You should remove the old laminate first...otherwise, it won't be flush with the wood trim. Also the bond of the new laminate will only be as strong as the old laminate bond...
Shari
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Replaced the laminate on a 1973 and it peeled up without a problem.
I am thinking of doing an oak countertop for my Minuet though. Wood never goes out of style.
...I'd like to change the laminate for a new Formica product...
Installing new laminate over old works okay as long as there is a lot of surface area such as the top of the counter. The edge laminate is where you can have problems. Contact cement, when used between two non-porous surfaces such as old & new laminate, can allow the new laminate to creep, i.e. shift position ever so slightly over time.
Is there a particular problem with making all new countertops? The way I see it, if you were to laminate over the old stuff, the countertops would need to come out for the new laminate to be trimmed properly. Laminating over new plywood would skip a lot of potential problems.
I was thinking that removing the old countertop was the way to go, was concerned about how to do it. I'll try using a heatgun, contact cement can be pretty tenatious stuff.
I'll definetly post before and after photos. My trailer has a blue floral interior and will look NOTHING like it currently does when we finish.
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Steve Heywood
Ferndale, WA
2005 Ford F250 CC Powerstroke
1997 30' Excella (SOLD)
I think some posters migt have missed anxiety about trying to lift old laminate glued to plywood base with enormously tenacious contact cement (not called Weldwood for no reason..).
I haven't done it, but heat and prying and patience should help, and you may have some resurfacing work to do if blobs of wood come along... It's still worth the effort. Our interior was pinks and muaves and maroons and flowers and velvets, with pale pink curtains and salmon pink mini-blinds.. It's so much better now in dark browns, golds and mocha carpeting, with off whote curtains/blinds...
FWIW, Ron at Toscano has friend who does wide variety of upholstery, and did good job on our front knife couch... Couch removes and re-installs relatively painlessly (but not Totally...), and made a HUUUGE difference.. We then used leftover fabric to upholster folding chair seat and back to fit on other side of dining table, if needed...
John McG
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Condoluminum
In Theory, there's no difference between Theory and Practice, but in Practice, there is usually a difference...
I really don't think you can remove most counter tops if they were installed correctly. Maybe heat but you really need to get a solvent into the contact cement. Can be done but "Lots of Luck".
I built my own insted of trying to redo the old ones. It also allowed me to build a smaller table for ease of seating and standing back up from the table.
I would think long and hard before trying to save an old counter top. The time spent trying to remove the old glue, even if the old laminate came off cleanly, might be better spent making a whole new counter. In the past when I've messed up a project like this I've had a very difficult time removing all the old contact cement, and that's fresh.
Also chances are the new laminate won't match the rest of the fittngs in the coach. While your AS is newer the 2 vintage trailers I've owned, both had plywwod that delaminated with the plastic laminate.
My suggestion would be to buy enough new material to do counters and tables as previously mentioned and start fresh. That way sizes and edging are under you control.
Anyway that's the way I've done it in the past and haven't been dissapointed with the results.
Good Luck, Tom.
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I pulled the old laminate off of my countertop, repaired the few cracked and split areas towards the back, and put new laminate on it. The laminate came right off without a problem, and of course the countertop fit back in perfectly, as did the sink and stove. It is worth the try to see if it will come off before building a new one. JMO
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1972 27' Overlander 72 Overlander Jack Pad--- A notebook used by Jack Nicholson in the Shining to keep track of how much work he had done on his Airstream. "All work and no polishing makes Jack's Airstream a dull trailer"
I would think long and hard before trying to save an old counter top. The time spent trying to remove the old glue, even if the old laminate came off cleanly, might be better spent making a whole new counter. In the past when I've messed up a project like this I've had a very difficult time removing all the old contact cement, and that's fresh.
This comment helped me make up my mind. I pulled the countertop out of the AS and took it to a local Formica dealer. For $175 they built a new plywood base and put a beutiful top on it. They also finished it with a finshed strip of maple along the front which I will stain to match the Pergo floor that's going in next week.
Since I don't have a router and some of the other tools this was actually more economical since I put in the sweat of pulling out the top. Thanks again to everyone on this forum since you help us 'newbies' make up our mind.
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