You can plane corian!

[D_W]

Found that out today, that's about all!

Not the face, but the edges. I'm about to fabricate some countertops for my kitchen and the normal method is to glue (with a two part glue), rout and then sand, but there are a couple of spots where I'd rather plane (because I have less chance of a disaster, would be different for someone who fabricates with templates and a router on a regular basis). Everything that I've read says you can't plane corian or do anything other than sand it, but I tested a couple of scraps yesterday with a chinese HSS iron in a stanley 4 and there's really no issue with it.

Same plane still planed wood after planing about 25 strokes on corian.

Anyone else ever try planing it? It really stinks when you rout, cut or sand it.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

It's not often that planing of solid surface materials such as Corian is required, but as you've found it can be done without too much drama. As you are aware it's much more common to cut the stuff with machines such as saws and routers plus some sanding.

Now if you're interested in really having a go at damaging plane blades, try planing high pressure laminates (e.g., Formica): that'll do it quite successfully as I know to my cost from when I had to do that frequently in one of my early jobs in a joinery workshop. I can't really recall why we were required to plane the darned stuff, but that's what we had to do, ha, ha. Slainte.

 

[AES]

Well Gents I can't talk about planning Corian (never tried) but I can imagine it would plane OK, it's so soft (as the previous poster suggests, softer than Formica). The stuff we have on our kitchen work surfaces here (called Corian) is absolute C A R P for kitchen work surfaces ("should be a law against it").

We have no kids and I would say more than a bit "houseproud", but the stuff is absolutely awful - it scratches as soon as you look at it (and we ARE careful), and stains heavily unless you wipe up whatever drip you've spilled immediately.

AFAIK, the only way to bring it back is with decreasing grits of W&D, followed by a polish like SolvolAutosol. NOT exactly standard kitchen cleaning methods IMO!

I (almost) think we'd be better be better off with old newspapers on the worktops and splash backs - NEVER again!

VERY disappointed

 

[D_W]

The type I ordered, "livingstone" brand in the US, suggests a surface finish of 400 or 600 grit W/D, presumably to avoid the immediately scratched look. I figure that I'll be wetsanding it every couple of years, but I don't have a problem with that.

Most folks in my neighborhood are putting in quartz (at least recently), but in a regular middle class neighborhood, that's just throwing money away. I'd imagine no matter how you look at it, you'll never get a large percentage of the money spent back if you move no matter how nice the neighborhood.

 

[AES]

I didn't know there are different types of Corian. I can only hope for your sake that what you've ordered is better than ours! Good luck!

 

[Racers]

Not only can you plane Corian you can use Corian to make planes.

New Shoulder plane by Racers, on Flickr

Pete

 

[Beau]

I didn't know there are different types of Corian. I can only hope for your sake that what you've ordered is better than ours! Good luck!

Corian is a brand but the general term for these types of top is solid surface worktop.

Didn't know it was so soft. Nearly used on our kitchen but in the end used wood. Sounds like it was best option for us as it takes some abuse.

Not surprised Corian can be planed as in desperation I have taken a plane to soft metals like aluminium and brass. Yes you dont get many shaving to the sharpen and this was on a narrow edge but hardened steel is tougher than many materials.

 

[D_W]

It's relatively soft (the solid surface), but it looks OK if it's taken care of. If you're the type of person who drags things across the counter or tends to cut things directly on the counter, it'll get marked up pretty easily. I've seen installs of it that go both ways (after years). If it's not taken care of and never resanded, it can look really bad.

 

[AES]

Well we certainly do NOT cut things on the bare work top - not ever.

There is one nasty looking white "hole" where a knife dropped out of my wet & soapy hands one day (of course it landed point first - sod's law), but apart from what I would call "normal" movement of stuff around on the worktops, we certainly don't "slide" stuff around all the time, yet the whole bloody thing is covered in scratches which start out white (the worktops are dark grey)but they slowly merge back into the proper colour in a few weeks. They stand out like a bull dog's what-sits when the sun shines on the surfaces though :evil:

And what about the marks from "just" soapy water and little spits on the splash backs? If you don't get them off IMMEDIATELY they're there for "life"!

Sorry but I do NOT consider taking wet & dry plus a mildly abrasive polish, probably with a ROS for several hours, to extensively "cut back" the surfaces every so often to be part of a normal kitchen cleaning routine - never had to do that on Formica in the past.

Each to his own of course, but both I and SWMBO rate our Corian worktops and splash backs as complete junk - if there was such a thing as the Trades Description Act here I'd be on to the supplier/manufacturer like a ton of bricks. As said previously, NEVER again!

Good luck though to anyone else taking the plunge - "your mileage may vary" as they say.

 

[D_W]

Well, they're not formica. What I'm hearing is that you recognize that you could sand out the issues with the countertops, but you're not going to.

In terms of the pitting, you can use two part adhesive and fill the pits and then sand and level them. the adhesive is more or less the same material as the countertop, so the pits will disappear.

One of the two countertops that I've seen (no care at all) looks horrible. It's over a decade old and has never been maintained. The prior user looks to have been rough.

I mentioned the visual characteristics to someone else who has corian and said "I heard it wears poorly", and they said "???". Theirs is close to mark free. They may have really anal retentive habits (using substitute work surfaces for everything).

I was hoping to put formica in (call me cheap), but the mrs wouldn't tolerate it. I'll never get quartz or granite, though. It would cost three times as much (though someone else would fabricate it). I'm assuming that I can fabricate my countertops in two days (only about 18 linear feet total, with a sink, faucet and backsplash install).

