Plastic Laminate Over Plastic Laminate?

hartleyed

I have a client who wants her kitchen countertops resurfaced, but is on a tight budget. Has anyone sucessfully laid new plastic laminate over old?


Edit: Moved to Remodeling

Robie

It can be done as long as the original laminate is sound. The way I do it is:
Sand with 60 grit paper.
Scratch with a homemade wooden scratch block with drywall screws poking out one side.
Vacuum well.
Wipe down with lacquer thinner.
Apply cement to both laminates and go for it as usual.

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Eric K

Keyword, is make sure that laminate is secure. I dont ever recommend doing that as it is the "cheap" way to do it. You should peel the laminate. Doesn't really take all that long to do.

Teetorbilt

Plenty of info in the archives. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

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firemike

I have done it basically like robie said, never had any problems. Make sure you use a good glue, not some "dollar store" junk.

Greg Di

Yep, sand it, clean it then contact cement it.

I've done two of these jobs and they are always a pain in the ass. I won't do them anymore because in order for it to be a money maker, it loses the cost effectiveness of resurfacing.

theworx

Just spent the last two days peeling off two layers of laminate on counter tops and peeling one layer of laminate off a reception desk on which laminate was applied over melamine (in an office). The last layer was applied by a contractor just two years ago and was lifting, chipping, and breaking all over the place. I know the contractor who did this work and for the most part would think that he would have taken care to sand and clean the surfaces before applying the new laminate.

I sanded and cleaned the counters and applied new laminate to the bare particle board. I also sanded and cleaned the melamine on the reception desk and applied new laminate to that as well. It all looks great but told the client that I could promise them the counters would be good for many years but, as far as the laminate on the melamine, I can't promise you anything. They were fine with that after I explained why. I just told them, I don't feel comfortable applying laminate over a sealed surface because the contact doesn't have enough to bite to (like bare particle board). Just my experience and why am I doing their laminate again after just two years. Something to consider !!