Corian tops and insert

[Penmaenmawr]

Doing a little refurbishing on the small table between the armchairs on my 345..... well, rebuilding it totally in fact, as it is far too chunky to be functional, so the plan is to make it slimmer to get less in the way of the armchairs. PO had made a nasty mess of it adding a tabletop (pine with 1/2" lacquer, doesn't quite go with the oak ), securing it with a piano hinge, so dozens of holes in the oak front , and drilling holes in the Corian for his 88" or thereabouts TV , now in the dumpster, so it's not like I am ruining an original fitting.

Questions:

Firstly, patching screw holes in the off-white Corian? I was thinking of using either Bondo and paint or a white masonry filler and paint (yes, I know a professional Corianologist should do the job, but ain't gonna happen). Advice appreciated.

Secondly, since I have sanded and polished the deep scratches in the Corian, anyone found a good sealing coating for the surface? I experimented with wax, and that doesn't seem satisfactory.

Thirdly, the paper-tape oak insert in the edges of all my Corian tops looks bad..... is there a better way to do it? I was thinking maybe just pearl paint to match the upholstery, but better ideas would be greatfully accepted.

[Thalweg]

You should be able to get an epoxy seam sealer at a home center that will fill the damaged spots. You should be able to get a color that is pretty close to your counter tops. Apply it, let it cure, then sand it down to at least 320-400 grit sandpaper. Sanding will fix the small scratches.

Forgive me for asking this, but I'm confused on one point. You spoke of a paper tape insert on the edges. I've never heard of such a thing on a solid surface counter top like Corian. Are you sure it's Corian and not a laminent like Formica? If so, that's a completely different issue. Don't sand a laminent. You won't like the results.

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Thalweg

You should be able to get an epoxy seam sealer at a home center that will fill the damaged spots. You should be able to get a color that is pretty close to your counter tops. Apply it, let it cure, then sand it down to at least 320-400 grit sandpaper. Sanding will fix the small scratches.

Forgive me for asking this, but I'm confused on one point. You spoke of a paper tape insert on the edges. I've never heard of such a thing on a solid surface counter top like Corian. Are you sure it's Corian and not a laminent like Formica? If so, that's a completely different issue. Don't sand a laminent. You won't like the results.

Thanks for the epoxy info, I'll do that.

I say a paper insert, but maybe it is a thin strip of veneer? If so mine has all got veneerial disease...... Here's a picture of what I mean, the arrow points to the insert.

[Thalweg]

Is that maybe just a vinyl sticker type of material? If so, could you just cut a strip of contact paper to replace it with? If it has some thickness to it, maybe you could get some of that fake wood moulding (pvc) at Home Depot and glue it on with contact cement. That stuff would probably bend around the corner if you heated it with a heat gun. Sorry I can't be any real help with that. I've never had anything like that on any of my projects.

[vswingfield]

Can't really tell how wide that strip is in the photo.

Search for edge banding.

Here's a couple of places to get you started:

• Home Depot
• Veneer Supplies

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Can't really tell how wide that strip is in the photo.

Search for edge banding.

Here's a couple of places to get you started:

• Home Depot
• Veneer Supplies

That's probably what the original is, but has now lost quite a bit of its adhesion. Thanks for those links, I'll have a look at the red oak banding.

I am going to be cutting the table down so that it is a little bigger than the one in this picture of a 1982 280. I'll still have Corian as a top, and shall make a small oak flip-up table for the front of it I think, since I have some oak left over from a previous project. It should make it feel a lot roomier. At present the armchairs might just as well not rotate they are so restricted by the table unit.

[Gregsch]

I used to work in a cabinet shop. I have fabricated several Corian counter tops. The way we built the detail with the oak was to take a piece of oak 1/2" x 2" and glue it with construction adhesive to the perimeter of the counter, then glue a piece of Corian 1/2" x 2" to that. See if you can look at the underside of the counter to see if the oak extends all the way through. If so it is easy to fix.
When you work on larger counters it is common to bond two pieces together to make a bigger piece. A common example is a L shaped counter. You bond the two pieces together with a epoxy that is an exact color match to the stock you are using then you machine the epoxy down to flush with the surface and sand it to blend it in. If you can get a tube of this epoxy you can us it to fill in the screw holes you described and sand it down to blend it in. The beauty of Corian is that you can always repair it to make it look like new. If you have objectionable scratches on the surface , simply sand them out with a random orbit sander or a vibrating pad sander. I would probably start with 120 grit, then go to 220 grit, then 320 grit, then 400.

