laminate paint to stand in for metal trim

I am having a bench made. L-shaped, white. To be mounted on wall so I can sit at with red stools - like an update of a '50s diner . I want the bench to be edged in metal like in the milkbars/diners for the retro look.

However, the cost of doing so seems prohibitive. Have to buy a whole roll of metal edging or metal look laminate pushing costs up $150-200 extra. This in effect will double the overall cost of the project. :(

Would the paint AC used be appropriate for me to paint the edge with? AC do you know if it comes in a metallic finish?

Want the look without the costs. Would this be an option for me? Sneaky I know!

Petal "two pack paint. This is two lots of paint you mix together as you use it and it will properly coat all the cupboards and the benchtop etc and will stick really real and last for many years."

I used this stuff to good effect. It seems to be a very thick enamel paint which tends to flow nicely onto the surface and then set hard as a rock, leaving a great finish. It hides brush marks cause it stays wet for a while.

Be careful of small bugs that land in the paint at night - try to paint early in the day and leave the house while it sets?

Use an excellent brush or a small foam roller.

Definitely use undercoat.

Clean the MELANAMINE (the m-word you were looking for) with Sugar soap, after sanding lightly.

Clean it thoroughly mind you - not a trace of grease to be found.

It may also pay to scrape the silicone away from the walls / benchtop joins and re-silicone when finished.

(Are you painting the benchtop as well?)


The laminate paint smells VERY strong for a good while. I painted a chest of drawers with the remainder I had left. It hardens to a smooth finish, but does smell strongly.
- so borrow a few extra fans and have it going full ball. Or you can add a drop of that paint smell remover additive.
 
I'm not sure how that tape would wear. The top edge where the vertical plane and the horizontal meet would suffer a fair bit of wear with people sitting there. I guess you could always reapply it, though.
White Knight have a brush on single pack product called 'Hammer Finish'. It's a metal look paint that comes in a variety of colours. It's hard to describe the hammer finish' look. Bunnings sell it.
Have you thought about anodized aluminium? You'd be able to buy a 3mm x 50mm 4 metre length for around $20. Then you'd just glue it on.
Scott
 
I'd probably agree with Scott here - I reckon it would be hard to get paint to look like metal.

The paint I used was for coating reasonably sound laminate that was a yuck colour - it just changed the colour. But it still looked like laminate.

That hammer finish looks interesting.

Try going to a sheet metal place and explaining the issue. I've bought sheets of sign writing metal (colourbond) and it's cheap. You might get away with something like that? Esp if it's Galvanised or something.
 
I have seen the aluminuium trim at Bunnings when I was doing initial costings. I planned to use it when I was going to use melamine sheets from Bunnings. That trim is inexpensive BUT the bench will have corners (don't want dangerous edges that can catch fabric or scratch arms)

Also aluminium comes in strips - not sure how to make it match a curve if I get the bench made in a curved edge (budget depending).

There is such a thing as metallic finish laminate. For a 2.5 cm (1.25 inch) strip would look quite good. Prolly wouldn't look authentic for a large expanse though but for my purposes would be good. Problem is you have to buy a whole sheet = expensive.

Would be extra lucky to find that the joiner quoting later today has an offcut. That would be great!

If I can't come in on budget then I will get it in plain white. Not the end of the world to have to compromise on that.

I will investigate paint finishes though. There is a metallic paint you can get - not sure if it is suitable for laminate finishes though.
 
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