and corners with an orbital sander using 36-50 paper. Protect walls and anything else you donâ€™t want sander.

You can use most any contact cement. I like to use the flammable type of adhesive. I feel it has a stronger waterproof bond.

You will need 2 router bits; a flush cut and a taper cut bits. Iâ€™m not sure exactly what angle the taper bit is, but it is a standard trim bit.

You could just laminate the top, but the taper will be large, exposing more of the black edge of the plastic. I would cover both the top and edges.

Precut the pieces first. Do the edges first. Trim with the flush bit. Belt sand the top of the edge to get it exactly even with the top surface. Glue the top and trim with the taper cut bit. Finish with a file or sand paper.

I would think you can find full instruction on laminating on the internet.

JuiceClark · Post by **JuiceClark** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:14 am

I stopped by lows and they had some cool 2" tile sheets on clearance. So, I popped the sink up and tiled the countertop. It was the easiest thing I could think of:

g36 · Post by **g36** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:00 am

i just finished installing 12x12 black granite on ours and slate back splash wow it really makes a difference. i thought about redoing my formica which is white not the wood grain. the laminate would not have been to hard and routing the edge would be fine. but the wife liked the granite so thats what i did.

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:02 pm

Ilike the grainte idea.

How do you handle the edge?

How do you handle a curved edge - the International has both rounded corners AND reverse rounded corners on both the wetbar and the galley.

Finally, there are round removable 1/2" + - thick "lids" made into the countertops for access to the trash cans and a compartment on the the wetbar(hinged).

Any ideas on how I would deal withthese items with granite?

For now the tops, bottoms and sides of these "lids" are covered with formica laminate.

I also want to toss the Pricness 2 burner ceran electric/alcohol stove for a 2 burner ceran electric model (without the alcolhol option) that I can recess into the counter top and put a removable lid over top to increase counter space. How would I achieve this with granite?

Lots of questions here.

RWS