Reply to: Painting over Formica

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Have tried it on my kitchen and bathroom cabinets and my bathroom countertop, at first I was sort of nervous after I thought it over I just went on to the subject. It worked very well no chipping or cracking. I then used the paper towel technique on my bathroom countertops and they look just great. What ever it is you want to do, do it but do it well, never the less first try it over a one square meter piece of Formica that you can buy at ACE, on it to try your project alternatives. Divide the Formica you just bought into three equal parts and mark them with tape. The first one is for the 15 steps below. The second is for the use of ESP and the third for the paper towel technique. Let them dry and check them out when done, then take your decision as to which one is more suitable.

Preparation:
Be sure to use strong gloves and cover your eyes with the usual working glasses.
Remove the doors, drawers, handles and the hinges. If they are rusty or nasty looking you can fix them but not worth the time and money, just get new ones.
Have all the necessary tools and materials in your home.
Cover the countertops and floor under the cabinets with newspaper.

Cleaning, sanding and Priming the Formica surface:

1.Clean using a strong solution of TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate) and rinse well if still greasy repeat.
2.Allow to dry thoroughly.
3.Carefully and evenly sand the surface using 120 - 150 grit sandpaper and remove sanding dust by wiping with a slight damp tack rag and rag dry.
4.Apply a first coat of a good quality oil based primer in a thin coat, let dry thoroughly.
5.Sand carefully and evenly then clean as before.
6.Apply a second coat of the primer same as before, let dry thoroughly. If you can or not see the original colour you need not worry, you are doing just fine.
7.Sand carefully and evenly till it becomes a rough to the touch.
8.Clean the surface to remove all possible dust and hope you are wearing gloves as our hands have natural grease on them.

If after 24 hours of drying the primer does not crack or wrinkle specially at the edges then you did it right.

Painting and finishing coats:
9.Clean again with a slightly damp cloth and softly cloth dry.
10.Apply a first coat of a good quality oil paint or enamel in the colour of your choice, let dry until you slightly touch any border and it does not stick to your finger. Let dry thoroughly.
11.Clean surface with a slightly wet cloth and cloth dry softly.
12.Apply a second coat of the same paint or enamel, let dry thoroughly.
(until you slightly touch and press any border and it does not stick at all to your finger or leave finger marks)
If you wish a faux finish go ahead and do it now, but let dry well before continuing.
13.When you have finished stencilling, faux finishing or whatever you want to do with it go on and finish the painting job.
14.Apply lacquer or polyurethane in EVEN THIN coats and allow to dry well, sand slightly between coats.
15.When finished, let dry well.

Tips for Formica kitchen or bathroom cabinets:
Drying time depends of the weather in your area. I live in a very damp area, so I took the precaution to let the primer, oil based satin enamel and lacquer dry for 24 hours between coats.

If you see that the primer does stick well to the Formica, you can always try the following.
After step 3 above there are two choices:
a) Apply ESP over the Formica so the primer will stick to it.Then continue with step 4 above.
or
b) Tear the necessary amount of paper towel parts from the roll, winkle them up and make paper balls with the towels. Apply a good quality, strong and non fast drying bonding for shiny surfaces between the Formica and the wrinkled white kitchen paper towels. Make sure they stay winkled if so great, if not wrinkle them with the back of your finger tips as when grabbing a piece of paper from a flat surface with your finger tips. Then get all the air bags out by slightly pressing with a hand full of dry cloth like when sponging, but do not try to get the wrinkles to disappear.Then continue with step 4 above.

If you are interested in this paper towel technique you can do it after step 3 or 9 above. If you do it after step 3 the texture will be very light. If you apply the paper towels after step 9 the texture will be clearly seen.
When you apply the paper towels you will not be able to apply any other faux finishing because it will be too much. The paper towels also give the Formica enough "bite" or "grit" so the subsequent materials will stick on well because the paper towels are rough to the touch.

Tips for Formica bathroom or kitchen countertops:
On bathroom countertops you can apply the same technique as for the cabinets, but you need to apply at least four coats of lacquer or polyurethane to finish up.

On kitchen countertops things are different. Are you sure you will not hand cut or grind food? Are you sure you will not use hot things or place hot pans over the countertop?Are you sure the counter top is far away enough from the stoves? Are you sure that boiling water will not drop on the countertop? If all your answers are YES, then go ahead and do it. If by any chance one of the answers is NO, then think it over. You can always safely use another material on top of the Formica and do it yourself. Or you can take off the Formica and use another material instead, this is best if done by a professional as the products to use are abrasive and dangerous for non experts.

Safety First!!
Always remember to provide plenty of ventilation,avoid open flames such as pilot lights, no smoking, and protect your skin and eyes from spills and splatters. A light application of hand cream to your exposed skin areas makes for easy cleanup and good protection.
Good luck!!