When renovating and upgrading a kitchen, you have to restore countertops. Repairing a countertop made of laminated chipboard is much easier and cheaper than completely or partially replacing kitchen furniture.
Repairing a laminated chipboard countertop is considered the most inexpensive and easiest way. Let's consider the most effective options for restoring the main kitchen surface with your own hands.
Features of restoration of a kitchen countertop made of laminated chipboard
It is the kitchen countertop that is exposed to negative influences: moisture, household chemicals, high temperature, etc.
As a result, over time it begins to deform. One of the most important surfaces for cutting food and cooking is subject to the greatest load and quickly loses its original appearance. Delamination of the base occurs due to daily use of a humid environment; the surface often comes close to the stove and overheats. The laminated layer is often cleaned with abrasives. Because of this, there is often a need for restoration.
Defects on the countertop may vary. The type of restoration will depend on their type.
The main operational defects of kitchen countertops:
- corners and some other parts are deformed;
- cracks on the laminated surface;
- swelling and peeling;
- broken fragments along the edges;
- scratches and bald spots on the decorative layer;
- traces of mechanical damage.
In order for the repair to be correct, you need to know exactly the composition of the countertop, since they usually include a combination of different materials.
Helpful advice! Each defect is eliminated in its own way. Before you repair a chipboard countertop yourself, check what each layer consists of so that all work can be completed quickly and efficiently.
- A tabletop made of natural wood has its advantages and disadvantages. The product is easily saturated with wet and greasy environments, leaving stains. It may crack if it dries out. But such a surface is not afraid of hot pots and abrasive products for cleaning kitchen furniture. Varnished wood is better protected from food contamination, but hot objects leave circles, stains and cloudiness on it.
- MDF has a number of aesthetic advantages, but is often subject to the destructive effects of moisture and overheating, hence the problems of deformation. Film coating is not able to protect kitchen furniture if it is handled carelessly - hot objects are placed, meat and vegetables are cut, nuts are cracked.
- Laminated chipboard is well protected, but if there is the slightest detachment of the protective layer, penetrating water quickly leads to swelling of the base. The quality of laminated chipboard in terms of performance characteristics is slightly inferior to MDF. Both materials are more difficult to restore than natural wood.
- Decorative plywood is less often used for kitchen countertops; more often it is used to make furniture doors. Repairing defects is much more difficult due to the characteristic longitudinal-transverse layering of wood fibers.
Characteristics of the material – laminated chipboard
Thanks to modern technologies, it is possible to create chipboards with imitation of natural wood or stone, as well as apply any other design.
The surface of a bar counter, an extended window sill or folding shelves are often used as a countertop in the kitchen. They also need to be repaired if damaged. These surfaces can be:
- textured (wood or stone) and smooth;
- covered with plastic or glass;
- matte and glossy;
- decorated with a layer of natural veneer and impregnated with a special protective varnish.
Despite their cost, laminated chipboard countertops look very beautiful.
To make countertops, we use a thin layer of natural wood on a base of chipboard or plywood. The base can be melamine, laminated or laminated. Although it is a relatively cheap and fragile material, it has become widespread due to its affordable price and attractive appearance.
Important information! Practice has shown that countertops from Italian manufacturers are recognized as the most aesthetic, environmentally friendly and practical. But they are the most expensive on the world market.
During operation, it is necessary to monitor the integrity of the coating, since water gets into damaged areas and deforms the entire material.
Under the laminated (protected) layer is the so-called “halva” or chipboard (chipboard). These are sawdust compressed and impregnated with resinous substances. Over time, the trim comes off in some areas, and water enters the laminated floor. Because of this, the slab loses its ideal shape.
Types of finishing
At the moment, there are several ways to give the ends of the tabletop an aesthetic appearance. Only 2 of them are suitable for making edges at home:
- Covering with melamine tape. Glue applied to the tape itself simplifies the process, but the resulting edge is susceptible to moisture and is not resistant to mechanical stress.
