Formica on Plywood a bad idea - says cabinet guys

Yep I agree 100%. Plywood just doesn't stay flat enough over time. Plywood worked well in Nintendo cabs, but they baked some sort of plastic infused paint onto the wood vs laminating them.

My Missile Command cabaret project is a do-over because of this. I made the sides out of 3/4" birch ply, then used a thin grade wood grain laminate on them. Not only did it pop up around the edges, and I do think I used enough adhesive and applied it correctly, but it kinda bubbled in areas, as if the laminate got bigger in spots like there's air trapped in a bubble, if that makes sense. One side peeled off pretty easily.

I learned a LOT in the process, so I am not too pissed and don't consider it time wasted.

I'll rebuild it this winter with particle board panels. I have a swollen/crappy BZ cabaret cabinet that I'd like to do at the same time. Too little money and time.
 
Hey guys, I did formica on plywood back in June. It is holding up fine, I used rubber cement and a J roller to apply it. Granted plywood does shrink and contract more than particle board, I fucking hate particle board.

So here it is October and the formica is just fine on the cabinet.

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I used plywood in my mini DKjr build, but I painted it and then covered it in vinyl, which is flexible. Other than some wood grain showing thru if you look in the right light, vinyl-covered plywood worked well in this instance.

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I used plywood in my mini DKjr build, but I painted it and then covered it in vinyl, which is flexible. Other than some wood grain showing thru if you look in the right light, vinyl-covered plywood worked well in this instance.

I vinyl covered some primed/painted/sanded plywood panels on the doomed MC cabaret project - the back pieces, top - and they turned out great and held up fine. It's just the laminate on plywood that failed in my case.
 
I vinyl covered some primed/painted/sanded plywood panels on the doomed MC cabaret project - the back pieces, top - and they turned out great and held up fine. It's just the laminate on plywood that failed in my case.
Then just use 2 layers of white vinyl over plywood next time. Or just laminate particle board as you mentioned.
 
Then just use 2 layers of white vinyl over plywood next time. Or just laminate particle board as you mentioned.

I'll be using particle board in my Atari cabinet rebuilds. As a material, I think it sucks, but.. as a substrate for laminates, it seems to be the one to use. I will at least seal all edges with a primer or sanding sealer to prevent moisture infiltration, and in a HUO environment, it should be no concern.
 
this thread makes me nervous. I have 8 cabinets to do where they want ply and formica.
 
this thread makes me nervous. I have 8 cabinets to do where they want ply and formica.

While Formica and the laminate stuff I read may advise against it, Atari actually used standard grade (the thicker stuff) laminate on the front of some cabinets, on top of plywood. My MC cabaret donor is like that. I have used laminate on the front of my failed MC cabaret cabinet (that wasn't the issue), front of 720 with no apparent issues.

The thin/vertical grade stuff on plywood had mucho bubble/separation, lifting, and adhesive failure on the MC cabaret sides and I think there's a tiny bit of separation at the edges on my Frogger front panel I remade (also 3/4" birch with thin woodgrain laminate). I suspect that laminate may not have been the best either, or perhaps I should have lightly sanded the backside to promote adhesion.

Or...maybe my plywood had a higher moisture content and shrunk over time.
 
While Formica and the laminate stuff I read may advise against it, Atari actually used standard grade (the thicker stuff) laminate on the front of some cabinets, on top of plywood.

And that is why most centipede cans I have seen with the front laminate almost bubbled off where you could peel (part of) it right off
 
Do you guys even know what formica is? It is 1/16" or 1/32" thick, you don't get bubbles. I think you guys are confusing vinyl and melamine.

It is good stuff, even if it did fall off you could just glue out back on.

The key is to apply 27 lbs per square inch. That is where the J roller comes in.
 
Or use plywood with a low pressure laminate. I used it on my Galaga cab and it turned out mint. Best product for our application in my opinion.
 
Midway cocktails beg to differ.

Not saying you can't, just that the info says that it should hold to PB better. Look, I think by itself, pb is a crap material, but it apparently is good for more than cheap underlayment. My dilemma was, for building a replica/replacement Atari cabinet - laminate on plywood or pb as original. Turns out, pb is a good choice, not only when it's OEM material, but also because there's less issues with dimensional stability and bonding to the substrate.

That said, if I was building a Midway cocktail where plywood was used originally, I would use it. Also, I used laminate on plywood for my 720 front.
 
Atari cabinets didn't have formica on them, it is more like melmine.

Actually, some did on the very front panel. That is usually all. I've seen it on BZ, Tempest, Space Duel type cabinet, cabarets, .. it seems to be the standard grade matte black Formica laminate. Based on my looking at the MC cabaret, it looks like the laminate was applied to the plywood, cut, then routed for the marquee inset, as the factory work was very clean.
 
Actually, some did on the very front panel. That is usually all. I've seen it on BZ, Tempest, Space Duel type cabinet, cabarets, .. it seems to be the standard grade matte black Formica laminate. Based on my looking at the MC cabaret, it looks like the laminate was applied to the plywood, cut, then routed for the marquee inset, as the factory work was very clean.

I didn't realize that, as I don't have any Atari cabinets. The sides is what was referring to. The Dig Dug I picked up for Tim was melamine on the sides. I didn't check the kick plate.
 
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