You *may* want to consider putting P-lam (Formica, etc) right over the old
stuff.  I didn't use that shelf for my interior so I'm not familiar with the
fit or trim considerations.  Taking the old Formica off will leave you with
an 'iffy' bonding surface. You will be hard pressed to get a clean smooth
bonding surface... You can just rough up the old Formica right on the
piece with a vibrator sander  and simply install new p-lam over the old, if
the slightly increased dimensions you'll be left with will still work in the
van.   Use ~120 grit sandpaper. Or if you aren't too fussy, you maybe could
just body putty up all the holes, lightly sand it and put some paint on
it..Satin finish with a foam roller leaves a pretty nice finish.  It's a VW
van after all, not  a grand piano or a Stradivarius (
  Remember, when YOU get in the van YOU might be compelled to see every flaw
in everything you have ever done to it, but others will go "Wow, what a nice
Westie, very clean!" and they'll never even see that   ____________   you
said "good enough" about.
  Don Hanson

On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:39 PM, Jon Kanas <kanas@qadas.com> wrote:

> Greetings fellow listers,
>
> Making progress on the repaint effort on the '87.  Until I gutted the
> interior, I had forgotten how many holes the previous owner had drilled
> through the formica facing on the small, long shelf on which the light
> over the sink / stove mounts (metal tray on the top, light, curtain rail
> on the bottom).  Color needed is gray.  I'm wondering if anyone on the
> list might have one of these units in good to excellent condition out of
> a parts van that they would be willing to sell and ship to Colorado.
>
> My alternative is to repair or reface the unit I have.  I'm thinking to
> find formica or similar material which is a good color match, remove and
> replace the current facing.    This looks like it could turn into a
> nasty project if not approached right.
>    Has anyone on the list done anything like this?
>    If yes, I'd appreciate some knowledge transfer from you.
>    If yes, and you have a "color code" for the formica, I'd appreciate
> that, too.
>    If no, but you've done something else to repair / reface the
> formica-like material that was successful, I'd love to know about it.
>
> --
>
> *Best Regards,
> Jon B Kanas
> Longmont, Colorado; Cultural Center of the Universe
> Website: http://www.qadas.com/~kanas <http://www.qadas.com/%7Ekanas<http://www.qadas.com/~kanas>
> >
> *
>