Removing Melamine (the plastic stuff on cabinets).

[@peternewman7940]

Excellent video. Straight from the shoulder, sensible and direct. Great instruction.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching, I have a few videos on this, from removing the covers to finish painting them as well!

[@sandralee8453]

I love how easily this came off for you! It shows me how quick and doable this next project will be for me!

[@rayhayden]

I am very happy when I can make a video which helps others! Thanks for watching!

[@morbidmizzy3389]

I am AMAZED! Just bought a house. Hate the stark white cabinets and have been stressing about trying to paint them. This is So much better. Thank you!

[@1toshi32]

I'm at the stage where just the edges are coming off the drawers. This might be what I will be doing to repaint the doors eventually. Thanks for taking the time to upload this great information. 👍👍👍👍

[@rayhayden]

Doors, drawers, we painted them all. Now, the unit next to this one was our house... this was my office (we bought the unit next door for my office)... in the house unit, we never needed to replace them, and they looked great when we sold the house. I loved the painted doors, easy to clean, easy to maintain... I loved them. Being that we painted them white, it also reflected a lot of light and really had a brightening effect (think "good mood") even on overcast days in South Florida!

[@mattralphwright]

It’s almost scary how easy it comes off!

[@SoniaScrapbook]

I was at a complete loss as to what to do when I first noticed that the corners of our kitchen cabinets were peeling. I never realized before then that they even had a material lining of some sort. When I asked around, others were equally in the dark. Thankfully, I came across your video without even knowing what the thing is that needs removing to type in a search. So, I'm so glad I found your video about melamine aka plastic stuff! As a result, I'm smack dab in the middle of the process of removing these covers so I can ultimately paint what is underneath so I appreciate any info anyone would like to share about that. I'll be documenting my own journey as I go in the hopes it helps others too. Lastly, love your hair!

[@rayhayden]

LOL... My Hair! I found some images I took of the process... I think I will put them up on my Facebook page... I will, in a few minutes, right after this reply... Just a couple to show the order in which I painted things... I loved the flat primer (Kilz 2) look, and was fine with that forever, but when we sold the house and office (two units next to each other), my wife, Miss Demeanor, said I had to paint them with semi-gloss. What I liked about the flat (matte) paint is that it did not reflect the light due to the shine, but it kind of bounced light all around the room more equally. The office was just bright and shiny all the time, I almost never needed to turn lights on during the day!

[@SoniaScrapbook]

@@rayhayden thanks for the reply. What's the link to the Facebook page?

[@rayhayden]

facebook.com/RayHaydenVDO1

[@SoniaScrapbook]

@@rayhayden thanks!

[@sharonbain3694]

I watched this and went straight to my kitchen with my hair dryer! Brilliant job!! Thank you for sharing this 😁

[@rayhayden]

I liked the idea of NOT using a heat gun on a wood based cabinet - LOL! Thanks for watching!

[@sharonbain3694]

It’s soo easy! Just trying to decide if I should take the covers of the top and sides though bec they’re good... decisions decisions 🤣

[@julieboutall3918]

@@sharonbain3694 hi! What did you end up down with the sides of some of the cabinets? I don’t think the stuff on the sides can be pulled off so I’m thinking I’ll need to sand a little and paint over it.

[@ScottsJourneys]

This is a very helpful video. Using a blow dryer instead of going out and buying a special heat gun makes good sense to me. I'm surprised how easy it comes off.

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

Except perhaps to those of use who only have the heat gun...;)

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

I got mine cheaper at Harbor Freight than what a blower dryer would be...at least based on how my sisters complained about cheap hair dryers failing and my Harbor Freight has gone for years...though it's probably used less than someone who'd use one a few times a week.

[@meioirish8793]

Thanks for all the tips, I've tried this hair dryer technique and it worked perfectly well! I could paint my cabinets and my kitchen looks lovely right now! I've even made a video about it 😊

[@rayhayden]

Love your video - and I joined your network... my most successful videos are "how to" type videos on projects around the house!

[@ramramboo]

God bless you sir, you've just saved me a fortune!

[@rayhayden]

Saving money makes me happy, helping other people save too? Magic! Thanks for watching!

[@waterwomaninFL]

I wanted to say thank you and post a picture of my cabinets, but I don’t know how to do that on KZbin. I really appreciate this video. It made things very easy and I like your channel. It’s interesting. Certainly a variety of topics are covered!

[@rayhayden]

Thank you for watching. I use the playlists to categorize my videos to some extent. Almost all of my videos include something to do with educational aspects of what I am doing... I did not want to create a variety of channels, then have to work to get each one monetized... that took me a while. Of note, I also try to make videos on things that should be "evergreen," meaning they have a very long term value to them... the channel doesn't grow as fast as "timely," or "hot topic" subjects... but that's not really my style anyway. Thanks for the comments, I greatly appreciate that!

[@rayhayden]

I subscribed to your channel - the cottage seems like off grid living... and another video of your friends place truly identifies why... many years ago, I worked for a small airline, and they'd send flights to Governor's Harbor.

[@waterwomaninFL]

@@rayhayden It's totally off grid, you're right! I can't believe you used to fly to Governors Harbor

[@waterwomaninFL]

@@rayhayden I sent you pictures of the cabinets through messenger

[@rayhayden]

@@waterwomaninFL I worked as a gate agent and also down on the ground with the aircraft... While I did become a pilot, it was non commercial flying. My age group was not the correct one to become a professional pilot without military flight hours due too the competition of those very people - LOL... I did OK in video production though.

[@mattralphwright]

My kettle at home is slowly doing the same job! - I think I’m gonna give this a go rather than replace the doors

[@rayhayden]

I am glad I was not drinking anything when I read this comment... I would have lost a fine little computer!

[@TheLaughingLion]

Awesome tutorial. A difficult job made simple. Very clearly explained and useful video. 👍

[@mandys6525]

Super helpful video!

