Help please with glossy worktops!!

[wrightclan]

I am trying to finish a kitchen by Monday. I have scratched one of the worktops. They are very shallow, fine scratches. Caused by something on the base of my router. (This despite a protective plastic covering on the laminate.)

They are glossy black (plain black). Any ideas how to rectify the scratches?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Brad

 

[kevinr]

Don't know if it will work but I once used some coloured resin which was made for worktop repair and jointing. This came in a number of colours. It was made for those of us who cut worktop joints without a router.

Mine came from a specialist worktop & laminate supplier - you could give one of them a call.

 

[wrightclan]

Thanks for the help. I was thinking that as well. I've ordered some. Supposed to come tomorrow; but not sure how it will look on a plain glossy surface. The scratches are so fine, they probably wouldn't show on a matte or satin laminate. I knew I was asking for trouble by agreeing to do a plain, black glossy surface.

Discovered what caused the scratches. One of the screws was just a hair proud of the base of my router :shock: . Just rectified that, so it won't happen again.

Any other ideas, in case it doesn't work? I think I may have to fit it, scratches and all; apologise for the mistake, and promise to make a new one ASAP.

Brad

 

[Paul Chapman]

Brad

Do you have any off-cuts on which you could experiment - deliberately scratch it and try out different options? If the resin repair shows, you could possibly try something like T-Cut (used on car paintwork) to blend it in. Not sure if this would work, but possibly worth a try on an off-cut.

Paul

 

[Argee]

Continuing on from the "T-Cut" suggestion of Pauls, you can get colour-restoration polishes - including black - which work well on fine scratches on cars (which are also glossy!). I got the dark green just ahead of selling my wife's Clio and it came up a treat.

For the cost, it might be worth trying the black one. Most of the sheds, Halfords, etc.

Ray.

 

[mailee]

Hi Brad, I am in the motor game and work on paintwork every day. We usually wet flat the area down with fine paper usually silicon carbide of around 1000 grit and then polish the surface back with G3 Farecla or similar polishing compound. T cut is a bit light for this sort of repair and would take forever. It does also work on plastics that have been painted. I agree with Paul that you should experiment on a scrap piece first. As a note of caution for future reference I have a false baseplate made out of nylon for use on worktops. Hope this is of help to you.

 

[wrightclan]

Hi Brad, I am in the motor game and work on paintwork every day. We usually wet flat the area down with fine paper usually silicon carbide of around 1000 grit and then polish the surface back with G3 Farecla or similar polishing compound. T cut is a bit light for this sort of repair and would take forever. It does also work on plastics that have been painted. I agree with Paul that you should experiment on a scrap piece first. As a note of caution for future reference I have a false baseplate made out of nylon for use on worktops. Hope this is of help to you.

Thanks for the advice. This is ideally what I want--a permanent solution, rather than something which temporarily hides the scratches. That said, normal use in their kitchen will probably produce worse scratches within weeks; but that's not my responsibility. If it doesn't work; I'll have to work on my best contrite face, and remake the worktop. Thanks everyone, for your advice.

Brad

 

[dedee]

Just and idea, not tried it myself. Would chrome polish help? I seem to think that it is recommended to remove faint scratches from plastic baths.

Andy