Kitchen worktop repair!! Please help

Discussion in 'Kitchen Fitters' Talk' started by Gabrielle Beaver, Jul 16, 2017.

  1. Gabrielle Beaver

    Gabrielle Beaver New Member

    IMG_6173.JPG Hi

    I have just dropped a plate onto my new wood verneer work top and it's taken a chip out of it.
    How can I repair it?

    Thanks
    Gabrielle
     
  2. metrokitchens

    metrokitchens Screwfix Select

    Not gonna ever be perfect but Colourfill is your best bet. I would even use two brown colours and have a go at making the grain.

     
  3. Mr. Handyandy

    Mr. Handyandy Screwfix Select

    Blimey. That was some plate.
    Large chunk like that, have you got any spare worktop you could chop a bit out of to help fill first?
     
    Rulland likes this.
  4. Gabrielle Beaver

    Gabrielle Beaver New Member

    I have a massive length of spare work top in the loft and also quite a length of just the thin laminate that goes on the top
     
  5. Rulland

    Rulland Screwfix Select

    I was to polite to suggest a cast iron griddle or something, that's taken a nice knock tbh.
     
  6. Bad piece of worktop.Looking at the photo the laminate has not been formed and attached to the chipboard properly.
    There should not be a void like there is between laminate and chipboard.
     
  7. Mr. Handyandy

    Mr. Handyandy Screwfix Select

    What I would do is cut the laminate covering on the damaged area to an easier shape(square), and cut a piece from the same profile(and try to get a piece with similar grain) on other worktop, cut and get to fit almost perfectly. Then fill damage to chipboard level(you choose filler-I'd mix woodchips and pva) and finally pva infill laminate. What's left to colorfil is dependant on how well the laminate patch fitted.
     
  8. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    Is it a just a straight run of worktop or has it got a sink cutout and corner joint in it ?
     
  9. Rulland

    Rulland Screwfix Select

    Deleted member 11267 has a point, looking at the pic now, there appears to be a void on the right hand side.
    One has to give a work surface a real whack to cause damage as shown, to actually go through to the chipboard guts,.

    Can you take a really good, close up picture of the damage, that would help clarify a lot.
     
  10. Gabrielle Beaver

    Gabrielle Beaver New Member

    There is a sink literally just to the left of this chip
     
  11. Gabrielle Beaver

    Gabrielle Beaver New Member

    I will take a pic in natural light in the morning as the darks putting a shadow on the picture
     
  12. I think you'll have your work cut out trying to suggest the worktop manufacturer supplied a 'faulty' product - the worktop got clonked by a plate and chipped, and I suspect that's pretty much 'end of'.

    So, how to repair? As Metro says, Colorfill is a standard solution, but of course it does leave the issue of matching the woodgrain.

    If you go to that YouTube clip, you'll also find related clips showing how to blend in woodgrains on laminates and solid wood - it can look pretty effective, but will only be as good as the care taken and skill level of the user. An example is (but lots out there):



    (And these kits aren't cheap!)

    I also suspect that the repair will need avoiding as much as possible afterwards as you won't want to wear off the effect of the repair.

    So, I fear it's a case of DIY a repair or else get a pro in to do it instead.

    Chances are you'll find - whichever way you go - that the repair won't be as obvious as you fear; the biggest hassle with matching woodgrain can also be its biggest plus - the mix of colours means that any slight differences will not stick out.
     
  13. Gabrielle Beaver

    Gabrielle Beaver New Member

    Thanks very much for your help I think this is the way I'm going to go, I've requested a few quotes to have it professionally fixed but know this is going to be costly so may attempt it myself first. I'm usually pretty good at little fiddly things like making it look realistic. I found the piece that chipped off too so debated gluing it back on and filling round it but this may look worse.
    I know it's never going to be perfect but as long as your eye isn't drawn to it straight away I will be happy.
    A bit of varnish on the surrounding area would be good too as the pieces of the plate scratched the surface
    What a silly mistake!!
     
  14. There is no harm in trying this yourself - it certainly won't make it worse (I don't think... :))

    By all means try replacing the chip itself provided it sits nicely flush.

    If you are half-practical - as it sounds as tho' you are - then I reckon you'll get adequate results DIYing this. By 'adequate' I mean that no-one else will actually notice it unless it's pointed out. And that is surely good enough?

    Obviously when working on it close-up you will think it ain't 'invisible', but no-one looks at worktops that closely - or they should be slapped if they try...

    I suspect that a 'Pro' repair won't be invisible either, so chances are you'll think to yourself "I could have done that..."

    By all means get your pro quotes but also ask them just how good a job it'll be - let them show you some photos of previous work. Only if you are confident that they will be significantly better than you - bearing in mind the different costs - should you proceed.

    (Mind you, if you were to buy a 'proper' kit to do this, I bet it'll cost nearly as much as a pro repair - they already have all the stuff!)

    So you might want to chust try a 'cheap' DIY repair - glue in the chip and then carefully use colours to blend it in the border - and put the savings you've made towards new tops a few years down the line. You know, after you've dropped a few more plates... :rolleyes:
     
  15. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    I reckon with care you can make this invisible enough that you won't notice it. Yes, I'd try glueing in the chip first as well. If this doesn't work, if it was me, I'd fill in to just below surface level with some car body filler first, only because it's really tough and I usually have some knocking around - you can get a small tin down the car accessory shop for prob about £4.99. I use this 2-pack filler for all sorts of filling jobs when I want something tough. If you do use this make sure it is either smooth to the surface or below the surface when it goes off - it is very hard and you won't want to have to sand it back :p. You can then put the decorative filler on top. Colorfil would certainly do and if you get a couple of colours you should get a close match, and the stuff DA has posted looks good too. You could also try sticking the chip on with 2-pack filler - it would give the chip good strong support underneath. have a go and send us pix :)
     

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