Today it is the cheapest and most accessible, therefore it is very often used in furniture production. - PVC strip trim. Requires more expense, but the edges are stronger.
Quite a popular furniture edge for cladding the end surfaces of laminated chipboards. All thanks to the ideal price-quality ratio.
Repair or change
Is it worth it to start repairing a laminated chipboard countertop yourself? To do this, you need to assess the degree of destruction. Sometimes it is not profitable to repair; it is easier to purchase a new laminated surface.
Often it is necessary to update only the surface layer by fixing a small fragment, and everything else can be left unchanged. Wood is one of the materials most suitable for repair; it is easy to extend and insert patches. In the case of laminated chipboard, everything is a little more complicated. Therefore, it is better to undertake repairs when the damage is small.
If the damage is small, then you can do your own restoration. Otherwise, you will need to replace a separate piece of the panel.
Helpful advice! It is problematic to repair built-in furniture and kitchen appliances. A good way to update is to replace just one wood countertop. Sometimes you have to change the entire facade, but this is cheaper than modernizing the entire kitchen.
It happens that the new surface contrasts with other planes of the kitchen unit, and it makes no sense to completely restore the original appearance of the kitchen. Then it is recommended to find a creative method, for example, cover the surface with a beautiful pattern, cover it with glass exactly to the size of the tabletop and seal the ends.
Return chipboard to its original shape after flooding
A wet towel was left on the chipboard table and the table swelled on the sides. I tried drying it with a hairdryer, but there seemed to be no results. Will the table dry or not, should I wait until it dries or take some action? Either hammer it in and don’t pay attention, or as they wrote here just now, there are a great variety of different tabletops - and there is a choice of color and they will cut off the right piece according to size. Throw away Muraveika and buy a stone countertop - it is eternal and indestructible. My daughter's birthday is in a couple of days. The page will close automatically after 5 seconds. New for today. VIDEO ON THE TOPIC: Kitchen countertop repair
Restoration of a chipboard tabletop
Getting wet often causes the surface to swell. This defect can be easily corrected with glue.
A small delaminated fragment or swelling after soaking can be dried well with a hairdryer, soaked in glue and placed in a vice. After drying, remove excess chipboard by sanding and laminate with sealant - this is the easiest repair.
A burnt countertop is the most difficult to repair; most often you have to call in specialists.
Important! If an area is burned from exposure to a hot object, it is difficult to restore the design or patch a hole in the laminate. You will have to select a material with a similar pattern and make a complex insert of the fragment, placing it on glue.
There are other ways to independently repair areas damaged by water penetration into the wood-chip layer.
The easiest way is to do preventative repairs. In those areas where the trim has peeled off or there is a small chip, it needs to be treated with a sealant or protective varnish to prevent moisture from penetrating into the sawdust base.
To avoid further problems with the countertop, it is best to coat the surface with a sealing varnish or other means.
To effectively repair operational defects, you need to complete the following steps:
- clean the surface from greasy dirt;
- remove protruding sawdust with sandpaper or a file;
- dry the area with a hot stream (hairdryer);
- fill the crack with a mixture of construction PVA and fine sawdust;
- place the surface under a press or in a vice;
- a day later, clean the area to be restored;
- Treat the seams with silicone or other sealant and secure with a plastic, aluminum or wooden strip.
Do not use sandpaper if there is a laminated or varnish coating.
Deep scratches on the countertop can be removed by sanding with sandpaper - first coarse, then fine grit. Next, rub in with a felt pad. But this option is not suitable if a pattern is applied to the laminated surface.
Restoration with hard furniture wax
This substance is intended to eliminate small marks from mechanical damage. They are inevitable when the table surface is subjected to excessive loads, as well as as a result of the fall of heavy sharp objects.
You can use a utility knife to apply wax to the damaged areas, then melt it with a lighter.
The palette of this material is not as wide as we would like. But it guarantees a high degree of protection (moisture resistance) of the wood-chip base. Hard wax makes it possible to eliminate chips, dents and scratches.