[@alisonnorcross951]

Wow this is fab. But I don't see how you can prime and repair and make it look like it was done by the manufacturer. Such a great idea. My doors are still good. And you are right that little decorative groove collects greasy gunge. My main issue is the melamine coming off the edges of the cupboards to reveal the chipboard.

[@BrownSugar24K]

Thank you. I needed this information because my finishes seem to be coming loose that were installed by a named brand company. It is harder to clean those crevices as I'm getting older and harder to reach certain areas. Thanks again for this information.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching, I hope the video was helpful!

[@aprilbrown6805]

Watched this video, went straight to my cabinets. First one came off exactly like this. I was so excited. The 2nd one took almost and hour. The 3rd one is worse.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching... I got lucky, the workmanship on some of the doors I had seen from others appears to show uneven adhesives. A "heat gun" was one of the systems I had seen used, as well as one person manually ripping them off the door. The heat gun seemed a bit much to me, as some of our covers had been kind of loose already... I figured the heat setting on the blow dryer ought to get it done. Not all of them had come off easily... but much of it did not require too much work. Thanks for watching!

[@YOU-niter]

WoW! Thanks just about to try this.. so I can change the colour of my kitchen cupboards without trying to paint over the melamine 😍

[@rayhayden]

True! I lightly sanded the board under the covering, primed it with Kilz2, lightly sanded again, and applied a second coat of primer. I left it like that for a couple of years, until me moved and sold this unit, then I primed it with a finish coat of semi-gloss, lightly sanded again, and finish coated them all.... it looked great and the house sold the first day it was on the market! One of our neighbors in the community lightly sanded theirs, primed, then painted over the covering - theirs had not come loose as some other homes did, and they did a great job with that as well. I would prefer to remove them. One more note, these covering should be available in many areas, and they are set up to be standard sizes, so if you want to change the look, that is something to think about as well. One of our other neighbors had one of his covers crack, and he was able to acquire a replacement (which matched perfectly) locally.

[@YOU-niter]

@@rayhayden I tried to hairdry mine off Yesterday after seeing this video.. unfortunately mine doesn’t come off. Maybe my cupboards are not melamine? I’m not sure how to tell but wanted mine to peel off like on the video but wasn’t to be.. painting over them now only other option I have left other than buying new! Which I’ve put off for years because I don’t like getting rid of good material things I prefer to ♻️ recycle☺️

[@YOU-niter]

@@rayhayden I just realised your the gentleman who produced this video👀 WoW!☺️ Thanks for replying to my comment & nice to meet YOU😊

[@YOU-niter]

@@rayhayden where could I get the covering you mentioned your neighbour used because theirs didn’t come off please? That’s easier for me to try than painting mine👀

[@paangoro.]

I've been wonderingif i can get these off my cabinet.... i am so pleased i can and its so easy too.... gonna try this weekend . Thanks for sharing

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

I had a couple cabinets where that was coming off anyway. I think it's good to get rid of the cover in that case. I don't want another place bugs like to live, you know?

[@lukki7ster]

Wow! The things you learn! I had no clue there was a coating on the cabinets. Thanks!

[@rayhayden]

It is funny, when I first saw them, I thought is was some special material that was all the way through. Thanks for watching!

[@Alvicatchannel]

Wow, so simple!! I understand why this video is doing very well :) Thumbs up👍

[@CoxFam4eva]

Thank you!! I had some cabinets in my bathroom, remodeled the whole bathroom and those cabinets were an eye sore! I thought I was screwed lol, this pulled it right off! Had no idea. The back side isn’t so easy though I’m guessing the glue is stronger on the back.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching! The back sides of the cabinets are a different material (normally) and I actually do not know what that was on those cabinets... probably some heavy paper type product. I would leave that alone, but if I tried to remove it and it did not work out so well... I would repair (patch it with something) and paint it to be nice and pretty. I put the link to two different folks who had pretty interesting ways of doing it under the video... they gave me the idea to try way I did it... especially that heat gun... I am like, "That looks like a bow dryer, I'll do that!" LOL.

[@CoxFam4eva]

@@rayhayden yeah I think it is after trying it! Someone else said if nothing else works I could just use wallpaper. So at least I’m not completely out of options 😂 I’m remodeling our bathroom by myself and it’s crazy how much I’ve learned already lol all the hacks and tips KZbin has to give! I’ll check out the links thanks!

[@saneauto]

You made that look easy. i think youve got the technique perfected. (Joke alert) If I had that on my kitchen cabinets i could just leave the kitchen doors open for a couple hours in July and watch them fall off. Unfortunately the humidity would immediately attack the particle board and disintegrate the exposed doors within a couple hours.

[@dgreer2756]

Thank you so much Ray. I am definitely going to try this. Wonderful video and instructions... keep em' coming!!👍

[@rayhayden]

Thank you for dropping by - I greatly appreciate the support! I have a series of videos on the Melamine - I ended up priming, then painting the cabinets - and we have sold that house... closing is pending!

[@ccsworldaustralia4332]

Hi Ray, wow, that worked great, excellent tip, take care

[@ExtremeRecluse]

I only have problems with pealing near my stove. I will paint them. Very helpful video. Thank You

[@rayhayden]

I am going to answer your other question as well, under that comment. We had a neighbor actually paint over the plastic material, it turned out looking great, but I can only imagine that painting the plastic without proper priming will end up with peeling paint... I believe you are referring to the plastic peeling... ours originally peeled due to our cat!

[@photocontrol]

It comes off pretty easy, nice that it comes off with just a hair dryer, it appears the cabinet door surface is free of glue residue. Watching & supporting! 👍

[@waterwomaninFL]

Thanks so much for this! What would you recommend to prime and paint cabinets in a bathroom?

