Bown Leather Formica

[wndsr]

I am attempting to match the Formica that was used on my lower helm station. I was talking to Steve McPherson and he is familiar with it and he is the one that gave me the correct name for the pattern. The problem is, according to a local builders supply house, it was discontinued approx 6 years ago. Is there any club members that are in this industry that may have a way of searching for discontinued Formica?? I know its a stretch but would rather match it than completly redo the whole thing.
Thanks
Ben

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I had the same problem with my black leather Formica on my bar. I finally found that Pionite will make leather finish but only by special order. Since I didn't want to buy 6 sheets(their minimum), I was just going to give up and redo the whole thing. In the mean time, I search the internet until I found a guy that bought 6 sheets on a carpenters forum. He only needed three sheets and he had the other 3 in storage. I emailed him and picked up a couple of sheets. They were not an exact match to the Formica brand, but they were close enough that I doubt anyone will notice.

You might call around to some countertop shops and ask if they have a scrap. Some of the guys I called knew exactly what I was looking for and they searched around to see if they had any scraps. I wasn't able to find any that way, but you never know.

 

[wndsr]

Thanks for the reply-I have already searched some local shops with no luck. Will broaden my search.
Ben

 

[Nonchalant1]

Include searching eBay. They have all sorts of old stock things showing up there.

 

[SeaEric]

There are many manufacturers of plastic laminate now days. If you search diligently, you will likely find a close match to your original material.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

There are many manufacturers of plastic laminate now days. If you search diligently, you will likely find a close match to your original material.

I search them all and no one makes that leather finish anymore except Pionite. You may be able to match color, but it will never look right without those ripples in the surface.

 

[SeaEric]

Well, OK.

Remember that, if you're doing your "research" by looking at the laminate sample racks at Home Depot and Lowe's, you're only seeing a small percentage of all available finishes and manufacturers.

 

[wndsr]

Yes Eric, In fact I only use Lowes and Home Depot as a last resort!!

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Well, OK.

Remember that, if you're doing your "research" by looking at the laminate sample racks at Home Depot and Lowe's, you're only seeing a small percentage of all available finishes and manufacturers.

I called Formica, Wilsonart, and Pionite directly and talked to their customer service people. I was desperate to find something to match. I even considered buying the whole 6 sheet minimum from Pionite then I came to my senses.