Repair of surface scratches in plastic laminate counter top

A. See this site: Popular Mechanics home_owner_clinic

A. I have been working with laminate for a few years now. I have seen thousands of tops pass through my shop and I wish that I could tell you that there were a miracle product that took all of your scratches out, but there aren't any. However there are a few ways to disguise your scratches one method is called seam-fill. This is a product made especially for filling gaps in plastic: you buy a whole color pallet and mix your own color, however the set cost about $120. So I would suggest one of two things. There is a product that you can get called Countertop Magic and it will conceal a lot of your scratches, or you can do what the pros do when they are in a pinch and you can find a magic marker the same color as your top and just wipe it on, if it doesn't come out to be the right color just use some lacquer thinner [on eBay or Amazon] to get it off.

Good luck with those scratches!

A. 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 Fusion" 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 sandpaper
• Soft Scrub [affil links]
• Micro Mesh sanding sheets [affil links](these are critical - get them in all grits from 1800 to 4000)
• Evercoat Hand glaze [www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=137] - this is an autobody polishing compound.
  

THE PROCESS TO REMOVE THE SCRATCHES:

1. Apply Soft Scrub [affil links] 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,

A. Hi, Jose. It would depend on the type and quality of the laminate, I'm sure. If it's a high-pressure laminate like Formica, it would seem difficult to damage if you used reasonable care. But some MDF furniture has a lamination no thicker than a sheet of paper, and you could easily sand through this.

I'd say try an orbital vibratory sander with very fine sandpaper. This would be not much faster than hand sanding, but less fatiguing, and see how fast the work goes and how damaging it is to the laminate. Of course, if a co-worker could give you some OJT it would be a lot better :-)

Regards,

A. I may have found one answer. My coffee table had gotten scratched over the years to the extend that it looked as if someone had tried to sand it. Using combined tips listed here, I figured I had nothing to loose, so I got out my manicure polisher sponge. This is the type used to evenout and polish the face of the nails. Use the 2 Final step sides (polish and buff). Very slightly dampening the surface -I spritzed window cleaner on my coffee table, wiped it off, and polished the top while it was still slightly moist. It did seem to work better than I thought. I might be able to keep the coffee table now.

A. I recently purchased an old 50's kitchen table with a Formica top. It did not look abused, but it was well worn. It exhibited lots of surface scratches and a slight yellowing. Here's what I did to achieve satisfactory results:
- Cleaned and scrubbed with a stainless scouring pad.
- Sanded with 400 grit wet dry paper and automotive glazing compound. This removed the scratches but left the finish very matte in appearance.
- Repeated the last step, but with 800 grit paper.
- Applied "Autosol" [on eBay or Amazon] metal polish and went at it with the 800 grit paper for a while.
- Applied Autosol and went at it for a while with a cloth only. Also polished the aluminum edging while I was at it.
- Applied 4 coats of "Renaissance Wax" with a cloth to both the table top and edging.
Now it looks brand new.

A. Hi Lydia. I think readers will have a difficult time picturing what you are speaking of. Are the cabinets white, or wood-tone? What scratches them, the landlord installing them, or wear-and-tear with kids in the house? A photo would help.

Regards,