The color palette of hard wax is not so wide, so if you have a countertop of an unusual color, it is worth looking for another repair method.
Before application, it must be melted, for example, from a candle or a lighter flame. After application, it is allowed to cool and the process is repeated. After filling the defect, sagging and protruding fragments are removed by grinding with a sharp knife - the surface looks laminated.
Soft wax for surface restoration
Soft types of wax are used to combat minor defects.
A simple, natural-based material that is good for filling small cracks and dents. But most often wax is used to fill holes from nails, screws or self-tapping screws.
After waxing, the furniture must be polished with a napkin or felt.
Soft wax is injected with the narrow end of a spatula or knife. The wax is slightly warmed up and, after flowing, polished with felt. It is also suitable for masking defects in natural wood; the texture underneath is drawn with a felt-tip pen or marker of a suitable shade.
Furniture touch
Using this material it is possible to disguise minor scratches and abrasions. A stroke is a pigment, it is pre-shaken before application and after application in 2-3 layers, it is allowed to dry thoroughly for 5-10 minutes. Excess is removed with a dry cotton napkin.
Thanks to the wide color palette and the possibility of tinting, you can choose any shade.
This is one of the easiest ways to eliminate damage to a countertop. However, it is not necessary to apply it several times if the restoration was successful the first time.
Do-it-yourself tabletop - work progress in the photo
1. Having cut out the necessary parts from chipboard (apron, tabletop, lining) to size, fasten them together. The master did this using a construction stapler, with 0.6 cm staples 3 cm long at a distance of 12.5 cm from each other - no glue is required in this case.
2. The standard hole for the sink is 54 x 82 cm. But perhaps you have a different one? Before grabbing the tool, measure its dimensions and draw an outline with a pencil.
3. The surfaces of the chipboard base parts may be at slightly different heights, but the joint must be perfect. Apply a few pencil strokes to the joint and sand it until the pencil marks disappear.
Other ways to eliminate scuffs and minor defects
If a large area of the tabletop is damaged, then you can use a patch, but the defect will still be noticeable.
Using a patch of a suitable color, you can disguise a burnt area or a large defect. The cut fragment must exactly match the area being restored. It is applied to the glue, the tabletop is placed under a press for a day, and excess glue is removed.
After applying the acrylate, you need to polish the surface and apply varnish or wax of the desired color.
To fill the hole, acrylate is used, which is crushed to powder and mixed with glue. This substance is applied to the damaged piece of furniture and, after drying, the treatment is completed by sanding.
How to cover a chipboard countertop after renovation: tips from designers
Laminate countertops look very stylish and modern, but before using it, it is best to coat it with a protective agent.
The very similarity with laminate flooring suggests a solution to how to restore a countertop made of laminated chipboard. A suitable fragment will do, from which it is easy to make a patch or completely cover the surface.
If the countertop is hopelessly damaged, it is not worth restoring. It is better to update its appearance with the help of mosaic tiles or colored glass, under which something from spectacular finishing materials is placed, for example, beautiful veneer. The easiest way is to paint or place wallpaper with imitation marble under the glass and then create an aesthetically sealed trim.
A good way to fix patches after repair is to cover them with acrylic (another protective varnish) in several layers. The surface may not be heat-resistant like a factory-made laminate, but moisture resistance will be fine.
The varnish will not only protect your countertop, but will also give it a beautiful appearance.
There are also many creative methods for modernizing kitchen surfaces, including laying out mosaic patterns on the countertop. You can also experiment with any hardening materials, for example, epoxy resin, which looks like amber.
Designers also recommend using 3D wallpapers or patterns with spatial illusions under glass or transparent multi-layer varnish. This is easy to do yourself, as described above.
A tabletop with a pattern under glass will become the highlight of your kitchen. You can use photo wallpaper, wood and much more as decoration.
As you can see, there are many interesting solutions for opening a damaged chipboard countertop in the kitchen with your own hands. More examples of creative approaches and effective methods are in the photo gallery; the technology can be mastered in a master class on video.
