keezer woes

[sneakypete]

This last winter I had posted my new pride and joy, very first keggerator made from a freezer, and I put Formica on the top of it to give it a nice top. Well, recently the formica has bubbled and looks like crap. Any ideas of what I should do? I like having that granite looking top and tower coming out the top, and I'm assuming I need to recover the surface, but does anyone have any ideas of how to recover it? Here is what it used to look like before the bubbling so you will have kind of an idea of what I want.

link to picture:
http://api.ning.com/files/WF6KVlHra...n70-EsVVGpVYF0P4WmyRt*jawKoegHATJ0/kegtap.jpg

 

[wilserbrewer]

Nice looking keezer top...or I guess I should say it WAS nice looking.

Sorry, not a clue on the bubbling. Sounds like an adhesive failure. Did you clean and prep the keezer top to prior to applying the formica? Maybe it's a temperature thing b/w the cold metal top and the formica??

Good luck on restoring the original look!

 

[sneakypete]

I was thinking of making a particle board top with some boards around the edge, to make kind of like a lid that would fit over the top of the freezer. Then When I need to open the keezer up, I would take off the wooden top, then open the lid. I'm guessing it was a temp. difference also.

 

[bendavanza]

How well is the lid insulated? What did you adhere the formica with?

 

[sneakypete]

the lid had all the original insulation in it and i used some laminant bonding epoxy i got from menards.

 

[bighandsray]

Do you have the original lid under the particle board and formica? Or are you using basically a piece of formica counter top as your lid? You may need some sort of vapor barrier between the original lid and the particle board. Such as heavy plastic or paint. It will help keep moisture out if you seal the particle board with some quality exterior paint.
You may be able to re-glue your formica if you can get the particle board dried out.

 

[sneakypete]

Right now the formica is attached directly to the top of the freezer lid, that's why I was wondering if it would make a difference to put a particle board over the top of the lid and then formica over the particle board.

 

[Iowabeerguy]

Right now the formica is attached directly to the top of the freezer lid, that's why I was wondering if it would make a difference to put a particle board over the top of the lid and then formica over the particle board.

Yes it will - You used the right glue, but between a lid that I assume is a textured finish and a probably moisture problem, it's just letting loose.

Keep in mind that when you put the particle board on the top, you will increase the size of the top so you will not be able to use the same pieces of laminate (even if you were somehow able to get them off in one piece. If it were me, I would remove the factory lift handle, screw particle board right over the top of the existing laminate (including the sides) and then you'll have a nice fresh stable substrate to glue the new laminate to. Then after you glue it down, it'll last forever.