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Finishing a cabinet in all Vinyl (opposed to Paint or Laminate)
eds1275:
On my spinal tap cabinet, I used thick vinyl from walmart's fabric section. It had a mesh back on it and is most likely an upholstery vinyl. I attached it using contact cement just like laminating. Then I curved the edges over the sides and ran an exacto through the t-molding slot, and then used the t-molding to hold it in place. Looks great.
RandyT:
Vinyl, meaning the thin stuff used for signage, is designed to be very conformable. This means that any irregularity in the surface of the board will show right through it. Then there is also the aforementioned bubble issue.
But it can work well if there is enough prep work. Typically, vinyl is applied with a wetting agent that does not affect the adhesive. The vinyl is floated onto a very clean, non-porous surface, and the wetting agent squeegeed out. When everything dries, the vinyl will be bubble-free and as perfect as the surface underneath it.
The real question is whether it is worth the effort. With a large laminator and a clean piece of bare MDF, it might be a good way to go. Without that specialized and expensive equipment, it's hard to see the benefits.
Probably better to go with a laminate with some rigidity when doing things by hand. It will be much easier to hide imperfections in the wood surface.
jasonbar:
I went through a vinyl auto wrap adventure on a pinball machine: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123295.0/all.html
If I had to do it all over again, I would have painted. But, at the time, I had a newborn in my small condo along w/ the machine, & I didn't want fill the place with fumes. (Of course, partway through the project, we moved into a big home w/ a 3-car garage, so painting became a viable option at that time...)
Also if I had to do it all over again, I would have just left the machine as it was. :]
Thanks,
-Jason