Letter 13452

Repair of surface scratches in plastic laminate counter top 

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I just rented a new space, and moved my sales counter from the old store to the new one. In the move, my sales counter top (solid color plastic laminate) was scratched by some less than careful handling. I'm not sure if boxes that had dirt on the bottom or? were dragged over the surface, but the scratches are numerous. I can't afford to have the counter redone. These are NOT gouges, but scratches like what I would guess could occur from dirt on a box bottom, dragged over the counter top. I read (cannot resurrect the article) that matte finish, solid color plastic laminate surface scratches can be repaired with a liquid plastic, then buffed with something like "Scotch Brite." This is a "Robin's Egg Blue" matte finish laminate.Can you please help, by telling me where I can find such repair material?

Bill S
- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

I have a new house, and the counters are great but the counter in the bathroom is starting to fade. At first i thought it was the wife's make-up, but after a good clean it is still faded. Is there a product that will bring back the original finish?

Alyn Barnes
Carpenter - Canada

I have worked with plastic laminates for over 25 years and I have always said that once you scratch or mar the surface you are screwed.

I recently discovered by accident and by hours of experimentation how to fix laminate scratches. If the scratches go through the color - YOU'RE still screwed.However, many scratches are superficial scratches that can be repaired. In my case the surface was marred by an orbital sander with 150 grit sandpaper. The marks were the size of nickels and quarters. There were 4 or 5 of them in one area of the laminate. The laminate was Wilson Art "Amber Fushion" matte finish. When I was done with the repair - no one in my shop could tell where the scratches were. Here is the exact process and materials I used:

MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED:
320 grit wet or dry sand paper
Softscrub - (common abrasive cleaner available almost anywhere)
Micro Mesh sanding sheets (these are critical - get them in all grits from 1800 to 4000)
Evercoat Hand glaze - this is an autobody polishing compound.

THE PROCESS TO REMOVE THE SCRATCHES:

1. Apply softscrub to the scratched area and sand it uniformly with the 320 grit wet or dry. Use only enough water to slightly thin the softscrub but not to watery. You want it to have a thin paste-like consistency while you sand. Check periodically by wiping everything away until your surface scratches are gone and all that is left is your 320 softscrub sanding pattern.
2. Next use 1800 grit micro mesh with softscrub. This time use a little more water with the softscrub so it is a little thinner. (Not pasty but more milky.) Sand it well with the 1800 grit before moving on.
3. Next use 2400 grit micro mesh with EVERCOAT hand glaze (the autobody hand polish). Again sand well so you uniformly cover the entire area.
4. Next move to 3200 grit micro mesh with EVERCOAT hand glaze - exactly as in step 3.
5. Next use 3600 micro mesh with water only - no polish. Sand the entire area thoroughly. At this point you will be amazed at your results. The only difference you should be able to see is that the surface area you are working on is slightly duller than the original laminate - but the scratches will be gone.
6. Now use 4000 grit micro mesh with water only. Polish the repair area with 4000 grit and water.
7. Now clean and use whatever furniture polish you would normally use on the laminate.
Where are the scratches ? They are gone!

The only difference in the repair area and the original laminate is a textural difference that is almost undetectable to an untrained eye. If you did each step thoroughly that I outlined above you will be absolutely amazed at the results - particularly if you are familiar with laminates and how unforgiving they are to scratching. Like I said earlier - none of the people in my shop were able to see where the scratches were. I would advise whoever uses this process to first test it on a scrap piece of laminate to get a feel for performing the steps. Then do the actual repair itself. It does take a lot of hand rubbing and sanding but the results will be what you wanted. I estimate that an area about 6" x 24" would take approximately 1 hour to complete from start to finish. One final thing - you may want to get the entire micro mesh set because the final steps in the process are simply to bring the sheen to the same level as the original laminate. Having additional micro mesh grits gives you the option of bring the sheen up higher if you need to on some laminates. I have no idea if this would work on a High Gloss laminate but on matte laminates - it truly is amazing. If you found this helpful let me know. Thanks, Mark Wiesman - Grand Rapids, Michigan March 10, 2009 I was wondering how that Orange Glow resurfacer for poly finished wood floors would work on plastic Kevin Lane - Buffalo, New York