Finding Discontinued Formica or Plastic Laminate

It is often frustrating finding out that your Formica color has been discontinued. Plastic laminate (or, “mica”) colors and patterns change as new fads replace old outdated styles. If your cabinetmaker is having difficulty finding your color don’t get discouraged too quickly. It’s been my experience that there are at least four major laminate suppliers that should be checked with before discounting the possibility of finding an unavailable Formica color.

Plastic laminate suppliers to check when looking for an outdated Formica color

Here is a quick list of plastic laminate suppliers that we use regularly in the Florida area. Check out all of these companies when looking for an outdated Formica color. These businesses set the industry standards and are the largest Formic supply companies for distribution in the United States.

Forimca Corporation
Wilsonart International
Nevamar Decorative Surfaces
Pionite

• Tip: All of the above laminate suppliers have colors displayed on their websites. You can also order sample chains by contacting them by phone.

How to find discontinued mica

Don’t give up hope until you have actually contacted the company that you suspect may have discontinued the color. Here’s a tip explaining how to find discontinued laminate. Formica companies generally have many sheets still in stock even though the color has been discontinued. If you can meet with a very knowledgeable cabinet maker in your area that has been in the industry for a long time, who is familiar with plastic laminate, they may remember what the color name is and the mica suppliers name. In many instances, throughout my thirty years of being in the cabinetry industry, I have found sheets of discontinued mica this way.

What if I cannot find my mica color

If you are having trouble finding your mica color and you have a small area to recover on your Formica cabinets, it is possible to remove an existing piece of laminate from, the side of the base cabinet, next to the refrigerator. I have even peeled pieces from underneath the upper cabinets to get a piece of laminate that will work to make the repair with. Check out this article about “How to remove Formica from cabinets.” This is not something that should be tried unless you are very skilled at doing handyman projects. If you decide to hire someone to do the work save yourself a lot of headaches and pay a little extra to hire a cabinetry professional to do the laminate exchange. I say exchange because obviously you will have to replace the piece that you peel off with a new mica color.

In your search for finding mica that has been discontinued, it’s possible that a cabinet company who has been around for many years, in your area, may have a piece in stock. Most large manufactures have racks filled with Formica. Suppliers of plastic laminate, or cabinet manufacturing companies, are very helpful when you are searching for the color or pattern you need that seems to be outdated. Don’t give up until you’ve exhausted all of your options. Remodeling a kitchen or doing cabinet refacing is an expensive choice to make. It would be disappointing to discover that you could have found a piece if you had just taken the time to look for a replacement piece of discontinued laminate.

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