[@rayhayden]

I really love Kilz 2. The thing about it is that it is "water based" as opposed to "oil." I had just recently put a little dinger in my office wall, and I patched it up and slapped on some Kilz 2, and I'll be if it did not simply blend right in perfectly. I know where the touch up is, but if I asked someone to point it out, I don't think they could! Once I use Kilz 2, which can be done over any type of paint, you can then finish paint with oil or water based paints on top of it. We prefer water based low VOC paints as much as possible. In South Florida - where this video was done - the front doors of my office and our house (shared a wall), I had personally painted the metal doors with Kilz 2, then I used a thin roller that put a texture on the doors - they looked fantastic, and we loved them! If we are working in our own home, we will take our time, and try things out to get the best results. On the image, my hand is on a cabinet door once the plastic cover had been removed, but the SIDES of the cabinets had Formica on them... I lightly sanded that, and used Kilz 2 on it. While I worked in the office, I left it as Kilz 2, but when we moved, and sold these two units, I finish painted it with a Semi Gloss. I loved the flat white look, but for the kitchens and bathrooms, people like Semi Gloss. The cleanability of it is that I can easily touch up flat paint, the shinier the finish, the more likely it is I must repaint an entire door, or side of the cabinet, because shiny doesn't touch up so easily... at least, not for me. Thanks for watching, and commenting!

[@waterwomaninFL]

@@rayhayden Thanks so much! I’m in central Florida, had no idea what to do with these cabinets and your video and detailed response is so appreciated!

[@RavenVargas27]

Awesome always wanted to see how it was done thanks very helpful

[@transitvandoors]

Great advice, luckily my cupboard doors are solid oak, but its always good to have the knowledge for other projects

[@pixiko7466]

Help! I have a question ... Have watched your videos and they've been very helpful, but ... Now that I have the film off, and I'm priming the cabinets, why is my primer (tried water-based and oil-based, applied with foam roller) drying with a very grainy finish? Requires a lot of sanding, which I didn't think it should. Has this happened to you? Thanks!

[@rayhayden]

It depends on the foam roller, they come in different smoothness and such. I used to use a very smooth foam roller for our front doors... and I primed with the same primer, and I use a latex paint on top of that... and I loved our doors! They did have a slight texture, but I loved that too. If you want smooth paint, especially the final coat, make sure that you have the smoothest roller - the folks at the store are excellent sources of assistance on that too. Take your time, LIGHTLY sand between coats... after it had dried, and let that sit before going at it again... wipe off any dust from the light sanding between coats as well... that should make your cabinets pretty darn smooth... I only did LIGHT sanding between coats of primer, and coats of final paint.

[@pixiko7466]

Thank you!

[@JenSpice]

Watching and supporting. One of these days a overhaul on my soapy kitchen using this technique. They could use this.

[@PureSpirit347]

Hi, I don't know if you'll see my comment after all the time has passed since you first posted, but if you do, I have just purchased a house with kitchen units identical to the ones in your video. It appaers several repairs were made to deal with peeling edges. It looks like they used super glue and I can't shift these bits. I am worried about sanding it off in case it reduced cabinet fit. Any suggestions please? Thank you fro U.K.

[@rayhayden]

If the bits of difficult material is limited, know that you can purchase just the door. Someone in the area ought to be able to get you in the right direction. The thing with this type of system is that the material is kind of interesting, but real wood really cannot be made to stay smooth and flat like this does, and the covering can be acquired to fit - and that is because they are typically standard. So, it depend on your comfort level. Me? I would try to remove it - CAREFULLY - and if I messed anything up? I would smooth that portion out. This can even be done to match the detail portion grooves... wood filler (this material is basically like wood dust glued together), or any type of filler material you like to fix any blemishes. And, if all should go horribly wrong? Buy a new door, maybe two. But if the amount of doors ends up being "all," then you absolutely lose NOTHING trying to remove the bits that stick too well. Now, the last ditch effort, and you've got to be careful with it - and protect your hands - use a heat gun only to the point where you see the material is soft. At that point, use a scraper, and try to scrape it off - keep the heat from the heat gun off and away from you, and anything flammable while using such a thing... that is why I decided to try the hair dryer.... and for me, that worked great - but I have seen people simply rip it off, or use a heat gun... just be careful. Also, fixing it up yourself adds an amount of pride to the end result - I absolutely loved how mine looked when I got done with them!

[@jimokeefe7603]

This works great. Can I ask you how you cleaned the glue off for primer? Or did you have too at all?

[@rayhayden]

Sometimes, the process is not as strong a hold - as in they might not have had enough glue / adhesive... which makes my removal easier. In the Description Below, I think I linked to two other videos that I watched for this project, one just ripped it off, the other one used a heat gun, so I decided to use a hair dryer. I did lightly sand, not to remove the adhesive, but to smooth it out... some adhesive doesn't matter if you prime it well, and lightly sand it smooth (as you can). Thanks for watching!

[@jenniferlaviolette5362]

Hi, I'm looking for advice. I've followed your videos and am not 100% happy, I have MDF cabinets, removed the melamine, then I used 2 coats of the Kilz oil based primer, cleaned & sanded between coats, then purchased the Bher door & cabinet laytex paint 3 coats of that, I used the a roller that left an "orange peel" texture, I then changed my roller and found a better one, I'm over the texture. Now that the cabinets have been installed and drying for well over a month they are getting nicked and scratched. Do I place a final sealer coat on them? the cabinets are a deep colour & now and all of the new nicks are showing the light primer. I'd love to hear your suggestion on how to avoid this.

[@rayhayden]

Sorry I did not get an answer to you sooner. Kilz Oil Based Primer should be fine, and that should have dried completely between coats (I am assuming it was, because that would have been a mess to sand!). The paint that we used on our cabinets was actually wall paint, and we used Semi-Gloss for that final effort. Of note, I did use the Kilz2 Water Based Primer - we don't like using oil based paints, and I even painted our metal front doors with Kilz2, then painted a latex paint on top of that - looked fantastic! I never had any nicks or scratches on the painted surfaces of the cabinets. If I did, however, I would normally try to lightly sand as needed, clean off any dust as required, and if it is a chip, where paint is missing, I would fill that if need be - with whatever material you feel will do the job smoothly (honestly, I might try some sort of wood filler, or just spackel!) and then touch it up... if it is Semi-Gloss, or anything with a shine to it, you would have to paint that entire portion of that surface (door face, or such).

