Laminate or Paint?

[DannyH]

Hi,

I am picking up my emtpy cab on the weekend. At the moment it has a horrible cherry wood laminate on it and I want to strip this back and make it a little bit nicer and modern looking.

Wondering whether I should strip it back, sand it and paint if. Or whether it would be better to strip it back and put a laminate on it.

Also can anyone suggest a good place to go to buy laminate in Sydney Australia?

Cheers

[bob808]

I would definately strip off the lam amd paint it.  But make it look original.  you can order re-makes of arcade side art that are basically big decals that you just stick on your machine.

[DannyH]

I was rather stressed about locating laminate as well. My Dad is a painter and decorator. So I may nee to take a trip around there

[CJK]

I vote for paint also. The paint I used on my cab ended up looking MUCH better than laminate -- it's got a nice semi-gloss appearance with just a bit of texture. The trick is to prepare the surface really well (i.e., sand off all the old glue and get the surface flat), prime it with a VERY good primer (I used an alkyd one from Zinsser -- awesome), then apply your finish coats with a good brush (difficult to hide bristle marks) or a foam roller (gives a nearly smooth surface, which is what I was after). Sand lightly (I used 320 grit) in between coats.

-- Chris

[DannyH]

I will just leave it at  my parents place with a case of bear, hint at the colours i like and come back in a week or 2 By that stage my dad should have painted it. Thats the beauty of having a semi retired Painter/decorator as a dad

[Zeosstud]

I am a big fan of laminate, to me personally it just looks better.  I have however seen pictures of some of the paint jobs people have done and they are simply amazing.  So if you have any skillz then paint away, if not (like me) laminate is a very good option.  Being a spoiled American I can always go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a big sheet, usually 3-5 colors to pick from.  A warning, when they say that the laminate adhears immediately they are NOT joking.

Rodney

[quadmasta]

Paint the laminate unless it's falling off or broken.

[shmokes]

I vote for laminate.  It looks great, is easy to apply and is super durable.  Locating it isn't a problem.  You can get it from Home Depot.  They have a few basics in stock, like black and white, and pretty much everything else from Formica, WilsonArt and another that starts with a P, can be ordered from them and picked up in a few days.

Check out the Wilsonart website to get an idea of all the cool colors they have available.

[DannyH]

cheers guys. We dont have a home depot here in Australia but I think Bunnings Warehouse is about the same thing.

I will chat with my father at the rugby league this weekend, being a painter & decorator I am sure he will be able to tip me off

[shmokes]

Ah...didn't realize you were on the other side of the planet, but yeah....you'll have something.  If you don't have a big do-it-yourself warehouse that carries it, just call a local cabinet-maker and they'll be able to fix you up.  Either one will have little swatches of most of the colors they can order in for you.