Painting Laminate?

[Canuck]

Well. There seems to be a lot of discussion here these days about kitchen and bathroom cabinet redo's and construction.

Here is an easy one. We have two bathrooms with laminate faced vanity cabinets. The cabinets and counter tops themselves are not in that bad of shape. The look of the face frames, doors and drawer fronts, the LOML wants to change. I think that I am ok building new doors and drawer fronts that would be acceptable. She just wants them painted white.

My question is regarding the laminate face frames. Can they be painted with any success? I really don't know what type of surface preparation or primer and paint I could use that would stand up to everyday use.

Any recommendations, ideas or your own experience certainly would be helpful!

Thanks again for your help!

Wayne

 

[b4man]

Wayne,
I've used Zinnser(sp?) Bin 123 primer on several non porous surfaces with very good results. In a bath room I believe a good primer and paint will work fine. My suggestion is to go to a Duron paint store and talk to a knowledgeable sales person for recommendations on products and techniques. Good luck!

 

[Travis Porter]

I would think you could, but you would need to sand/rough them up to give the paint something to bite/adhere.

 

[NCPete]

Short of epoxy paint I don't know of anything that would last.

Why not re-face them?

epoxy paint would seem to be a bit of a challenge for a newbie? Maybe an epoxy primer? (still not easy, don't let it set up in your gun!) with a more easily workable final finish. that is how I shot my car, soooo many years ago. final paint was some DuPont product I have long forgotten the name of.

the epoxy would give a nice bite on the old material, and generally prevent any silicon related fish-eye's, IIRC.

 

[Canuck]

I talked to a Sherwin Williams rep this past weekend and they are recommending a quart of their "Bonding Primer". Sanding with 150 grit and giving the FF two coats of the primer. He claims that many of his customers have used it successfully to prep Formica for paint.

I may just try this product. If it fails, I may just add some 1/4" plywood to the existing faceframe and paint that. The other option is Mike Davis' suggestion is try and remove the existing FF and rebuild it.

I am just not sure that I want to get into epoxy just now. Way over my head!:BangHead:

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

Wayne

 

[Canuck]

By re-face I mean to cover the face with a smooth white formica or thin painted plywood.

Sorry Mike. I did misunderstand you.:slap: Yes. re-facing the face is a good alternative!

Thanks again,

Wayne