[@jenniferlaviolette5362]

@@rayhayden Well I went to my local hardware store, I just finished stripping all of the paint and Kilz oil primer off. Sanded and 2 coats of of my paint. They are drying up much better than before. I’m going to see how well they dry before moving onto the other 12 doors ;)

[@lisamariehorn]

I guess this is why my then-toddlers were able to peel my vanity cabinet so easily. Lol. Great video. Thanks!

[@rayhayden]

In the office, one of our cats, "Pablo Picatso" (he's an artist!) was able to start to peel and shred the top portions of one of our cabinets, and I figured if we replaced the cover (which is a possibility), he'd just go to work on them again. Thanks for watching!

[@ActNaturally]

Fantastic video, great job filming!! THUMBS UP 😊👍

[@bakedbean37]

I'm a plumber. I go round peoples houses. In two days this week I saw two houses where this plastic was quite happily removing itself from kitchen doors all over the place. I commiserated with both customers over their not very old and obviously quite expensive kitchens falling to pieces. What has the world come to? I will be contacting both as a courtesy to advise them how they may want to relatively easily remedy the situation.

[@FrankieAutoCAD]

Great planning. Great discussion.

[@CorrieJones]

I just did this and it worked great! Thanks for sharing!

[@rayhayden]

Fantastic! I am very happy it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@ActNaturally]

Back for more!! Have a good day Ray!!

[@RicardoTrzmielina]

If the edges are peeling off, is there a way you would recommend to re-glue them instead of removing them?

[@rayhayden]

This is an excellent question. These type of covers are normally a standard set of sizes so that it is cost effective to replace, or completely change the look of them (with a new set). We had a couple of them where (like at a drawer for utensils) where the lip might have kind of got picked up and loosened. Some of the doors may have also been loose at the very edges. I had seen some folks try to tape them down, but it never seems to work well, or for all that long. I had not attempted to add adhesive to try and get them to stick back down myself, but I am rather certain that it can be done. I would recommend checking out one of the big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot - maybe even Ace hardware, they have a lot of neat stuff I may not find at the other stores sometimes. Ask them for some insight, and check for videos on KZbin with keywords like "applying adhesive to melamine" or "Melamine repair" or such. I believe that it would be likely that you might find a few videos of someone doing that, maybe using a small artist paint brush or such, and carefully getting the glue between the edge and the cabinet door, or drawer, and how to make sure it locks down well. Now, if you get nervous about it, or if it might crack (our kitty plucked at ours and caused a umber of cracks in them), check the local stores above (or whatever you have in your area), and see if they have the same pattern and style you have. The ones I replaced here (which was my office) I did not like the color and look of them - and I LOVED the flat white primer, Kilz2 - it really looked fantastic... but when we moved away from South Florida, I finish coated the cabinets with Semi-Gloss white, and they came out great too. It is nice to know that we have options... if you try to get some adhesive under the lip to do the proper re-adhesive of it, just use some patience and work carefully. Also make sure you have adhesive remover if you get any adhesive over-application. Thanks for watching!

[@mark_gt5509]

Off to try this now!

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching, I am hoping it gives you no issues... I had none, but I have heard of some people having to do a little extra glue cleanup... I just sanded, primed, sanded, reprimed, and they had been good to go.

[@mark_gt5509]

@@rayhayden Cheers Ray - it just popped off exactly as you said. New Brighton, just over the river from Liverpool. Quality tip 👍

[@michaelasheppard7863]

Great vid! 👍🏾 One thing: how do you remove the material from the base of the cabinets???? Like the area between the cabinet doors???

[@rayhayden]

Sorry I did not answer sooner! The material on the front of the shelves, and around the doors is actually Formica, and it is glued on forever! What I did for those parts, and the SIDES of the cabinets, was to lightly sand the Formica, prime it with Kilz2, then sand and prime it again... then I put on a final coat, lightly sanded that to make sure it is smooth, then final coated it again, only touching up any areas that are not smooth at the end... for those more difficult parts, I got lucky, and did not have to touch anything up - and the cabinets came out great!

[@Msleft1]

@@rayhayden This is exactly what I was wondering. Didn’t know what the material around the doors and the sides of the cabinets are.Thanks!

[@FloridaTampaBayLife]

Outstanding! Thank you so much!

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching!

[@JohnCRV]

this is interesting Ray. I never knew you can do that. How do you know which ones you can do that with?

[@rayhayden]

All of them - they use MDF board, lightly glue the plastic cover to them... so a heat gun - or even a blow dryer can get them loose... for me, a cat assisted with the need to replace them... I am painting them Semi-Gloss white now!

[@rayhayden]

I foresee a John C RV marathon today! LOL

[@ScottsJourneys]

I did not know that stuff came off so easy

[@Iheartjossstyle]

Wow! Thank you so much!!

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching, it is a pleasure to make videos that help someone out!

[@lynlang7243]

I want to remove the melamine from the top of my French Provencial furniture does this work the same way? Will I get real wood that I can stain underneath?

[@rayhayden]

I am unsure... is it Melamine, or is it Formica? They can look the same but be radically different. Ascertain if it is real wood, and what the covering is... and look around on KZbin and Google - and take a lot of care not to damage the real wood (if it is) beneath the covering. We have a roll top desk, the upper half of the desk is very heavy and primarily real wood, but the lower portion is not. We had been slightly surprised by that because it is so heavy... sorry I could not be more helpful on that one.

[@lynlang7243]

@@rayhayden Thanks for replying. I'm not sure which it is, but it is on top of a piece of 1960s/1970's French Provencial furniture that I want to stain/paint.

[@rayhayden]

Sorry for the delay... if you have a local friend who is familiar with that sort of thing, I would ask them to look at it for some advice. Formica can be primed and painted without removing it or damaging the wood below - the glue / adhesive for it is very strong... for this process Melamine, it doesn't seem to be as strong a hold.

