Best way to laminate sides of control panel

[nickbuol]

I like the idea of using a single, curved piece of laminate for the sides and front of my 4 player control panel, but I got Grade 10 laminate, which is not made for curves, so I am most likely needing to laminate each individual side and front peice, but how do I hide the corners?

Any ideas would be great!

[nickbuol]

bump

[NoOne=NBA=]

Pics would probably help on this one.

You say that you like the idea of a curved piece of laminate, but then say that if you do it in pieces you'll have corners.

Is the front of the CP curved, or square?

If it's curved, are you asking how to hide the seams in the laminate?

[nickbuol]

OK.

[Truecade]

I assume you will be making a few mitre cuts for the box underneath the CP top?  If that is the case, the best way to get really nice looking CP sides is to laminate them before doing the mitre cuts.  It will be very difficult to get the pieces of laminate the right length for each small piece of the CP side after the fact. I know because I made this mistake on my UA-II control panel.  Once the mitre cuts are made, you really can't use a laminate bit to router the mitre'd edges.  (Is mitre'd even a word?)

Assuming the laminate you are using is black, my recommendation would be to get a roll of the Parts Express vinyl laminate and apply to your CP sides after it is assembled.  I just started using this stuff and the vinyl looks virtually indistinguishable from the Wilsonart black laminate.  And it's easier to apply and less expensive.  Kudos to whoever found and tried this stuff first on the forum.

 

[nickbuol]

Do you think that the self-stick stuff at Parts Express will stick to particle board?

You are right that it would be a lot easier if it works.  I could assemble the bottom and sides and wrap this around the sides without having to worry about messing up the laminate doing my mitre cuts....

Too bad I wasn't thinking about this the other day because I just ordered some small parts from Part Express (like $4 worth) and got hit with almost $7 in shipping.  I could have saved a few bucks, oh well.

If anyone knows the answer to my question about sticking to particle board, that would be great.  My goal is more of a "no seams" or at least "nice seams" more than it is anything to do with it being rounded.

Thanks!

[Knievel]

I've got both the Parts Express vinyl and the Happ Pica vinyl here. I would recommend the Happ for your raw particle board, the adhesive is stronger. It's a better product all around, but also more expensive.

In either case if you seal the wood first with a primer you will get a much better bond.

I've actually done this on a couple of my CP boxes and they look great. Tough as nails and seamless. Laminating all those pieces would be a PITA and it's not going to look as good as the vinyl.

[SteveJ34]

Which of the Parts Express black vinyl is gonna look most like black smooth laminate?

I see "wood grain" looking black and "textured" black but....

[nickbuol]

I've got both the Parts Express vinyl and the Happ Pica vinyl here. I would recommend the Happ for your raw particle board, the adhesive is stronger. It's a better product all around, but also more expensive.

In either case if you seal the wood first with a primer you will get a much better bond.

I've actually done this on a couple of my CP boxes and they look great. Tough as nails and seamless. Laminating all those pieces would be a PITA and it's not going to look as good as the vinyl.

The Pica Vinyl looks great and sounds like many people have had great successes with it.  I only need like 7" x 10 feet to wrap the sides of the CP, but that would cost me $50 plus shipping (since it is sold in 40" and 49" wide rolls at $5 a foot)...  I would have enough for 6 or 7 CP sides with 10 feet of it.

I am going to post a note on the buy sell trade forum to see if anyone has any of this stuff.

[nickbuol]

I checked Happ's current flyer http://www.happcontrols.com/monthlyspec/v705.pdf, and the stuff is selling for $2.18 a foot for the 40" wide and $2.30 a foot for the 49" wide...

I think I need to give them a call.

----Below Edited 7/14/2005----

CORRECTION:

That special price in their flyer is for the whole 150 foot roll!

YIKES!  I don't need THAT much...

[Knievel]

Good eye, it's only worth buying when on sale. You might want to check with Ponyboy(over in the b&s forum)and see if he can grab it for you. Don't know if he can get any further discount but he could probably save you some shipping $.

[nickbuol]

Good eye, it's only worth buying when on sale. You might want to check with Ponyboy(over in the b&s forum)and see if he can grab it for you. Don't know if he can get any further discount but he could probably save you some shipping $.

His price was $5 a foot.

[nickbuol]

See my note a couple of posts up.  Happ said that the discount price was for a full 150 foot roll only.  I guess I should have zoomed in closer on the .PDF as I would have seen that is was a 'l/150' (meaining lot/150' roll) and not a '1/150' (meaning 1' increments/150' roll)....

