"S. Endon-Lee" wrote:
I have what seems like acres of dark-brown kitchen worktop in a
fitted kitchen - the covering is plastic of some type, patterned
to look like dark hardwood blocks. It nicely matches the dark-
stained wooden kitchen cabinets.

Is there something like a hard-wearing form of sticky-back plastic
(suitable for kitchens) that I could simply glue over the existing
worktop? If so, where can I find it - there doesn't seem to be
anything like it in the 'sheds'. It would need to be flexible
enough to 'roll-over' the chamfered front edge of the worktop,
otherwise I'm sure it would lift in no time flat.

Hi Sid, you might think about using sheets of Formica - you'd
need to attach a strip of timber to the front of your existing
worktop, though.

===============# = is Formica
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@## # is new timber moulding
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@# @ is existing "worktop".
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#

You use impact adhesive with this stuff, so you must be very
careful to set up the Formica dead right before you glue it
on, you don't get two chances!

You'd need to make up a moulding (router?) or even machine off
the "nose" of the counter if possible, then attach the moulding
to the existing top, leaving a rebate suitable to take the
Formica. The Formica could then be loose-fitted, trimmed, and
then the top and Formica glued before sticking the Formica on.

This would give you a hygenic and very hard-wearing surface. I'd
be chary of painting your units - this looks OK on the TV, in
all those "house" programmes, but IRL it can look *awful*. Most
of the TV "just cut up a bit of MDF to make ???? Oh! Doesn't it
look lovely!" things look like crap on set, too!


J.B.