In the early years of my career in the countertop fabrication business, I sold a large number of plastic laminate countertops. When I went into business for myself 17 years ago, I started out specializing in repairing and modifying solid surface countertops. My thinking at that time was that the potential for repairing plastic laminate countertops was limited, and I wanted to focus totally on my new specialty. Eventually, though, I developed an interest in new business opportunities.

As the years went by, I gradually added more products to the range of countertops my company services. Our first expansion was to begin repairing quartz countertops. Then we added butcher block, granite, marble as well as many other natural stones, in addition to concrete and recycled glass countertops to our product mix.

Occasionally, we would be asked to repair a plastic laminate countertop, but in most cases, we declined. My perception was that the repair options were limited and the countertops themselves were relatively inexpensive. As a result, most customers would choose to live with minor damage, or they would complete a do-it-yourself repair, or replace the countertops with new ones. None of these options involved hiring a professional repair service.

I’m now in the process of re-evaluating that opinion. In a recession, it seems unwise to ignore any reasonable business opportunity, and consumers will often consider repairing a product they may have replaced when times were better. If you Google the phrase “recession shoe repair,” you will find dozens of articles about shoe repair shops all across the country that are swamped with business in the form of hundreds of pairs of old shoes stacked up waiting to be fixed. Shoe repair is a perfect example of a countercyclical business – one that improves when the overall economy is poor. Perhaps repairing plastic laminate countertops is a similar market niche.

Repair Options

Accordingly, here’s some information about a variety of products and services that allow plastic laminate countertops to be repaired and refinished.

Since 1956, Kampel Enterprises has been manufacturing its Seam-Fil product. This product is intended to fill seams, nicks and chips in plastic laminate surfaces. Available in one ounce squeeze tubes in 20 standard colors, the product can be blended by the user, or Kampel will custom mix the product for an exact color match to a specific laminate. After it cures, the result is a very durable repair. Visit KampelEnt.com for more information, or contact one of their 700 distributors, or order online at AmericanTechnologyInc.com.