Can You Paint Over Plastic Laminate Cabinets

Some paints call for apply for a primer coat before applying the paint.

Can you paint over plastic laminate cabinets.

It can basically be any type of furniture cabinets or wood like product that is made by attaching a thin layer of printed plastic sometimes called melamine or thermofoil to a substrate of plywood or particle board. The right primer will stick to the surface and provide the perfect base for your chosen paint finish. Improperly applied paint will peel off of laminate and melamine creating a bigger mess than you started out with. First you want to degrease everything with a decent degreaser solution anything from spray nine to tsp should work.

The key is to degloss and roughen the plastic surface of laminate and melamine and to use the right paint or coating products. We did a tone of research on primers and this is the primer that we eventually used and are really happy with. What is laminate you ask. To be able to paint the super smooth laminate you ll need a primer with adhesion promoting properties.

Don t paint over damaged laminate if laminate is cracked warped or peeling that damage can interfere with the bonding of paint to the cabinet. Yes you can paint laminate. Some mdf cabinets have a plastic coating and removing a plastic coating from kitchen cabinets is usually easier than removing a wood laminate. The best way to do it is to use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and pull the laminate off in sections starting with the edging.

Once the primer stays put even if you scratch at it with your fingernail you can paint over the top of it. Then lightly sand the cabinets and prime them. However both are doable with patience and a steady supply of heat. So you can see why primer is very important when trying to paint over the film which is practically plastic.