[@TickledPinkTeri]

What brand are these cabinets? The cabinets in my home which were melting due to the gas stove, are warped but they are, or seem harder than yours. I know these wouldn’t come off like yours. I’m afraid of what’s underneath.

[@rayhayden]

I never knew the brand. It concerns me that they would melt. If you have air spaces between the covering and the door, they should come off. I have seen people use heat guns (I would not do that) some people just ripped them off (bold, but I would not do that either)... and I used a hair dryer on the heat setting.

[@dans4270]

Gives new meaning to " if you can't take the heat 🔥 stay out the kitchen "

[@Ed_Gein]

I got doors like this also but they sent me sheets of the same laminate which i used to apply to the cabinate frames. It was peel and stick. I assume that would come off the same way?

[@rayhayden]

I'm not sure how they did these cabinets. If they installed them with nothing on the doors (because they are standard sizes), then the builder could wait until a buyer purchased a unit, and then installed the covers. Other than for some of the sides, and some of the thin interior portions... and the countertops - which matched, they could have done it after the cabinets had been installed. I suspect that the cabinets and countertops had been completed by some sort of local shop, and installed completed. Though the replacement covers can be done as well - due to the standard sizes... one of our neighbors simply painted over the covers - and they looked great... and another neighbor purchased a single cover and replaced it.

[@TyTy-wg2sc]

How do I remove glue that didn't come off? I painted over them and there is a film on some cabinets.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching! - No matter what material the cabinets are made from, some of the adhesive is absorbed into the material - so removing all of the glue really is not an option. I primed mine with Kilz2, a water based primer that works on metal doors, like our front door - and it did great! For the cabinet doors, we had MDF board, and some glue absorbed (of course), and I could not really remove it all. What I did, was to remove the plastic covers as in the video, and then I lightly sanded the bar material to make it as smooth as I could. After I had sanded it, I primed it with Kilz2, and I lightly sanded them again - trying to keep it all as smooth as possible. Now, for me - on those doors in the video - I LOVED the flat white look (this was my office) - so I left them with the Kilz2 Primer as the finish coat for a while... when we moved from South Florida to Central Florida, I finish coated them with Semi-Gloss paint, 2 coats... and I never had any issues with film, or even coverage... they just came out great. I imagine that you could prime them with Kilz2 now - there is no reason why you could not - but I would sand everything as smooth as possible first, then go to work on them. Best wishes!

[@ScottsJourneys]

great job sir,very impressive.salamat po!

[@kpeel1357]

Great video! Thanks. Did you make a video of the process on how you painted the MDF surface?

[@tapinwithtiffany538]

After taking plastic off, I have this ultra- hard film leftover and the stuff I used goo gone but it's not getting it all off. Any suggestions?

[@rayhayden]

The primary thing is to get it smooth for painting. You don't have to remove all of the glue - and some of that actually soaks into the MDF board, so I could not get it all "off" of the boards anyway... I sanded them as smooth as I could, primed them, lightly sanded after that, and second coated them with primer. Now, for this location, it was my office, and I LOVED the look of the flat white primer, so I left them that way for myself, but when we moved and sold the property, I finished them off with Semi-Gloss paint... and they looked great. They will probably not be absolutely perfect, but they can look fantastic... work on smoothness, and the primer, then paint, should make them look great!

[@theurbantrotter]

Hello sir, could you apply fablon on top of the wood right away or you have to do anything prior that? I’m removed the plastic from my cabinet doors and i would like to put on fablon, I was wondering if I need to put anything first.

[@rayhayden]

I had to look up Fablon to see what it was! There are some good videos on KZbin to check out to see how well folks like it. I would lightly sand the surfaces to make sure the old glue is removed as much as possible, and the light sanding ought to assist the Fablon in adhering. Check the instructions with the Fablon product as well. I do not think you would need to prime or paint, and just the light sanding ought to get the doors ready for Fablon (again, checking with the instructions). If you do it, take pictures and make a video about the process, other people are probably looking at that solution as well! Thanks for watching!

[@TyTy-wg2sc]

@@rayhayden Hi. How do I remove the glue and make the surface even for paint? I still have glue and the surface is not neat.

[@rayhayden]

@@TyTy-wg2sc If the glue is DRY, and you can lightly sand it smooth without doing damage to the surface, sand it. If, however, it is sticky, you will have to try to remove it, but you need to be careful on how you do that. You do not want flammable fluid soaking into the doors! You may need to carefully scrape it off, and that might not be easy. You could try heating it up with the blow dryer (NOT a heat gun!) and try to get it off... just work carefully with it. If you do some minor damage to the doors, you can use a wood filler product to patch those marks up and make them smooth, and then go ahead with the rest of the prep to get to priming and painting. I was always able to lightly sand, prime, lightly sand, prime again, lightly sand, paint, lightly sand and finish coat them.

[@TyTy-wg2sc]

@@rayhayden Thank you. I will try that. Thanks again.

[@rayhayden]

@@TyTy-wg2sc Just feel free to take your time and work slowly... it isn't a race, and when you get the final coat of paint on a smooth surface - you win!

[@TheElCyril]

Thank you Sir!

[@stephaniestewart2539]

I have these same cabinets in a house I bought and the bottom cabinets has been peeled off at how can I get paint to adhere to it

[@rayhayden]

Sorry for the delay. If the plastic material is off completely, and you have it down to the base cabinet, you can use any major primer designed to work with (I believe it is MDF board). I personally used Kilz 2 because it is water based. I lightly sanded the surfaces, and it did not matter to me if I removed all of the glue, just that I did not have anything that would prevent the surface from being smooth... The Kilz2 worked great for us.

[@karennskie35]

Thank you for this. I can’t wait to try it! If it works I’m going to feel like a I broke a law!

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching - I have a few videos on the project - they came out looking fantastic. I left them flat white until we moved from that property, and my wife wanted them to be Semi Gloss.... the house, and the office (where this video is), sold in one day back in 2018! We actually had to move everything from the one unit over to the other as we had been gearing up for our move... good times!

