Laminating a Countertop

Logan033 · 06-28-2011, 06:57 AM

I am thinking about refinishing my kitchen counter tops. The counters have a bullnose edge on them. How should I laminate the bullnose?

**oh'mike** · 06-28-2011, 07:03 AM

That bull nose edge is not a DIY project---that roll formed edge requires some fancy factory only machines.

Make new tops out of particle board with nice hardwood edges---that's the easiest for a first time project.

You can buy stock counter tops for less than the cost of the laminate ---check out the stock tops before proceeding.---Mike---

Ron6519 · 06-28-2011, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan033

I am thinking about refinishing my kitchen counter tops. The counters have a bullnose edge on them. How should I laminate the bullnose?

I don't think you will. Laminating a curve requires special equipment and experience. You would need to heat the laminate to get it to bend and the bend needs to be constant.
Do you have this skill set?

ProudlyBuilt · 06-28-2011, 11:49 AM

There's really no way to laminate that rounded edge. You do have a lot of good options though. You could:

Build a particle board top. Laminate it. Trim the perimeter with a nice wood.

Build a plywood deck. Apply 1/4" tile underlayment. Tile counter top area with ceramic, marble, or granite. Trim the final product with a nice wood

Buy new preformed countertops for a quick and easy solution.

ProudlyBuilt.com

sdsester · 06-28-2011, 12:41 PM

Assuming your top does not also have a factory cove bend for the transition from countertop to backsplash? And you have the clearance in front?

You can tape the existing laminate so it does not fracture and trim off the bullnose edge.

Apply the new laminate of your choosing. Use the correct contact cement and follow instructions for laminating over laminate.

Trim out the front edge that had the bullnose with a piece of hardwood, corian or whatever. Route whatever bull nose or other shape you want into it.

The more you sink into this the more rapidly you approach the cost of just having a new countertop, with just the laminate you want, made for you.

**BigJim** · 06-28-2011, 02:47 PM

You can make a tight bend with HPL but it is tricky and on a counter top I sure wouldn't want to go through the trouble and time it would take. (This would take a very experienced person to do) Even then there is a chance a bend that long might crack.

On a narrow piece of HPL you can sand the back of the HPL thin and heat, then tape in place until the glue sets but on a long bend like that it would be more than most folks would want to do. Not to mention if there wasn't a real good contact it would have a bubble and the thinner HPL would be easily busted. Just a note on heating HPL, it will bubble and be ruined easily so use caution especially if the HPL is very thin.

Most places that we made tight bends with HPL was for the edging or self edges with a tight radius.

Ron6519 · 06-29-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharperCleaning

One thing I did that is different from what you are doing is I used plywood with one 2" strip around all edges and at locations where the cabinet uprights would be. I could certainly have used particle board, but for some reason chose not to do that.

Particle board has no place in kitchen counter production.
It's a low end material that is moisture sensitive. Not what you want near water.
As a matter of opinion, I don't know why they even make this crap.

Logan033 · 06-30-2011, 04:30 AM

Thank you all for the information. I have decided to go the easy route and just buy some pre-made counter tops.

06-28-2011, 06:57 AM	#1
Logan033 Newbie Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 4	Laminating a Countertop I am thinking about refinishing my kitchen counter tops. The counters have a bullnose edge on them. How should I laminate the bullnose?

06-28-2011, 07:03 AM	#2
oh'mike Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kane county,Illinois Posts: 16,752	Laminating a Countertop That bull nose edge is not a DIY project---that roll formed edge requires some fancy factory only machines. Make new tops out of particle board with nice hardwood edges---that's the easiest for a first time project. You can buy stock counter tops for less than the cost of the laminate ---check out the stock tops before proceeding.---Mike--- __________________ New members: Adding your location to your profile helps in many ways.--M--

06-28-2011, 11:49 AM	#4
ProudlyBuilt Newbie Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 5	Laminating a Countertop There's really no way to laminate that rounded edge. You do have a lot of good options though. You could: Build a particle board top. Laminate it. Trim the perimeter with a nice wood. Build a plywood deck. Apply 1/4" tile underlayment. Tile counter top area with ceramic, marble, or granite. Trim the final product with a nice wood Buy new preformed countertops for a quick and easy solution. ProudlyBuilt.com

06-28-2011, 12:41 PM	#5
sdsester Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 8,919	Laminating a Countertop Assuming your top does not also have a factory cove bend for the transition from countertop to backsplash? And you have the clearance in front? You can tape the existing laminate so it does not fracture and trim off the bullnose edge. Apply the new laminate of your choosing. Use the correct contact cement and follow instructions for laminating over laminate. Trim out the front edge that had the bullnose with a piece of hardwood, corian or whatever. Route whatever bull nose or other shape you want into it. The more you sink into this the more rapidly you approach the cost of just having a new countertop, with just the laminate you want, made for you.

06-28-2011, 02:47 PM	#6
BigJim STAFF Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 4,818	Laminating a Countertop You can make a tight bend with HPL but it is tricky and on a counter top I sure wouldn't want to go through the trouble and time it would take. (This would take a very experienced person to do) Even then there is a chance a bend that long might crack. On a narrow piece of HPL you can sand the back of the HPL thin and heat, then tape in place until the glue sets but on a long bend like that it would be more than most folks would want to do. Not to mention if there wasn't a real good contact it would have a bubble and the thinner HPL would be easily busted. Just a note on heating HPL, it will bubble and be ruined easily so use caution especially if the HPL is very thin. Most places that we made tight bends with HPL was for the edging or self edges with a tight radius. __________________ New members: Please consider adding your location to your profile, it helps other members to give more accurate answers to your questions. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Jim

Laminating a Countertop