Painting over Laminate?

[JayTea]

I just picked up an old Missle Command cab at an auction (2 times converted into Tigerjaws and some other game).  The laminate is in pretty good condition (No major cracks / missing sections)  but it does have the typical wear near the bottom of the cab where the laminate has faded/scratched.

My question is this:  has anyone tried to fill cracks/indentations in laminate and paint over it (bondo and paint)?  

I know the most popular method is to strip the old laminate and replace, but I was curious if anyone has tried this method on a refurbish job.

Thanks!

JT

[_Iz-]

You can do it. Just scuff the laminate well first (remove all sheen). Beltsander is invaluable for this...

Might want to check how well the laminate is stuck, you don't want to go to all the work of patching and painting to have the laminate peel off later and take your nice finish with it.  

Laminate can be removed easier with heat. A dry iron works good. The heat helps release the contact cement.

[JayTea]

Finish with a black gloss, or gloss plus clearcoat?  Just looking for recommendations...

[Cue-Ball]

I would recommend peeling off the old laminate and recovering with a good quality counter-top laminate.  When i first got my cabinet i was considering keeping the old laminate and just painting the really bad parts, or completely repainting over the laminate.  I ended up peeling off the old laminate and recovering the outsides of the cabinet with black counter-top laminate from Home Depot.  And boy and i ever glad i did!  It looks SOOOOOO much better and more professional.  It was expensive (~$100 for parts and tools) but worth it.

[_Iz-]

Finish with a black gloss, or gloss plus clearcoat?  Just looking for recommendations...

If you're going to clear over the black then no need to use black gloss. Cheap flat black will suffice. The clear will add the gloss (or hide the gloss from gloss black depending on what sheen of clear you use)...

[JayTea]

I think I'm going to test a few areas to see if I like the outcome of bondo/orbital sand/painting...  I will update and share my results with everyone.  Thanks all!

[Warborg]

I would recommend peeling off the old laminate and recovering with a good quality counter-top laminate.  When i first got my cabinet i was considering keeping the old laminate and just painting the really bad parts, or completely repainting over the laminate.  I ended up peeling off the old laminate and recovering the outsides of the cabinet with black counter-top laminate from Home Depot.  And boy and i ever glad i did!  It looks SOOOOOO much better and more professional.  It was expensive (~$100 for parts and tools) but worth it.

That's fine and dandy for a cabinet that's in pieces or one that's basically just a box, but unfortunately depending on the cab applying laminate to all the exposed surfaces while assembles would be very difficult, such as the Dynamo Showcase I'm working on right now...