There are many ways to clean kitchen or bathroom cabinet and countertop surfaces. Cleaning plastic laminate with household cleaners is an option as seen in this video using a sponge or Scotch Brite pad and a spray on cleanser.
But for tougher stains such as permanent marker or grease build-up you may want to consider using lacquer thinner. This chemical won’t hurt the cabinets or countertop surface and works excellent on many stains that are found on Formica, Wilsonart, Nevarmar, and Pionite brand laminates.
When using lacquer thinner we have found that the flammable type works best. Don’t worry, this material will not harm your manufactured plastic kitchen or bathroom components. Cabinet manufactures have used it for many years for cleaning contact cement off of Formica
How to Clean Plastic Laminate
Use a terry cloth rag moderately soaked with the lacquer thinner. Whip the area that is dirty with grease build-up, permanent marker ink, pencil marks or other mars by applying significant pressure.
It is important that you do not over saturate areas where there are seams in the plastic laminate because this can cause the contact cement to loosen if the liquid seeps under the mica and cause the contact glue to loosen. If this does happen, wait several minutes, like 15 to twenty and then tap the seam area with a hammer.
Cleaning Hair Color off Plastic Laminate
Commit works great for removing hair color stains from plastic laminate or Formica. You must not use the cleanser on gloss laminate though. Only apply commit on matte finish cabinet or countertop surfaces.
A Scotch Brite pad will help remove stubborn marks when cleaning the plastic laminate. A little Commit, lacquer thinner or spray household cleanser such as Windex or 409 will work great in combination with the coarse scrubber pads. It especially helps when there is hair color stains on counters. Those are most of the how to ways of getting plastic laminate surfaces clean.
Recently I had a Kitchen project that called for the use of Formica 949 SP finish plastic laminate to be used on the counter tops. There are pros and cons that I feel should be explained to top manufactures. This review of the mica was born out of hands on experience of building custom made tops using the material. read Formica Brand 949 SP Review
Here are a few design tips that will help you narrow down the estimating costs associated with bathroom or vanity cabinets. What should you purchase in order to get the most for your money? What affects the price of cupboards when designing a new set or remodeling existing cabinetry? read Estimating Bathroom Cabinetry
What colors should never be used on Plastic laminate countertops? Is it OK to use gloss Formica on tops? These may seem like strange questions but you’d be surprised at how many people do not realize what difficulties accompany dark colors and high gloss finishes on mica surfaces. Read more…
Depending upon the height of the ceiling in your kitchen you may need to make a few adjustments to make short upper cabinets work. The distance between the countertop and the bottom of the wall cabinetry is generally around eighteen inches. So what should you do when there is more room here than there should be? read HOw to Make Short Uppers Work in Kitchens
There are a few things that will be needed if you’re planning on installing your own kitchen or vanity cabinets. It’s possible to do a large amount of the work yourself, but if don’t have some general carpentry skills like working with a saber, jig, table or skill saw, you may want to consider hiring someone to do the cabinetry installation for you. read Things Needed For Installing Kitchen or Vanity Cabinets
What’s it like the have the mind of a cabinet mill man? There are several things that professional cabinetry parts cutters do differently than your average Joe who is running a table saw and building kitchens in a two car garage cabinet shop.
The main man responsible for making everything go smoothly for everyone else in the production facility is the guy cutting all of the cabinet parts. Here are a few things that they do differently than the armatures. read The Mind of a Mill Man
Is your countertop in good shape but your Formica backsplash is deteriorating? The reason it’s swollen is because the board was made from pressed wood/particleboard. If your mica is a current color and not considered discontinued plastic laminate, then it’s possible to switch out the splash without removing the kitchen, bathroom vanity or laundry room counter. read Replacing a Plastic Laminate Backsplash
Once in twenty seven years I wrestled with a wall mounted microwave from Sears that would not come loose from the cabinet. Frustrated, I wondered where are the screws? What is holding this thing on? There was no evidence of any fasteners anywhere on this over the Kenmore range unit. We looked all inside the cabinet and below the appliance. We even checked out the cabinets on either side and there was nothing to remove. read Wall Microwave Won’t Come Loose
Learning how to avoid having an eye injury comes through training on ways of protecting your vision. Unfortunately, many people must learn the hard way by loosing their eyesight due to a shop related accident. There are many ways that cabinet employees or craftsmen can injure themselves while working with machinery, wood, plastics, metals, glues and chemicals. Injuries can be avoided if people will only take time to protect themselves from having an accident. read Eye Injuries Cabinet Shops
