# What is plastic laminate?



## Zurt (Oct 27, 2010)

I went to Home Depot to buy plastic laminate. No one seemed to know what this is. Finally, someone walked me over to their plastics section. What they had there was acrylic sheets in various sizes. The 24"x48" sheet was over $20 and all the sheets were pretty funky - scratches and torn edges. 

Is this what I'm to put on top of MDF?

Thanks,
Burt


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi Burt:

Laminate is a layered structure of resin and paper, bonded under pressure. One trade name is Formica. It is not acrylic sheet.

In HD I usually see the aisle where they keep the 4x8' sheets of various products, such as 1/4" and 1/2" hardboard, plus counter-top material (laminate, that is).

In the Lowes I shop at, they keep the laminate in the section with pre-fab counter-tops.

Cassandra


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Burt,

Think Formica (one brand).. kitchen countertop laminate for custom-shaped countertops. It lets the wood slide smoothly over the table without catching. In the big box store here its against the back wall of the store behind the kitchen area. Here its sold in 48"x96" sheets for about ?$50? per sheet. Shipping to Alaska is high so hopefully the price I"ve given is high for your area.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Burt,

In Australia, two brand names are Formica and Laminex.

You might try those as a starter.

Actually, Formica is owned by the Laminex Group...


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Burt, another great name in the laminates department would be Wilsonart, of course there are also Nevanar and Pionite.


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## Zurt (Oct 27, 2010)

Are the sheets only available in 4'x8'? I have enough problems cutting mdf and ply sheets tho I usually get HD to cut them for me. Think they would cut the formica?

Thanks for the replies,
Burt


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

They sure should, Burt.. I cut mine on my table saw...


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Zurt said:


> Are the sheets only available in 4'x8'? I have enough problems cutting mdf and ply sheets tho I usually get HD to cut them for me. Think they would cut the formica?
> 
> Thanks for the replies,
> Burt


Burt:

HD has a cutting department in each store (at least in Canada.) They should have no problem making cuts for you.

Cassandra


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

The HD and Lowes stores here in NM also will cut sheets for you. They might also have offcuts from other customers, so ask if they do and have a piece slightly larger than what you need. 

I'm surprised that the HD clerk wouldn't know that "laminate" is the generic name for products like Formica. That sort of thing is why I prefer shopping at Lowes.


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

You could also use melanine from Home Depot.

Search Results for melamine


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## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

Call around to some of the custom countertop business places in your area and tell them what sizes you are looking for. They'll have a ton of scrap pieces. Might save you some money and give you different options for what your top will look like.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

boogalee said:


> You could also use melanine from Home Depot.
> 
> Search Results for melamine


Melamine is a thin plastic, typically, as found at home-improvement stores, glued to the surface of coarse-grained partical-board. It's generally not well-suited to applications that require good structural strength and heavy wear surfaces. The Melamine used by some of the RT makers is a better grade, applied to MDF. But, Formica has better wear characteristics, and can be applied to far better substrata material.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Zurt said:


> I went to Home Depot to buy plastic laminate. No one seemed to know what this is. Finally, someone walked me over to their plastics section. What they had there was acrylic sheets in various sizes. The 24"x48" sheet was over $20 and all the sheets were pretty funky - scratches and torn edges.
> 
> Is this what I'm to put on top of MDF?
> 
> ...



PS Burt, the plastic acrylic is also know as "perspex".


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## Zurt (Oct 27, 2010)

Went back to the same store. This time I asked, "Where's the formica?" They pointed me down a different aisle and I found Wilsonart. They only had 5 colors so I picked white. Couldn't get anyone to cut it so I figured I'd get into my Jeep one way or the other.

At checkout, the cashier asked if I wanted it rolled. She got 2 others to help. They rolled it into a small package and it was easy to get it home.

So, now I have to trim up my dual layered mdf and put the laminate on top. I was going to build a temporary stand but now I've decided to go full bore and build a "Norm" type table using the plans from Crestwood.

Burt


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

"I've decided to go full bore and build a "Norm" type table"

Good for you, Burt.


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## davcefai (Aug 3, 2009)

Zurt, the time-honoured way to cut Formica is to score the plastic layer with a special tool and then snap it, using a batten laid alongside the score line.

