Not car related but I thought I might get some decent feedback here.

I was interested in using an IKEA foil cover panel in a kitchen project. It is basically a particleboard with foil faces and edges. It is similar to/same as some of what a lot of the modern european-style kitchen cabinet doors are made out of and it is also sometimes used as a much cheaper substitute for back-painted glass backsplashes when you aren't using a gas range.

Ignoring the fact that this kitchen used too much of it, this is an example:



Mainly, look at the back of the island. I have had a friend use it in this same application and it has been very durable and still looks nice and it is a LOT cheaper than getting back-painted glass cut.

When we do our kitchen semi-remodel this spring I was considering if I could apply this to the back of our peninsula in the kitchen because it is just dry-walled and I am not really a fan of how it looks like that and this high-gloss would fit into our style well. The only problem is that our peninsula is the kind that has two ~45° angle turns in it. I know IKEA sells large panels of this stuff that you can then cut into the sizes and shapes you need for various projects which is cool. My only concern is that I have never seen anything other than straight cuts with the pieces butted up (like the example picture).

Does anyone think I could get away with making a decently clean mitered cut using a miter saw to wrap the back of our peninsula with this type of material? Maybe if I taped the edge where the cut was made? The cut would be about 3' in length (up to the bottom of the counters) and the sheets are 1/2" actual thickness. I've never mitered plywood or anything other than boards (just interior trim work) so I was just curious.

It may just be a hair-brained idea. If it doesn't work I'll probably go with a paintable-wallpaper on the back of the island and roll it in a high-gloss paint. If I was doing a full remodel I'd rip out the angled stuff and reorganize the kitchen so that we had all 90°s since the angled peninsula is kind of annoying anyway but we are sticking with it for now since it was much cheaper just to redo counters and backsplash than to totally redo all the cabinets and plumbing etc.

[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 1:11 PM. Reason : ]

12/10/2012 12:48:04 PM

Buy a small piece and see what happens when you cut it. If you use a high-tooth finishing blade, you should be fine. My only concern would be that it may result in a really rough edge for the foil/veneer.

Alternatively, a piece of MDF + laquer paint will yield the same result. Cut first, paint second.

12/10/2012 6:21:13 PM

good point. That's definitely a valid concern with the foil edge and I'd prefer not to have some sort of trim piece to cover the corner as I feel it would kind of interrupt the look. I'll probably purchase one of their flat profile drawer-fronts made out of the same material to test it out and just use that in my regular miter saw.

And yes, if this cover panel doesn't work I'll look into some high gloss paints for sure. I hadn't thought about MDF, but it might provide a smoother finish than the drywall itself if I do just end up going with paint. Either that or I'll try and do a really nice sanding job on the drywall before hitting it with high gloss paint.

12/10/2012 7:33:30 PM

This would be pretty easy with a table saw, if you still want the foil veneer stuff. Tape the back and use a melamine cutting blade with a zero clearance insert.

12/16/2012 11:45:48 AM