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Formica: new laminate over old wood?

13 years ago

Hi All,

Thanks for all your patience with me. Is there a disadvantage to having new laminate installed over old wood on counters? The counters are about 18 years old, and in very good condition (previous owner of the house was an elderly lady, so even the 18 year old carpets look good). Right now the counters are blue laminate (yikes).

The reason I ask is that I received an incredibly high estimate for new Formica with wood from Lowe's, and then I just met with a contractor who just takes off the old laminate from the existing wood, and puts new laminate on top (after sanding down, etc). It would save a lot to money and trouble... and less to deconstruct.

What do you all think? Is this a viable option, or is this not a good idea?

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Comments (4)

chocolatebunny
13 years ago
We are most likely going with laminate (if I can ever find one that I truly like) and we are planning on going over the old countertops too. I talked to a handyman that does this all the time and he checked out my countertops and said they were in excellent shape to do this. We also have the maple trim to match our cabinets (and DH really likes it) so that is another reason why we are going that route.

However, when I was at Lowes recently to look at Formica samples the guy that works in the cabinet/countertop department told me absolutely do not go over the old countertops, as they "never look good". I kind of took it with a grain of salt b/c obviously this would mean less money for Lowes to make off of me. I thanked him for his "advice" then decided I'm just going to go over the old countertops anyway :)
mirz2000
Original Author
13 years ago
Ha, I know what you mean. I am leaning that way myself. I want to go with the Formica 180fx in Antique Mascarello. If you haven't checked out that line, you should take a look at it! It is totally different than the other ones I saw.
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Are the cabinets actually laminate or are they Malemine over particleboard or MDF? The only reason I ask, is that I think that might have some bearing on how you proceed. (Malemine is the top surface of laminate sheets, but it is over a pressed fiber substrate). First off, I have not done this on cabinets. I did once paint small sections of malemine on particleboard for a custonmer. I scuffed the surface a bit with a fine sandpaper, then applied a primer coat and two top coats of Ben Moore paint. This was a long time ago and I don't remember the actual paint product used, but I do remember that I went to a Ben Moore dealer, told him what I was doing and he recommended a particular primer. I was matching a Ben Moore color the customer specified, that's why I chose that brand. Getting back to my original question, I think the primer was oil-based. If the cabinets are laminated, and if any of the black edge is exposed, that may wick the oil-based paint in under the malemine surface. I don't know if that would cause any problems but I would worry about delamination. Sorry this isn't much help. The good news is that if it's malemine over particle board, you can buy small sections of that at Lowes or Home Depot and do a test run. The stuff is inexpensive. Dan
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joyce_6333
13 years ago
I asked a local kitchen store to order me a 12X12 sample of Antique Mascarello. It is beautiful, but looks totally different than what I've seen online. It's definitely more blue/gray than I expected. Of course, the sample was only a foot square of a total piece. I really liked it, and may use it along with the Zodiac bianco carrara I've picked out for 2 larger areas of the kitchen.
chocolatebunny
13 years ago
We did check out the 180fx colors and they are just busier than I wanted. They are beautiful, just not what I want. I am leaning toward having a white-white counter again.

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