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Paint Vs. Laminate

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zaphod:

Laminate over MDF or particle board combined actually costs more than cabinet grade oak plywood in my area.  The 'wood grained' laminate on surfaces that large might also look a little fake, in my opinion.

However, to answer your question, yes, the T-molding will work nicely with the ply and laminate combination.  95+% of the laminated cab examples on this site use that method.

Sprucemoose:

Laminate will look better or I should say more professional.  I think it comes down to money.  If you have the cash to spend then do laminate, if not paint looks very very good and is a fraction of the cost.

 

mp2526:


--- Quote from: Sprucemoose on May 21, 2004, 03:06:48 pm ---Laminate will look better or I should say more professional.  I think it comes down to money.  If you have the cash to spend then do laminate, if not paint looks very very good and is a fraction of the cost.

 

--- End quote ---

Well, I don't know if it's more professional, many a cab were painted (ie. Williams games).  Laminate has it's pros and cons as well as paint.  Laminate can be prone to coming off over time especially if you don't do a well enough job glueing it originally.  The corners tend to break off when coming un-glued and getting snagged on stuff when moving around, which makes it difficult to fix and still look original.  Painting can be more difficult to do and get a professional look, but it is easier to touch up as it gets older and as stated it is cheaper.

Stingray:


--- Quote from: Sprucemoose on May 21, 2004, 03:06:48 pm ---Laminate will look better or I should say more professional.  

--- End quote ---

I strongly disagree. While I do agree that laminate looks very professional, painting can too if done in a professional manner. I painted mine using a compressor and a professional paint gun. It looks fantastic to me and I get a lot of compliments on the finish.

-S

vputz:

Paint can look great, although by its nature it's more finicky about underlayment (for example, good MDF can get a nice clean finish, but if you had to paint particleboard, I imagine surface prep would get a lot more tiresome).

I went with laminate (sorta) on my CP just because I had some old Pergo flooring laying around, but the big sheets of formica-style laminate I could find around here were more expensive than I wanted to pay.  Of course, I then got the disadvantage of working with 1/4" laminate which turned out to be just a wee bit more than 1/4", so my T-molding isn't quiiiite going to cover the 1/2" particleboard+1/4" laminate.  Can't have everything.

The way I see the choice, laminate is less finicky, more expensive, arguably more durable, and harder to repair.  Paint is more finicky (for a really good finish), less expensive, less durable, but easier to repair.

I'd go with laminate if I did it again, but then I just have horrible memories of endless sanding and repainting when trying to get my Corvair looking decent...

-->Stitch

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