$5 a foot is a bit high ($55 for 7" by 10.5', with a LOT left over) for my tastes....

Maybe I will check out the Parts Express stuff.

[dema]

See my note a couple of posts up.

[nickbuol]

Yup.

[dema]

I just called and spoke with someone. It's sold by the foot, not only by the roll. I couldn't imagine many people who would actually need 150 feet of vinyl. The agent said you can purchase it on the website and specify how much you want and it should adjust the price correctly on the following page.

[dema]

Sounds like she might be mistaken about the online order procedure, as I couldn't get it to adjust to the correct price. But she did say that the vinyl is on special and sold by the foot.


*** I spoke with someone again and placed the order online while I was on the phone with them and they adjusted the cost themselves.  They said it might not be updated on the website yet. If you were to call them you could order it at that discounted price over the phone.

But the $2.18 and $2.30 prices are good.

[nickbuol]

How much did you buy?

What number did you call?  I tried the 800 number, but get a "fast busy" signal.  I had to call their regular line and got an operator there who passed me to a customer service person who had no control over pricing options, checked with "Neil" in sales, who also wouldn't adjust the price...

[dema]

I bought 40 feet. I have a couple cabinets I want to use it on.

I called the 888-BUY-HAPP number and spoke with a woman in customer service. If you just tell them you saw it in the specials that the Pica is $2.18 and $2.30 per foot  (depending on the size) but the website doesn't reflect it they should be able to walk you through it.

[nickbuol]

I bought 40 feet. I have a couple cabinets I want to use it on.

I called the 888-BUY-HAPP number and spoke with a woman in customer service. If you just tell them you saw it in the specials that the Pica is $2.18 and $2.30 per foot

[dema]

Happs let me know that there was an error in the sales printing and that the price is only good for 100ft, so the people you spoke with were obviously more aware of the problem than the person I spoke with.

Bummer...

[nickbuol]

I am just going to order the Parts Express stuff.  The people that have used it really like it, and there is little to no hope that I would be able to get a 7" by 10' piece from anyone here, and I am not paying $5 a foot for the stuff.  If I was covering a whole cabinet, maybe, but even then, the amount I would have needed is bordering on the cost of the laminate I bought.  I had the router and tools, so I went that path, and the results are amazing.

On my first cabinet I built in 1998, I didn't want to paint it, and had no clue about laminate (which ended up being a LOT easier than I thought) and most importantly didn't have the tools for much else, so I went out and bought some vinyl and some flooring adhesive and tried to apply it.  It looked OK for a while, but wasn't very durable, and the glue was uneven under the vinyl, plus it tore about 2 years later.  The stuff that Part Express and Happs sells is thicker, textured, more durable, and best of all, self-adhesive.  Much better than the stuff I used back in 1998, so I think that I will be fine with either of these products.

I did run across a photo of someone's CP where they took what looked like 2"x6" and 2"x4" boards, made the back out of the 2"x6", and the sides and front were actually just a few 2"x6" and 2"x 4" boards (angled for an even slope) that were about 3" long and put on end about 1/4" or so from the outside edge of the CP top and bottom, then they took a thin piece of plywood, cut appropriately to fit, and screwed it into the ends of the 2"x4" and 2"x6" pieces and it formed an arc or semi-circle for the front and sides.  They then applied laminate to that, but they said that they used very thin laminate to make sure that it would curve enough and not pull away from the plywood.  When they put it together, the top of the CP was off, and the bottom of the CP was cut and sanded to be flush with the now curved sides so that they could laminate over the whole sides and still be able to trim the excess.  It must have been a two person job to trim.  One to run the router and the other to hold/turn the CP part.

Sounds like a pain, although it did look nice and was a perfect match to the other laminate.

[Timoe]

I just got my roll of Parts Express Black Textured Vinyl for my control panel box.  It looks almost identical to the smooth black Wilsonart formica that I will be using to laminate my cabinet.


They say 'textured vinyl' but it is really pretty smooth.  The picture on their website must be heavily zoomed in.

[nickbuol]

I an using Formica brand black with the "sparkle" finish, which really just means that it is somewhat glossy and has a good texture to it which gives it the "sparkle" name, I guess.   It does not mean it has glitter or anything in it like my two daughters were hoping for (thank goodness too)...

I think that for around the CP, a little difference in texture might still be OK.