[@karennskie35]

@@rayhayden This is working like a charm. I’m getting ready to paint. Thanks again!

[@gwendolynwehage6336]

Do you also remove the laminate on the inside of the cabinet to make a clean painted look on the inside too?

[@rayhayden]

EXCELLENT Question! The shelves had the material on them, so the three choices would be 1) replace the shelves - too pricey! 2) Flip the shelves around - they had NOT been finished at all, so that was a hard "no!" or 3) prime and paint those. Here is the thing, the SIDE of the cabinet on the right side as I look at them had Formica on that... which was also the strip across the shelves and the face of the cabinets... so I primed them with Kilz2, and (initially, because I loved the look), just kept them flat white like that - until we sold the office and house... then I finish coated them with Semi Gloss. They looked fantastic, and I loved them.

[@gwendolynwehage6336]

@@rayhayden Thank you so much. On further inspection, it seemed as though the shelves and cabinet itself are Formica, which is a huge relief. I think now that I will paint everything with the same paint except to strip the doors of the coating first and use the same color to cover everything.

[@aldandrea]

Thanks.

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching!

[@SenjaAldee]

always great video and thank you for sharing

[@CucaPatada]

Very usefull tips on your video...

[@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid]

Interesting info! Watching and supporting😊

[@debramunro2844]

Hi, I'm a total novice. Would I be able to do this with bedroom wardrobes too? I have the most hideous brown melamine bedroom furniture. Any help appreciated. The quality is good but I can no longer look at the colour. Thank you x

[@rayhayden]

On that, I would not know... if it is indeed the same material, then this ought to work. Two things to consider. 1) the fronts of the shelves, some edging, and the side of these cabinets had Formica on them... I had to sand and prime and paint that - it came out great, but more to do... 2) Melamine is actually available to buy, and you may have noticed that a lot of this stuff is a "standard" size. That means that the boards (doors and stuff) are made to specific tolerances, and we can often replace it - with the same color, or something new as well! I knew I did not want to replace this, but a neighbor of ours did go out and buy one replacement cover for his door on one cabinet, and it matched perfectly... on that point - they are pre-molded to fit too! Consider making a video on the process if you do it.

[@loku1659]

YASSSSSS! needed this video.

[@rayhayden]

I am very happy that it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@ashleighwatson9549]

This is very interesting. Does this work on cabinets that are more than 30 years old? It is white and has an oak trim. I was thinking of replacing the whole face as it has it. If this works I hope I can paint or stain the cabinets and add hardware as they do not have any.

[@rayhayden]

If you are removing the melamine material, yes, it should work. There is something else to know about the melamine. If you like it, but would just like to update, or replace it, you can do that as well. You have to search for who has it locally to you, but a friend of mine in our community was able to replace just one panel on his cabinets (it cracked), and just replace that. The doors should be a universal size (though there are a lot of various sizes, they should be of a uniform nature so you could replace them). We considered this, but our cats would end up just pulling on them again anyway, so painting was the way to go. Do a good job on the prep work, and the finish will look great. I loved the flat look myself, but my wife had me finish them off in semi-gloss.

[@rachelo315]

@@rayhayden I have the same cabinets. They're eggshell color with the oak finish and the little groove at the top that acts like a handle. Very 80s. After the melamine is off, what is the best way to paint the board underneath? Or did I miss that somewhere in the comments? I want to paint the bottom cabinets midnight blue by Behr and the top a brighter white.

[@BOOMBIGZ]

Great information! Thanks for sharing! :)

[@nicolegoupil7179]

Seams like the term "melamine" is a broad one. Melamine, foil wrap, plastic wrap. My question is, how can one tell which of these finishes were used over the MDF cabinets or maybe even just the doors???

[@rayhayden]

That is a great question, because I am not sure. I use the word Melamine, but I think of it as plastic. On these cabinets, the front facing parts of the cabinetry are actually Formica, as is the little strip on the front facing part of the shelves. The doors of the cabinets and drawers are the only thing with the "plastic" facing. Thanks for watching!

[@StickyBudz]

Who would have thought that a hair dryer had a use for men! haha! Great tips and advice! Thanks for sharing and always caring Ray! :D

[@ZUESCOURTNEY]

Do you know if the the plastic stuff is just on the doors? I want to paint my doors and cabinets so I was wondering if the cabinets is just wood

[@rayhayden]

On the cabinets that we had ONLY the doors had the plastic on them. The rest of the cabinets had been covered particle board. The material of the doors without the plastic was MDF board.

[@JohnCRV]

looks like you got a hit on this video my friend.

[@JohnCRV]

up to 211

[@debbierobertson4835]

Does a hairdryer really work?

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for asking. I had seen a few videos on this. One where someone pretty much just ripped the material off, and another one where someone used a heat gun (a very hot tool that looks a little like a blow dryer). The heat gun worked, but you can melt things you do not want to, or even set your house on fire... I figured that, since the cover was loose anyway, the adhesive process did not work so well, and a Blow Dryer on the heat setting ought to work well... and for me? It worked perfectly! Thanks for watching!

[@ThePlantEaters]

Did you make a video on priming and painting them? I'd love to see it! If not what paint did you use and are you happy with it?

[@rayhayden]

I love them - primed with Kilz 2, painted with Behr Semi-Gloss white... I will make a video of how they look final... which is actually taking pace now! Three coats of final paint... then I also have some detail work to do on the cabinets themselves... that will end up in the next video on these things... I prefer flat white, but the Semi-Gloss is more in line with what most people would expect.

[@ThePlantEaters]

Awesome!!! I can't wait to see it. It's our next project! We are replacing the floors now and that is taking a minute, haha. After really looking over the cabinet situation... what are you doing about the laminate cabinets boxes? I've seen a few different approaches i.e light sanding, use a bonding paint, prime, light sand, paint. I'm hoping to get away with the same paint and primer for both, hoping for a uniform look. I hate hate hate thermofoil! Horrible product in my opinion.

