Painting Formica

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lsheaf
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Painting Formica

Post by lsheaf »

I may have posted this question already but I seem to have horrible luck painting Formica. It doesn’t seem to stick very well and tends to chip easily. Maybe a different type of primer or paint would work better? I have used interlux brightside one part primer and paint.

Does anyone have any recommendations?
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atomvoyager
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Re: Painting Formica

Post by atomvoyager »

Single part paint or primer doesn't stick well to formica because it's scratch resistant and has a non-porous plastic resin surface. It helps to send it well with 80 or 120 grit instead of something smoother. After cleaning with alcohol I use a two-part primer like Epoxy Primecoat, sand it and then do a single part paint. Maybe there's a single part primer out there that works but I haven't tried them all. Supposedly Home Depot sells a Kilz brand that is supposed to work on formica but I doubt it works as well as a two part epoxy.
lsheaf
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Re: Painting Formica

Post by lsheaf »

Interesting,
For some reason I was under the impression that an epoxy based primer wouldn’t stick as well. I will see what two part primer are available locally and give it a try.
I did look at the Kilz primer offered by Home Depot but as I read further into it they don’t recommend using it on surfaces that get wet frequently. Probably won’t last long on a boat.

Thanks for the response
CapnK
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Re: Painting Formica

Post by CapnK »

Many years ago on a whim one day I painted some semi-gloss latex acrylic onto a bit of old formica, and it turned out to be very durable, much moreso than I'd expected. You had to work at it to scratch it off, and it didn't sheet like I figured it would. I was not expecting that, and so now don't know what brand or specific paint it was. I suspect it was something from Sherwin Williams, as my brother is a painting contractor and it was likely some leftovers from a job he'd done. Probably an exterior paint. FWIW, I've a test patch of acrylic porch and floor paint on some fiberglass (coaming) that has held up as well or even better than the one-part polyurethane next to it.
Krylon and others make paint for plastics, that might be worth a try as well.
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lsheaf
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Posts: 112
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:41 pm
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Re: Painting Formica

Post by lsheaf »

I think I read in “this old boat - Don Casey that he uses acrylic latex for interior work but can’t exactly remember. So far I’m really happy with the results I got from the Interprotect 2000e, but I still hate Formica!
I will most definitely paint the rest of my interior with interprotect. It’s also holding up very well on my new cabin sole.
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