Can I put new laminate/formica over old?

[JohnV8r]

I'm knee deep in the floor/interior project on Shambala. The sink, cabinet, and all plywood around the head are gone. I got the new formica sink/counter back from the Corian guy last week. It looks INCREDIBLE even though I got bent over for $1800. It looks like he made a mold from my old counter/sink and poured the new counter & sink. It's amazing.

I'm down on the boat right now prepping for the floor install and have a question about laminate/formica. I want to eliminate the mahogany colored formica on the forward bulkhead without taking the whole bulkhead out. I will replace it with formica's 933 Mission White color that I will also be using in areas where I will not be using teak veneered plywood. I DO NOT want to have to use an iron to heat and chip all the old formica off the forward bulkhead.

Can I sand the existing laminate/formica and simply glue up new laminate/formica over the top of the old? If so, what grit sand paper and what is the preferred adhesive (contact cement or epoxy resin)?

Thanks in advance.

[Mikey]

John, Short answer, yes.
Ask your local Formica (laminant) dealer. Probably have detailed instructioins.

[MikeD@Lightningshack]

John,

I did a lot of laminate work in my boat. Everyone says you can re-laminate over the top of the old laminate. I was afraid I wouldn't get a good enough bond without bare wood.

With my birth bulkheads I removed the old laminate and repaired the plywood that got damage in the process with wood putty. It was a pain to remove the old laminate, but it does come off, with elbow grease, and lots of pursuading tools. I found that a sheet rock putty knife and a hammer really work well. Heat also helped, so it is not a bad idea to have a heat gun in your arsenal.

With other bulkheads including the head exterior wall adjacent to galley I opted to laminate on top of old stuff. I sanded with 80-120, and used contact cement. Every once in a while the laminate gets a bubble under it. I find it really disturbing and annoying. Becasue I used contact cement applying heat with an iron will usually get it to go away for months. Bottom line is I always wish I removed that formica.

If I were to try it again, I might consider laminating over the top of old laminate with epoxy. This however would be paticullariy challenging on a vertical surface such as a bulkhead. When using epoxy with a laminate, you need a lot of pressure for the entire cure period to get a good bond. When you can lay the laminate down and use gravity it is still difficult. A vertical surface would be a nightmare. If it were me, and I were redoing the bulkheads, I'd pull the old stuff off. You won't regret the 3 to 6 hours work in the long run.

Of course these are just my opinions from what little experience I have. Others may have had more success with different grit sanding or possibly higher quality contact cement. Formica brand does have it's own contact cement that maybe better then what you can get in the retailer.

Good Luck,
mike
www.lightningshack.com

[John Jackson]

I just redid my whole cabin. For most of it, I took off the old formica (technically Wilsonart), filled the plywood where it ripped out with the old Formic, and then applied the new. In one or two places I went over the old. My old dinette had two layers of formica on it as a former owner obviously went over the original (my boat is 46 years old). I had no idea it had two layers on it until I started to rip it off. Every guy I talked to who does kitchens and such said that there is no problem with going over the old. I ripped it off and redid it to make sure that the plywood was all sound and so that there would not be a build up. It would have been way less work to just go over the old. It seemed to me that the adhesion to the old formica is better than it is to plywood with contact cement.

[MikeD@Lightningshack]

John,

I was thinking about the bubble I get in my laminate once in a while, and want to make one more suggestion.

Laminate's comes in varying thicknesses. I believe I had an option for counter top or vertical surface grades when I bought my formica. For some of the obscure primarily cosmetic locations I chose the vertical surface grade.

The one location that I get the bubble, the head bulkhead next to the gally, was one of these locations. Along with questioning my decision to laminate over the old stuff, I also wonder if I had used the counter top grade for that surface if it would be less likely to bubble.

My recommendation it to use only counter top grade. It is thicker stronger and maybe less likely to bubble if there is a small section with weak adhesion.

Mike Dolan
www.lightningshack.com

[34Hatt]

The Bubble is usually trapped air or caused by out gassing you need to let both side out gas for a while before putting them together.
I re did two walls that had Formica already on them and a buddy ( cabinet maker) said No Problem just take a sander and rough it up Good. I did been 3 years now no problem. He also said don't waste my money on thicker stuff for the walls only on a counter.

[Rawleigh]

Mike, can you drill a very small hole where the bubble is? It might solve the problem for good. You can get those tiny carbide circuit board drills cheap, and the hole will be so small you probably won't notice it.