How to re-laminate your interior

Discussion in 'How To' started by Lofty, Apr 17, 2014.

  1. Having spent some time debating whether to re-furbish or buy new, I decided to refurbish my Berlin interior. What follows is my own attempt at a small restoration. I'm no good with bodywork or mechanicals really, but I reckon I'm ok on the practical diy stuff so here goes.

    Before I start, please note that the techniques and methods I have employed are an amalgamation of research from the web including The Samba and our very own TLB. Particularly @PeaSoup who gave me some excellent advice as well as @olnow, and @Monkpuss . I continue to get excellent advice on the fridge and mains hook up from other great TLBers but go to my other thread for the electrics. This thread will just be me documenting how I get on.

    The first decision was which Laminate to use. You will see from my thread here http://thelatebay.com/index.php?thr...tfalia-cherry-interior-market-research.22071/ that I looked at many and my first choice turned out to be discontinued. I then ordered a load more samples and spent some time on a sunny day choosing what I wanted
    [​IMG]
    I ended up with Polyrey T025 Teak. I know its not going to be 100% original but then the only place selling an identical laminate is NLAVW and whilst that is great, I could not justify £200 a sheet (especially when I was getting new trim, a hand router, new floor, new curtains etc., so I ended up buying 4 sheets of Teak plus 5 litres of Glue for about £160
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    First step was to clear some space and start cutting up the laminate. I had already spent a lot of time measuring up every surface to be recovered and noted which way the grain ran. I then transferred this to a plan to give me an efficient cutting list from the sheets of laminate.
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    which took me from this
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    to this

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    I had tried using Tin snips and scissors to cut the laminate as well as a Stanley knife. The scissors and snips were OK but fractured the laminate either side of the cut, whilst the Stanley blade was too flexible. In the end I managed to get some of these laminate trimming blades from Toolstation for about £2.40 a pack of 10
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    So far they have worked brilliantly but scoring 3 times along a metal rule and then bending the laminate upwards. It then snaps along the scored line. The first few time I was 'bricking it' in case it split in the wrong place but so far...sshh !

    Then it was time to strip the old laminate off. I have read an iron will work but as you can see, I used a heat gun and some pallet knives.

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    Just let the gun heat the laminate up good and proper and the keep pushing the knives through the glue as it softens.

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    I did get some breaks on the more awkward panels but in the main they all came off in one piece.

    [​IMG]

    to be continued
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2014
    PaddyD, Ermintrude, stumpy77 and 7 others like this.
  2. Brilliant loft :thumbsup:
     
    Lofty likes this.
  3. Where did you get the laminate ??
     
  4. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Superb work! I'm watching this with interest Lofty as I will have a complete Berlin interior to re-lam soon!
     
  5. I love threads like this thanks for sharing:thumbsup:
     
    Lofty likes this.
  6. Next it was time to start gluing the new laminate in place. You need to use a contact adhesive but make sure the area you are working in is well ventilated. IT WILL give you a headache if you are not careful.

    I found the best way to put it on the bigger pieces was to pour a 'dollop' on, spread it out with a 'V' notched spreader and then use a roller to get all the edges done. On the narrow items, I just used the roller (which is 2 1/2 " wide). I bought about 10 spreaders and 20 rollers for less than £10 so I can just throw them away and not worry about cleaning them :thumbsup:

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    You apply the glue to both surfaces and when it is dry, you bring them together, BUT BE CAREFUL, they will stick together instantly !. The best bet is to use some kind of spacers or dowel to keep the surfaces apart and then you can line them up. Once they are aligned, take the first one out and press down. Then take out the next and so on. I bought a hand roller from ebay to help press the laminate down.

    [​IMG]

    By the end of today, I had glued and laminated about 10 panels. Not sure about tomorrow yet, I might have a go with the Hand router and try to drill some holes :eek:

    If this thread is interesting to you, have a look at @thebusmonkeys thread as well who has used a spray gun for the glue. You'll find it in a thread called 'Chip'.
     
  7. From what I have seen on your thread, it will be a walk in the park for you :D
     
  8. Thanks Para. I've had loads of help on here, so I thought I could try and add something back. As I said earlier, I am not inventing something new but being a Magpie from others, but if putting in one place helps others, then we might see lots of refurbished interiors in Westys :thumbsup:
     
    paradox likes this.
  9. great write up - thanks for sharing :)

    interested to see how you get on - we've got some timber samples to potentially re-manufacture the units rather than relaminate but there are pros and cons of both approaches ..
     
  10. Sounds great especially as you will see a real wood grain.
     
  11. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Not so, there's a lot of graft that goes into this as well you know. I was going to do what you're doing a few years ago but bottled out.

    We've got the benefit of a professionally equipped workshop and an apprenticed and experienced cabinet maker. For us the time consuming part has been re-designing the cabinets. The changes are only subtle but have been a real pain to implement.

    This type of thread and your experience is invaluable to persons who want to retain the originality of tired conversions.:D:D

    What are you doing about the trim? Can you re-use any of it?
     
    vanorak likes this.
  12. Great work. Score and snap is the way to go for laminate cutting.

    Router will make lots of mess and noise, be warned. Keep the bearing and cutter clean ( free of glue) and (as in aliens) watch those corners. Keep an eye on the edge the bearing runs on - dents /glue/screwheads can all ruin your day.

    I'm slowly rebuilding my cabinet- here is a picture to keep your interest in. Sure takes some hours.
    Still a work in progress ( need to hide a few edges, add the lid)

    [​IMG]
     
    vanorak likes this.
  13. Ta very much

    All new trim apart from locker doors. Found a nice guy up north who sells it for a reasonable price. He sent some samples that i tried and it seems to fit ok. Other hardware and handles will be OG.

    I'll soon have some OG Westy trim and laminate available for those that need bits and bobs.
     
    S1mon likes this.
  14. What bits and bobs will you have?
     
  15. Thanks for the tip. Cabinet is looking good.
     
  16. Bits of old laminate and trim.
     
  17. How thin are the sheets and size, I know the laminate place quite well used to live round the corner and I think ex worked there. Is strand glass still there? Fibre glass place?
    Thanks
     
  18. Was gonna say@s1mon will be interested in this
     

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