Thread: replacing laminate

Originally Posted by tweaker

I have an "old 1979" jayco caravan with really nice lime green laminate bench tops, is it possible to place newer laminate over the old stuff or would it be better to make new bench tops with new laminate?

What's wrong with green? I knda like that 1970's laminate, better than the 80's stuff that had brown colours and fabric grain

I am pretty sure the answer to your question is yes but I am even more sure there will be some definative answers forth comming.

Yes you can, just rough up the old surface using course sandpaper. But if the base board is chipboard then it maybe a wasted effort as the chipboard is probably swollen on the edges. It maybe better/cheaper in the long run to replace it holusbolus.

I second Rod's opinion above. I just want to add that you can now buy the grooviest lime green laminate I've ever seen.

Doog

the green probably is fine, but with the orangey curtains and lino, well you can get the picture.
the old girl just needs a little bit of a modernization

Replacing the laminate is a fairly simple process, as said previously you can put new laminate over the old. Or you can romove to old laminate and place on the new stuff.

To remove the old laminate, heat it with a heat gun and using a scrapper peel off the old laminate. When the old laminate is removed, you can check the condition of the top base material (most probably ply) and decide if it needs replacing.

If you need to replace the base material, laminate it before fitting.