Remodel of Dinette

[Tony B]

Finally got around to doing something.
I removed the old dinette table, peeled off the old pink Formica and replaced it with white Formica then stripped and refinished the oak frame.
The cushions were replaced with white vinyl - I hired out that part.

Total Cost was just under $500

[easttnboater]

Much cleaner and brighter looking.

[Tony B]

I always use as much white in a boat as I can. makes it look and feel bigger.
Removing the old Formica took less than 5 minutes.

[42gibson]

looks much better tony

[Stmbtwle]

Nice! White always dresses something up

[GoVols]

Definitely an improvement. Decorating trends are heavily apparent in boats. Whenever you're looking through pictures, you can usually tell which era a boat was built in just by the decor of the cabin or the fabric on the seats. Did you reupholster the seats yourself? Those look very well done! Nice look and quality job!

[KC55]

Tony, very professional looking job and a nice improvement. Did you have to do any prep to the table top after peeling the old formica or was it strictly a glue and stick operation? This opens up a lot of inexpensive options for me on the age of boats we are looking at.

Thanks for the posting,

KC55

[Tony B]

........ Did you reupholster the seats yourself? Those look very well done! Nice look and quality job!

I had the seats sent to an upholsterer. I gave her the old seat and backs and we picked out the white vinyl. She also cleaned, waterproofed and restitched my bimini for a grand total of $500 so I figure the
seat portion by itself was about $430.

[Tony B]

........ Did you have to do any prep to the table top after peeling the old formica or was it strictly a glue and stick operation? ......KC55

I used lacquer thinner through a small hypodermic needle to start to separate the old Formica from the plywood. Then, when it opened a little, I slowly poured about a 1/2 cup of lacquer thinner down the slot I created and slowly peeled the old Formica from the plywood. I just waited about 5 minutes for the lacquer thinner to dry and added a fresh coat of solvent based contact cement on top of the old cement still stuck to the plywood. Two thin coats of contact cement to the new Formica and put them together. Then used a router to flush trim the edges.

It's not always about money - like in the cost of a new sheet of plywood. It's also about time. If the old plywood is in perfect condition no need to get in the truck, go to a lumber yard, buy the plywood. Then go home take measurements and jockey around a full sheet of plywood to cut off a relatively small part for the new table top.
If the old top was damaged, like in swollen in some parts or de-laminated, I would chuck it out without hesitation.