Solution to worktop swelling at joints

boatbuilder

Just thought I would post this as a tip for anyone who has this problem with a laminated plastic worktop that is flush joined with no metal strip between.

Typically what happens is that when the worktop is joined at a corner, no sealant is used, or perhaps the wrong sealant or not enough sealant is used.
Then in the course of time, water seeps into the joint and suddenly you have a nice big raised bubble at the joint line which gets worse and worse because it lets in more and more water. I searched for a solution online but everyone said the same thing - only solution is to replace the entire worktop.

I decided to try my own remedy and I'm very happy with the results.
First you need some epoxy. I had some West systems epoxy left over from a boat project, but a few tubes of araldite precision (slow setting) would do the job as well. Then you need some way of colour matching the epoxy. In my case my worktop was black, so I got some artists black chalk pastels and ground em up into powder (inside a freezer bag) and mixed it with the epoxy.

Next you need a router with a straight cutting bit. Clamp some kind of straight edge to the worktop and cut out a rectangle with rounded corners to remove the offending area until you are sure you have cut back to "flat" worktop.
Set the router bit depth to about 6mm or so.

Then get a bit of old matching worktop (lets hope you kept some offcuts somewhere), hold it in a vice and with a handsaw, cut sideways into it so that you have cut a 5mm slice of worktop. If you like you can easily make a paper template by putting the paper over the hole and gently rubbing the edges to create a slight crease in the paper. Then just masking tape it to your new piece and cut it to shape. I used a scrollsaw, but you could use a handsaw if you're careful and you put masking tape on the laminate to prevent chipping. Then the fit can be fine tuned with some sandpaper and a sanding block.

Then when you are sure that it fits perfectly, mix up your epoxy and add some of your artists chalk to colour it. Then butter the sides and bottom of the hole with the epoxy, as well as the sides and bottom of the new piece. Push it into place and push it down to make sure it is perfectly flush with the worktop. You may have to put more or less epoxy under there to get it at the right height.

Then clean up any epoxy "squeeze-out" with methanol and a clean cloth. You can get methanol in paint shops, its usually purple in colour and must be used as thinners for something....it says "contains methanol" on the label. Wear gloves as you're doing all this...black epoxy is messy.

Anyhow, it worked for me and the repair is almost invisible.:):)