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Gregsch

I used to work in a cabinet shop. I have fabricated several Corian counter tops. The way we built the detail with the oak was to take a piece of oak 1/2" x 2" and glue it with construction adhesive to the perimeter of the counter, then glue a piece of Corian 1/2" x 2" to that. See if you can look at the underside of the counter to see if the oak extends all the way through. If so it is easy to fix.

That's interesting.... obviously Airstream did it on the cheap using oak edge banding stuck to a shallow recess in the top. But that is very useful information, as I was wondering how to repair a section that the PO has just hacked out at the front to allow his table top to rise higher.

..........You bond the two pieces together with a epoxy that is an exact color match to the stock you are using

Presumably the epoxy would have to come from Corian? I don't suppose you can get color-matched epoxy made up?

Thanks for all the info. Do you by any chance remember if a final sealant was used?

[Gregsch]

You should be able to get the epoxy from any Corian authorized fabricator. They should be able to match your color to color samples they have, to identify the color. In the old days anyone could walk into the supply house and buy the material. Now you must be certified. There is no sealer involved just sand it with finer and finer sandpaper until you are satisfied with the sheen.

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Gregsch

You should be able to get the epoxy from any Corian authorized fabricator. They should be able to match your color to color samples they have, to identify the color. In the old days anyone could walk into the supply house and buy the material. Now you must be certified. There is no sealer involved just sand it with finer and finer sandpaper until you are satisfied with the sheen.

Thanks.... I'll have a go.

[Gregsch]

Look what I found laying around in the shop! This is a Corian joint adhesive kit ( I didn't think calling it epoxy was quite right but I could not recall what they called it). This is probably left over from a fabrication I did 5-10 years ago. It is clearly marked Cameo White. If that happens to be the color you need you should be able to make repairs that are completely invisible. It is a two part system, you mix it and it will set up in a few minutes. It gets warm and sets up similar to Bondo. It is the consistency of maple syrup when mixed so you have to consider that gravity is not your friend when you work with this stuff. If you are trying to fill screw holes they will have to be vertical so the material doesn't run out before it gets hard. Can you remove the counter and stand it on edge to make the repair?

[Penmaenmawr]

Originally Posted by Gregsch

Look what I found laying around in the shop! This is a Corian joint adhesive kit ( I didn't think calling it epoxy was quite right but I could not recall what they called it). This is probably left over from a fabrication I did 5-10 years ago. It is clearly marked Cameo White. If that happens to be the color you need you should be able to make repairs that are completely invisible. It is a two part system, you mix it and it will set up in a few minutes. It gets warm and sets up similar to Bondo. It is the consistency of maple syrup when mixed so you have to consider that gravity is not your friend when you work with this stuff. If you are trying to fill screw holes they will have to be vertical so the material doesn't run out before it gets hard. Can you remove the counter and stand it on edge to make the repair?

That's neat! I could certainly stand it up any way, since the whole unit is out of the MH, but Google images I found of Cameo White show it as pretty white, whereas the color in the Classics seems to be a kind of marble-like off-white, with a hint of yellow in it, don't know the color name. Thanks for the offer though, greatly appreciated.

I found some listings for epoxy filler kits with tints that could be mixed to make up just about any color. Amazon lists several. But it may be unnecessary in any case, since I am reducing the size of the cabinet. I think I'll just have one hole, and it may be close enough to the edge to cover with a piece of oak, or maybe a piece of the Corian I'm cutting off.

[3 Dog Nite]

I also have that same countertop in my MH. I looked in the owners manual. It confirms that it is Corian, but does not tell what color. It also says " The color is consistent throughout the material, so it is possible to sand out surface damage. Once sanded out, a Scotch Brite pad will bring the surface back to it's original luster." Hope this helps you in the finishing part of your project.