[@theresasmith1]

MDF is the material. I hate it . I'm so glad i was referred to your video. Question: the sides are melamine. Can i paint it ? Bravo video

[@rayhayden]

The MDF stuff works well. You can get those covers from some stores, a neighbor picked up a new one and it matched perfectly... we decided to remove them and paint them... other than the doors, the rest of the cabinet is particle board with Formica coverings. I sanded the Formica lightly, primed, and painted it - looked fantastic! When we sold the home and office (two units next to each other), they each sold in a day!

[@theresasmith1]

@@rayhayden thank you for your quick reply. I will certainly be doing what you commented 😊

Nice video edition

[@vulcanswork]

Thank you

[@sophia-sb3kq]

So I don’t have to buy a heated gun for this project?

[@rayhayden]

I hate to say that "it depends," but it kind of does. It THAT unit, which was my office, I could see that the center of the cover was not tight on some of the doors, and our cat, "Pablo Picatso" (he's an artist!) did some picking at the top of some other doors, and one or two drawers had small cracks in the covering... so I tried to use the hot air dryer to see if I could loosen them up, and it worked great. I had seen one video where the gentleman kind of ripped the covering off, and another one where a woman used the heat gun, and it kind of melted the covering a little bit. With the heat gun, we have to be VERY careful using it, and for me? I would try to heat up the surface with the hot air hair dryer first... if it comes off easily enough (and not all of it did, some needed extra work and careful scraping)... but I got it all off. Oh, also, some of the cabinets had Formica on it - sides, and the thin frontage of the shelves in the cabinets... for that section, I primed them twice with Kilz2, sanding lightly between coats, and finished it all off with a semigloss white. The job looked fantastic, if I do say so myself. However, when I FIRST took the covers off, I only primed twice with Kilz2, and it was my office, not our house (next to this unit)... I LOVED the flat white look, and how the light bounced off like a photo shoot or something... I loved it so much, that I did not finish coat the cabinets until we sold the office and moved. Thanks for watching!

[@ExtremeRecluse]

Ii have a question. Are these cabinet doors coated on both sides or just the fronts?

[@rayhayden]

The doors you see in these videos ONLY have the plastic on the outside. Of note, the spaces between the doors, as in, remove the doors completely, the stuff you see that is the front of the cabinet case... that stuff had Formica on it. I had to prime that to paint it up. The sides of the big cabinets which faced away from any wall also had Formica on them, but I painted those as ell, and they looked great. Originally, I only primed them with Kilz 2, which dries a pleasant flat white, which I personally loved... but when we sold that unit, my wife, Miss Demeanor, asked me to paint them with Semi-Gloss... which, of course, I did! LOL!

[@solcastro9180]

It looks like that is a low quality product. Is it normal for it to come off so easy?

[@rayhayden]

I believe that - if there was lower quality - it was in the applying of the original cover. The material itself was actually fine. We had a cat that had it's way with the covers. This was due to the adhesive not holding the covers tight. This was in my office, in our house - the unit next to the office - the covers held fine, and in the community in general, they held fine. We had four units in that community, and this was the only one we removed the covers from - and again, due to the cat. One of our neighbors did have one crack, but he went to a local store and just purchased a new cover, and stuck it back on with the adhesive, and was good to go.

[@solcastro9180]

@@rayhayden probably the adhesive used, then. Any way, nice work.

[@VendettaGamingVGC]

Very nice & informative video! =)

[@gosskamperis2016]

Thanks :)

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for watching!

[@leelopez596]

once the melamine is removed, do the cabinets need to be primed first before they are painted?

[@rayhayden]

Yes... I lightly sanded the doors and painted, sanded, and painted them... and for the CABINETS, I had to sand, paint, sand and paint those as well.... ONLY the front face of the shelves (Formica), and the sides of the cabinets, also covered with Formica. Light sanding, paint, light sanding, finish coat.... I liked FLAT, but for selling the properties, we finished with semi-gloss.

[@MarcosV619]

I removed mine and there was a thick glue residue. Did this happened to you? If so how did you get it off?

[@rayhayden]

This did not happen with mine, and I lightly sanded, then primed with Kilz 2, then lightly sanded and re-primed it again. I left it that way (just primer) because I loved the way it looked in my office... when we sold the house and office, I finished it off with Semi-Gloss, sanded lightly, and finish coated it. For the "thick glue" issue, I would check with the stores, big name ones and smaller ones to get a variety of ideas. I would only work to make it flat so that it can be primed rather than trying to completely remove it... MDF board is what I think of as being pressure made saw dust into a workable product.

[@ryanmciver6936]

Love it. Took them straight off Tried to sand the cabinets ready to paint and the adhesive has clogged up my sander and I can't get the glue off. Tried wd40 and nail varnish remover with no success. Any help would be brilliant!?😭😭😭

[@rayhayden]

Don't use the sander, use 80 and 120 grit paper, and try to lightly smooth it all out. If you can get a smooth surface, you are doing great. The two coats of primer, with light sanding between coats, should be enough to lock down the issue of any glue, and allow you to finish coat on top... just focus on a smooth surface, and avoid making too much heat on top of the glue... I am not sure what would happen, but I tend to think it might kind of reactivate and be a mess.... and, if all else fails, and you lose a door? These are a standard size thing, and you could pick up a new replacement at the local stores that carry them.

[@ryanmciver6936]

@@rayhayden thanks so much for the advice. Really appreciate you taking the time for such a thorough response😀 I will give it a go. They are standard doors. But you know how it is. Budgets and pinching the Pennies while doing a project! Thanks Ray!

[@IsItAconspiracy]

Do i need to sand them?

