Freshening-Up Faux Laminate

[BubbleHeadMd]

I've learned about teak refinishing, not too daunting. I've learned that my cabinetry is marine mahogany, also not too scary.

The V-berth partition however appears to be ordinary wood covered with that '70's faux wood-grain laminate. It's worn and faded and along with the tired wood gives the boat what I've dubbed the "Orca" feel. Below is a photo of what I have to work with.

What do you all recommend I do with the laminate? Can I peel it off? Replace the whole partition? Paint over it? Re-laminate with something newer/nicer? Thanks in advance!

"Fairwell and adieu to ye fair Spainish ladies...."

[First Mate]

that fake laminate just always has a bad case of the uglies.

you could just paint it - that's easy, fast and cheap - right? probably not easy to make it look perfect.

If you have time, money and patience (trifecta of doom for me - aint got those), you can get real wood in sheets that are about 1/32" thick and glue it on. find a specialty wood retailer.

The sheets can be cut with a mat knife. We did this on the ugllllly fake wood laminate wall in our kitchen in Fairfax, VA. Used real cherry wood - glued it on there and stained it. I would use the the glue that you put on the existing and new surface - the wood sheet could be pulled off for a while if you don't get it one right. had to peel it off more than once.

but it aint cheap, requires some skill to install. Looked absolutely great in the kitchen.

[Hud3]

If you're not up to replacing or covering it, try wiping it down with Penetrol. The Penetrol will spruce it up kind of like teak oil does to real teak. Just don't get the Penetrol on anything else 'cause it has a light brown color when it dries.

[BubbleHeadMd]

I think you both have great ideas. This is an old boat, my first and I should be careful about where into the boat I put my money. I'll try the Penetrol and if it doesn't work or doesn't last more than a few days at a time, I'll try the thin sheet wood.

It actually doesn't sound that hard, and I can work right down at the boat slip with my powertools and such. I'm lucky in that regard.

[First Mate]

Someone once told me that Penetrol mixed into paint keeps the paint from having the brush stroked appearance when dried. I have no idea if this is true, but, heck, if the Penetrol doesn't stain the fake wood to your satisfaction and you have Pentrol left over, maybe put it in a can of paint and apply it.

Then! if you are still unhappy, spend the bucks and remaining sweat labor and apply a hyper-thin sheet of wood. ha ha.

any lovin you give your boat will be immediately apparent, fear not. actually, your boat looks pretty good to me right now the way it is.

cheers

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by First Mate

Someone once told me that Penetrol mixed into paint keeps the paint from having the brush stroked appearance when dried. I have no idea if this is true, but, heck, if the Penetrol doesn't stain the fake wood to your satisfaction and you have Pentrol left over, maybe put it in a can of paint and apply it.

Then! if you are still unhappy, spend the bucks and remaining sweat labor and apply a hyper-thin sheet of wood. ha ha.

any lovin you give your boat will be immediately apparent, fear not. actually, your boat looks pretty good to me right now the way it is.

cheers...

Yes, that's right. My wife painted a small refrigerator that we kept on our screened porch. She used a small-nap roller. With a little Penetrol in the enamel paint, she just rolled it on and the paint "relaxed" to a smooth coating. No tipping required.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by First Mate

Someone once told me that Penetrol mixed into paint keeps the paint from having the brush stroked appearance when dried ...

Penetrol® Oil-Based Paint Additive (for exterior use only)
* Eliminates brush and roller marks
* Makes painting easier with professional results

Floetrol® Latex Paint Additive
* Eliminates brush and roller marks
* Makes painting easier with professional results

E-B Emulsa Bond® Exterior Latex Paint Additive
* Improves exterior latex paint adhesion
* Makes paint stick to hard-to-coat surfaces

➥ Oil Paint Additive | Paint Without Brush Marks | Flood

[Wotname]

My experience with Penetrol is that it works much better with some brands of paint than others. As a rough guide, it made more difference with budget paints.

[BubbleHeadMd]

Wow Gord, thanks.

[Solitude]

I am against painting over wood in a boat but I would not hesitate if it was “plastic wood”. You said this was your first boat. If its new to you the (ugliness) of the fake wood may not bother you with time…..

Are those yellow vinyl cushions in your pic?

[BubbleHeadMd]

Yes, the cushions are kind of a 70's yellow/champange gold. Very dated. I'd like to get them re-covered in dark green. I'm missing cushions for all of the other berths and the dinette.

I don't plan on painting over any real wood. I'm going to clean and oil the teak, and lightly sand and varnish the mahogany cabinets and drawers.

The faux laminate I'm either going to paint or nail up real wood veneer.

[Rene]

In my book the only real choise is real veneer. This is never nailed on and the only adhesive is contact cement. Any water base glue will ripple the veneer and its shot. You only get one shot when using contact cement so follow manufactures recommendations or better still get a book on the subject.

[stevensc]

Try rubbing some Liquid Gold furniture polish on it, it will still be Faux wood but will brighten up for a while, This stuff works well on real wood also.
Steve

[b-rad]

I just went through the same thing, budget boat needed a budget make over. I would try penetrol or a wood floor cleaner/polish on a small area perferablely out of sight. If you like how it looks then go with it all over if not. I found this stuff works great on laminate. RustOleum.com I used it on my counters but would work as well on a wall. Can tint to what ever color you want.

[BubbleHeadMd]

Exactly- Budget boat, budget make-over. Sure, I have tons of money to pour into it, but this is kind of my "practice boat", and no matter what I do to it, I probably won't get more than I paid for it. So I'm trying to find the right balance of "pride of ownership" and "fiscal irresponsibility".

You've all given me several inexpensive methods to try. Thanks!