How to Repair Plastic Laminate Countertops
Plastic laminate is pretty tough material. If you treat it properly, your laminate-faced surfaces, such as kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities, should give many years of service before they need replacement. In fact, short of burning it with a hot frying pan, there’s no reason why the laminate can’t last a lifetime, as long as you don’t abuse it with abrasive cleaners.
Even so, the stuff is not totally immune to problems. Two of the most common are failure of the cement securing the laminate, and spot damage, such as nicks and scratches. Fortunately, repairing such problems is usually a simple matter.
Lifting laminate: Once cemented down, laminate rarely comes loose. And when it does, it’s almost always along an edge, and most often at a corner, where the problem is easy to fix.
The first step is to gently lift the loose edge with a thin putty knife. If you think water has seeped under the laminate, slip a couple of toothpicks under the plastic, as shown in the accompanying sketch, pull out the putty knife and let things dry out for day or two.
If you are in a rush, use a hair dryer to blow warm air under the lifted laminate. Do not overheat the plastic or you may cause further lifting.
Next you’ll need a small can of contact cement, plus some contact cement thinner. You can buy this stuff at any good hardware store or building supply dealer. If you have a choice between flammable and non-flammable cement, get the flammable. I think it works better.
Back at home, mix up a small batch of cement and thinner at a ratio of about 3 to 1. Using a small brush or a piece of thin cardboard, work this mixture in under the lifted laminate as far as you can. Now remove the toothpicks and let the laminate fall back down. This will squeeze the cement even further back under the loose laminate.
Don’t leave the laminate down, however. Quickly lift it back up, replace the toothpicks, and add a bit more cement/thinner.
Again, remove the toothpicks and let the laminate drop back down to further distribute the cement. Again, immediately lift the laminate back up, replace the toothpicks, and let the cement dry for about 15 minutes.
Now pull out the toothpicks and clamp the laminate down tight, using a block of wood under the clamp to spread the pressure out evenly over the repair area. Let the repair set for a day. Then use some thinner on a rag to clean off any excess cement around the edge of the fix.
Scratches, nicks and open seams: You can repair any of these problems with a special product called seam filler. It’s essentially a special plastic putty made in a wide variety of colors to match just about any laminate ever made.
Ordinarily, you won’t be able to find this stuff in most stores, but a countertop shop or a good laminate dealer should be able to get it for you.
This stuff comes in small tubes. If you are lucky, one of these tubes will match the color of your laminate. If not, you may have to mix two, three or even more colors together to get a good match. Kampel publishes sheets of recipes that give good color matches with all the major brands of laminates.
While you are getting your filler, get a small can of the maker’s solvent as well.
Using the filler is easy. Clean the area to be repaired with a bit of the solvent. Squeeze out a bit of the filler onto a sheet of glass, mixing two or more colors i f necessary. Then, using a polished putty knife, work the mix around until it begins to thicken.
Press the filler into the damage with your putty knife, using plenty of pressure. Wipe off any excess filler with a rag dipped in thinner, and let the repair dry for an hour. If the repair has shrunk, apply a second coat. That should do the trick. Store your repair kit and mixing instructions in a safe place in case you need them for other repairs in the future.
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Tags: countertop, laminate