[@rayhayden]

This depends on a number of things. First, is there any glue stuck to the cabinets? I got lucky, and there was none, sometimes, there was not enough adhesive, and thus the failure. However, sometimes, for some reason, there is a little bit, or a lot, of glue that stuck, and is going to be visible unless we sand it. If we get lucky, as I was, I only LIGHTLY sand the material. I am not trying to remove material (or adhesive), what I am actually trying to do, is make micro scratches in the material for the primer (Kilz2) to adhere to. After the first coat of primer, I lightly sand again - both times with 120 grit sandpaper (higher number is smoother than, say, 80 grit). This second light sanding is only to smooth out any blemishes I created, and to flake off (

[@angelafinklea5330]

Show me a video of how to remove Plastic of kitchen door knobs

[@rayhayden]

Our knobs on all of our cabinets in this property had been plastic, but they screwed into the cabinets doors and drawers from the inside of the door. On this project, I simply had to remove the screw from the back side, and hold the knob in my other hand as it came loose. I am unsure of plastic coatings being on door knobs.

[@christinegooddy1573]

Thanks so much for sharing! Amazed a hairdryer could remove it. 😃🙏

[@KDC_Electrical]

I don't want to get caught up in a project I don't have time for. Story of my life that

[@rayhayden]

Thanks for dropping by! This project, from the original start of it to the finish paint just before we sold the property took years - but that is because I loved the way it looked so much with the flat primer finish, that I left it that way. When we sold the property, we finished with a semi-gloss for the sale. This was one of the most successful projects I had done in the unit, and one of the easiest.

[@SenjaAldee]

Oohh thats how you do it.. its like laminated one .... now i know

[@ashleyrobinson539]

I have these. I'm removing evertthing but i have a thicked material being used on everything else (laminate?). The glue/rubber behind it is terrible. So far nothing is working. Heat, goo gone, acetone, next is mineral spirits. So frustrated. Might end up seeing if i can sand through it. Concerned over chemicals🤦‍♀️ nightmare

[@rayhayden]

Our door covers had been this stuff... but the sides of the cabinets, and the thin shelf stripes in between (like the casings), had Formica on that... I lightly sanded that (the glue is horrible to deal with!), and then primed, then painted that. You don't have to sand all of the glue off... if (Formica glue especially) can be made smooth-ish, and you can prime, lightly sand, prime, and maybe lightly sand and prime again... you may be able to get a pretty smooth finish. Use safety masks when sanding that stuff... it is nasty.

[@ashleyrobinson539]

@@rayhayden thank you

[@smilegagadk]

what do I do after the melamine is removed but adhesive remains? it wont come off.

[@rayhayden]

I sanded mine lightly for two reasons, just to smooth it out, and secondly, the scratch it a little bit (the glue and the board) so that the primer would adhere better. I used Kilz 2 for the primer. I did one coat, then lightly sanded, and re-coated it with another coat of Kilz 2 (Kilz 2 is the water based primer). Now, this was my office, and I loved the way it looked with just Kilz 2 on it, so I left it like that, but a while later, we sold the house and office (two units next to each other) and my wife wanted me to paint the office cabinets with semi-gloss... which I did, and that looked great too. Kilz 2 dries matte... and I love the look and light bouncing off of matte (flat) paint without the shine of semi-gloss. When I painted it with semi-gloss, I also lightly sanded, then did one coat... and light sanded between that and the finish coat.

[@smilegagadk]

@@rayhayden ive tried to but its so bad it just streaks, :/

[@rayhayden]

The glue remnants, without anything on it, ought to dry out a bit - since the covering it was supposed to be holding on is removed. I do not know what the adhesive is, but mine was dry, and I could lightly sand it... the sanding stuff - like the board creates a light dust, it is OK for that to get stuck on the glue to help it dry up. Let me know if that helps... and if the glue gets drier - or is just damp.

[@fnk101]

thanks

[@rayhayden]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@Chanmantroop10]

Isn't this thermofoil vinyl. Melamine is like veneer but plastic, no?

[@rayhayden]

Good point. I went with the name of it that I found locally, but I have seen people refer to it as a variety of names... to me, none of that matters, whatever it is, it was glued on, and heat - like with a blow dryer as I used - ought to be enough to remove it... a heat gun might set your house on fire... and my goal was to avoid that. Thanks for watching.

[@mariag.slaughter4790]

What product you used to remove the glue from the cabinet?

[@rayhayden]

I did not use any product to remove glue... what I did, was to lightly sand the surface with a high grit sandpaper (like 80 or maybe even 120, I forget now), but my goal was to make the surface smooth, not really try to remove glue... I primed them with Kilz 2, and final painted them with a Semi-Gloss white paint when we sold the property. I hope this helps. Oh, I also primed them with two coats of primer, and I lightly sanded between coats... and between the two final coats as well.

[@mariag.slaughter4790]

@@rayhayden My kitchen cabinets are laminated and have some type of glue. Some of them are coming off on their own but they are sticky. I will like to know which glue remover will be the best.

[@rayhayden]

I am not familiar with the laminate glue use for Formica and such, but I would probably still try to use a light sanding process first... if you can take down (reduce) some of that sticky aspect (by the sanding process), and make it smooth, I would try that first. If that doesn't work, I would go to the local hardware store (Lowe's, Home Depot, or Ace) and ask them for a suggestion. Because you would be using this on a wood cabinet, I would suggest that using as little as possible is best. Also make sure you have proper protective gloves and mask as needed. The glue remover is probably something that is flammable, so be cautious in how you dispose of materials used in the process.

[@Elena_Shchukareva]

Интересно было посмотреть .

[@mariearce8021]

Is that the same as laminate?

[@rayhayden]

Excellent question, I found this on the Internet, "Melamine is a laminate, but not all laminates are melamine." There are basic differences between the two products, this website was helpful, forestplywood.com/blog/laminate/melamine-panels-vs-plastic-laminate/

[@theranger7974]

Ty for talking me me along

[@jcuvier135]

Well. That was easy!

[@rayhayden]

I linked to two other videos with different approaches... mine seemed to be easiest, and maybe safest - but the other two worked very well.... I have since painted the cabinets, check out how they look in that same playlist... I will be uploading a "end result" video soon as well!