However, if you get it it wrong you'll break along a direction you don't want to..

My favourite way is to lay the laminate on the floor with some sort of backing board for safety. Then set a circular saw to a very shallow cut so that it goes through the coloured layer and just scores the backing. 

It will then snap easily.

Glue it with contact adhesive. If you can get "Dunlop Thixofix" do so. You can slide the sheet around. The glue only "takes" when you press down.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Burt,

Glad the forum was able to help you solve your problem.


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

jw2170 said:


> PS Burt, the plastic acrylic is also know as "perspex".


I thought "Perspex" was plexiglass, the brittle stuff that pre-dated today's stronger acrylic.


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

downhill said:


> Call around to some of the custom countertop business places in your area and tell them what sizes you are looking for. They'll have a ton of scrap pieces. Might save you some money and give you different options for what your top will look like.


This approach is how I always shop for part-sheet laminate. To date, I've never paid a penny and the cabinet shop guys are happy to see it go.

It helps, if you let them pick the pieces they want to be rid of.


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I have always used Dunlop Thixofix in the past to glue Formica to the substrate. Put a couple of battons or sheets of paper as a sandwich. Glue together at one edge and pull out the paper or battons as you contact the 2 surfaces together. Once it sticks, it is not going to move (much). I used Thixofix for veneering all my speaker cabinets.


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## Titus A Duxass (Jan 6, 2010)

After much searching I found a supplier of melamine sheet (0,8mm) perfect for RT tops.
15 euro/m2 not too bad price wise, then I saw the minimum order value of 5,33m2 (85 euro) - cancel that idea.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Ralph Barker said:


> I'm surprised that the HD clerk wouldn't know that "laminate" is the generic name for products like Formica. That sort of thing is why I prefer shopping at Lowes.


That's because the employee was in the paint department last week.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

AxlMyk said:


> That's because the employee was in the paint department last week.


LOL. That's probably the answer, Mike. Good thing HD doesn't sell lingerie, eh?


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

AxlMyk said:


> That's because the employee was in the paint department last week.


More likely on Xmas break from his political science or psych 101 classes:wacko:


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

davcefai said:


> Zurt, the time-honoured way to cut Formica is to score the plastic layer with a special tool and then snap it, using a batten laid alongside the score line.


Stanley actually make a laminate blade for their trim knives as well, so it doesn't even need a special tool



Thrifty Tool Guy said:


> I thought "Perspex" was plexiglass, the brittle stuff that pre-dated today's stronger acrylic.


"Perspex" was ICI's trade name for its' acrylic product. The business is now owned by Lucite, but it's exactly the same stuff. I can't remember Perspex being particularly brittle, although like all acrylics it does become more brittle with age and exposure to UV light and certain atmospheric polutants.

For the benefit of European members in the EU there are a number of manufacturers apart from Formica. We see Wilsonart here, too, but there are manufacturers such as Polyrey (French), Egger (German), Abet Lamanati (Italian), Resopal (German) and Renolit (UK) to name just a few. In the UK we generally refer to this type of phenolic resin-impregnated material as "decorative laminate".


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Zurt said:


> Are the sheets only available in 4'x8'? I have enough problems cutting mdf and ply sheets tho I usually get HD to cut them for me. Think they would cut the formica?
> 
> Thanks for the replies,
> Burt


 If you ask they can get it in 5'x10' and either 5' or 6' x 12'. Depending on your needs, that can make a huge difference in waste. I have cut a little with a saw but usually you shatter bits off. The best policy is to use a scoring knife and once you have enough of a groove cut you can snap the piece off, or you can keep scoring until you slice it off. Use a straight edge and be very carefull starting the first cut. The knife has a tendency to skate across the laminate.
Most people use dowels to align the laminate to the substrate when ready to glue it down. Support the entire laminate on the dowels and start removing them one at a time. I personally prefer waxed paper. Contact cement will not stick to it after it "flashes off". I cover the whole suface and start removing sheets as I stick the laminate down. Either way, two people works best. If you go the wax paper route, don't stick the laminate down tight too close to the waxed paper. It gets hard to get the next sheet out.
I try not to leave too much overhang. The overhang should be no more than 1/2 the diameter of your trim bit. Anymore than that and the trim bit can also shatter the laminate. 1/4" is about right.


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