Laminating the Front Kick Plate

quickray

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Just wondering what folks do when laminating the front or kickplate area of a cab.

In my opinion this is the most stressful thing to do when restoring a cab.

I've only done it once and when I did it I had someone holding the other side of the laminate while I lined up my side with the edge and applied it.

It's just super stressful cause you don't want it to be off.

I've seen some folks on YouTube do the dowel rods and then sort of roll the top edge forward to apply it, then remove the dowels. I've also seen it where folks will roll the right side edge down then sort of roll the dowels to the left as they are applying it.

Just looking for other ideas or if there is some easy trick to make this less painful.
 
You pretty much explained the process in your post. The main thing to get right is cutting the piece to the exact dimensions you need before you install it. The easiest way to do this is to measure out and mark the exact size and shape of the piece in pencil. Use two factory edges to measure from and only cut the other two if possible. Best and easiest way to precisely cut laminate is to sandwich the laminate between two perfectly straight boards that are longer than the piece youre cutting. Line up your pencil mark with the two edges of the board top and bottom, making sure each board edge is in the exact same plane. Once you have the laminate perfectly aligned with the edges of the boards, use clamps to hold everything tightly together, then run a router with a bottom bearing bit along the edges, nipping off the laminate you want to remove. I usually use three or four clamps, depending on the length of the piece, and I set them at intervals. If I use three clamps, I'll set one at one end about 8 inches away from the 'top' edge of the laminate piece, I'll set one in the center, and then I will set the other one 8 inches beyond the 'bottom' edge. I then will start routing from the top until I get to the center clamp. I will then stop the router, remove the clamp, place it behind the router ( where I've just cut) and continue along the rest of the piece. If I use four clamps, I just perform that step twice. That keeps things together tightly and ensures your laminate won't shift while you're routing.

I've heard that Home Depot sells a black laminate product with adhesive already applied to the back. Basically a peel and stick which would be the easiest way to do this. But whether you do it that way or you're using standard laminate with the contact cement method, yes, you need to use dowels to keep the surfaces apart until you're ready to stick them together. Now on a normal side piece, you would start removing dowels and J-rolling from the center and move outward, then run a router around the edges to trim the excess. In this case, you want to lineup one edge exactly and start sticking and rolling from the top, the bottom or one of the side edges. Starting from the sides is usually best, as you can still trim the top or bottom if an edge ends up sticking out slightly. The nice thing about laminate is it's rigid, so you don't have to worry as much about the coin door opening. A lot tougher to cover a kickplate in vinyl as it tends to sag over that opening and creates wrinkles on one or more sides of the opening.
 
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Just wondering what folks do when laminating the front or kickplate area of a cab.

In my opinion this is the most stressful thing to do when restoring a cab.

I've only done it once and when I did it I had someone holding the other side of the laminate while I lined up my side with the edge and applied it.

It's just super stressful cause you don't want it to be off.

I've seen some folks on YouTube do the dowel rods and then sort of roll the top edge forward to apply it, then remove the dowels. I've also seen it where folks will roll the right side edge down then sort of roll the dowels to the left as they are applying it.

Just looking for other ideas or if there is some easy trick to make this less painful.
This is still the best tutorial for laminating that I've found. Just scale down for a kick plate.

 
Fantastic feedback. Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response.

I noticed you have the…control panel holder (not sure if that's what it's called) removed.

In the one cab I laminated I didn't have that, just wasn't designed that way. But does that need to be removed to laminate the front? The cab I'm working on now does have that. Looks like it's held in with four screws and a bunch of staples.
 
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