laminated cabinet questions

[sdrob04]

I am interested in a laminated finish for my cabinet.  My question centers around the general pros and cons of this construction route and whether to:

A.  Search for pre-laminated MDF
B.  use Melamine (which may or may not have MDF in the core)
C.  Apply a laminate after the cabinet is built.  

To date I have not been able to find a source for pre-laminated MDF, so I'd like to know if anyone has more details on this product, such as what colors are available and where one might be able to purchase it.  If one laminates after construction, can you find rolls of laminate wide enough to cover 38" cabinet sides in one piece?  Also, the words 'formica', 'veneer', and 'laminate' seem to be used interchangeably and with reckless abandon.  Are these terms in fact distinct?

[Dekelia]

I recently finished the cabinet for my first arcade machine and I used laminate I bought from Home Depot.   They come in 8'x4' sections.

They sell nice laminate in various styles (I bought black).  It is fairly easy but has some things you need to watch out for.  Basically treat it as though you are doing a countertop (lots of good sources on how to do countertops).

One tip that I wish I had thought of ahead of time.  If you are using laminate, use 5/8" board for the sides.  I used 3/4" and now my sides are too think for the t-molding.  The laminate itself is about 1/16th" thick.

It really makes the cabinet look nice.  It looks very professional.

Oh, and if you take this approach, you definately want to get a router bit to trim it with.

...I just remembered...there is an example that uses laminate that explains it very well...

http://home.austin.rr.com/shumate/unicade/cabinet.htm

[Crazy Cooter]

Laminate can be expensive.  I'd go with painted MDF.

= Veneer - Any thin material applied to some other material.  Plywood is made from veneers glued together with the grain running at right angles.

= Laminate - Usually refers to "Plastic Laminate Veneer" like your kitchen & bath countertops.  It's a "tissues" vs Kleenex thing.

= Formica - Brand name Plastic Laminate.  It's the Kleenex of the "tissues"  Another popular brand is Wilsonart.  Same crap, diff color/textures.

[Tilzs]

It really depends on what you want out of your cab. IMO I think the melamine is probably not the best choice for a cab since it's easy to scratch, gouge. Just go to your home center and look at melamine shelfs that are stacked up and you'll see scraches on some of them.

You probably won't be able to find prelamiated MDF. You could get a countertop and just cut that up but it really is not the route you want to take.

Laminateing after your cab is built is the best choice. Or you can just paint it, that works well also.

Formica - a high pressure laminate. it's pretty much colored plastic more or less and is the stuff that they put on kitchen countertops. wilson-art is also another name. It's likely that on this board the word laminate applies to formica.

Veneer - Is a thin layer of real wood that is adheasive on the back. A lot of furnature is made out of veneer since it's cheaper, generally lighter, and easier to work with than solid boards. If you buy a plywood sheet, that is going to be a veneer. You can also buy veneer that you apply yourself.

[neuromancer]

Has anyone ever gotten a kitchen counter top fabricator to do their cab?

They could laminate the edges too.

I don't really like plastic laminate in most cases. Not in my kitchen, not in my bathroom, and certainly not on my cabinet. But that's just me.

Bob