I don't mind wetsanding them in the future at all, especially since the recommended finish is 400 grit. It won't take long to get to that.
http://solidsurface.com/catalog/product ... gIcnvD_BwE

The large fake stone bits in it will also help hide damage.

Getting it in freight hasn't been as easy. I'm sitting in my basement waiting for a freight delivery that was due an hour ago at the latest. I called the freight carrier and they said they had no order in their system, and then they found it after about 10 minutes. Someone entered my name as "Solid Surface". Then, they called me back and said that it was too big to fit on the truck (of course, nobody called me to tell me that) and that the driver will go back and pick it up and come back "later today".

I'm betting when they show up, it'll be 490 pounds of pallet and no liftgate (though they guaranteed the truck would have one when they arranged delivery last week).

My wife is not good at dealing with any of this. When it arrives, it'll take me about a half hour to get it moved in the garage, and she will be spewing gloom and doom about scratching it and "you'll ruin it, I know it. Nobody else's husband would try to do this. " So, I've got a great afternoon to look forward to.

 

[Lons]

I fitted a number of solid surface kitchens for customers and re modelled several existing worktops as well and I don't agree with some of the comments.

There isn't a perfect worktop material available so any choice is a compromise and subject to individual opinion.

Yes it's "relatively" soft and can be scratched if not looked after but that is also true of most of the alternatives like wood and laminates, especially if high gloss.
Stains are an issue especially with light colours but granite, wood and other materials stain as well so use cutting boards or mats and don't spill red wine or curry, surely that's just common sense!


The virtually invisible, moisture proof joints and ability to route drainer slots and mould edges makes it very suitable for kitchen worktops as is the abilty to refinish the top with relative ease. You don't need to wet sand normal solid surface worktops or spend hours on them either, all you need is a ROS and a few Abranet disks to effect a quick and simple refurbish though I finish off with a surface polish as well. 400 grit gives a nice satin / gloss surface while 600g is pretty shiny.

For the record, I put my money where my mouth is and several years ago installed solid surface ( Mistral) tops throughout our kitchen and utility which are a decent size. That includes splashbacks and the one behind the cooker should be the first to show stains - it doesn't!
I also made a 2m x 1m oak breakfast table topped with matching Mistral and while there are only 2 of us at home we get a lot of family around including a lively 5 year old, add to that the fact my wife is a bit clumsy and I'd say it's fairly heavily used. It's all white with a few dark flecks btw and I've given it a quick polish only twice in that time using 400g dry sanding and a top polish, from memory maybe 30 - 45 mins work.
My son has exactly the same worktops which I installed 4 years ago, good as new except he chipped an edge and the surface close to the sink both of which I invisibly filled with the correct adhesive and the damage can't be seen. All the other materials I've used including granite are much more difficult to repair IMHO.

I have no connection with any manufacturer or supplier except that of a former independant kitchen fitter in the course of my business.

cheers Bob

 

[D_W]

Thanks for the response, Bob. My wife will not be happy that they require some work from time to time, but I can probably sneak that in while she's not home.

She is, however, master at "taking care of things", which she learned from her parents. I don't dare touch anything in their house, because ...well, it's just not a great idea. PA dutchy folks around me (which is what we are all descended from where I grew up) tend to keep things in good shape until they're old enough to rot, so I'm not that worried about the lack of pure hardness of the material.

I got my sheets off of the truck yesterday - and got a good taste of cutting them with a track saw. I expect the build up/fabrication of the countertops to be pleasant.

As a homeowner, I didn't expect trying to coordinate a fabricator to schedule me on a week when I'm off of work to be so pleasant. And I wouldn't have been able to repair more move the granite/quartz tops by myself.

We often hear about certain things don't hold up, or can require repair from time to time (whether that's tile grout, trouble areas in corners of houses, etc.), but it's not that big of a deal when the "repairman" lives in the house and can take care of things.

 

[nabs]

we installed corian worktops about 5 years ago - also still in good nick, despite much heavy use. It does stain, but these are easily removed with any cleaner containing bleach. It does pick up light scratches which can be removed during general cleaning with an abrasive cleaner like Bar Keeper's Friend.

Incidentally, I wonder if the colour choice has an impact on how easily small defects show up - ours is white and has developed a sort of 'satin gloss' (to borrow Mike's phrase) which looks as good as when we installed it in most lights, but if you are bending down and looking at it with a glancing light you can see the smaller scratches.

Anyhow, I'd use it again without hesitation . Good luck DW!

 

[AES]

nabs, you wrote, QUOTE: It does stain, but these are easily removed with any cleaner containing bleach. It does pick up light scratches which can be removed during general cleaning with an abrasive cleaner like Bar Keeper's Friend. UNQUOTE:

Thanks for that. Although I started off all this wingeing about Corian (I was being a bit OTT I admit - bad day I guess), that info of yours is really helpful.

So far I have deliberately NOT used anything vaguely abrasive on the Corian we have, nor have I used bleach. I should perhaps go on to explain that years ago, while we were both working, my better half and I came to an agreement (quite mutually) - I like cooking about as much as I like gardening - i.e. not at all - so she cooks and I clean up the kitchen afterwards. So 9 times out of 10 it's me cleaning the kitchen (fine with me).

From the early days I saw that our worktops and splash backs quickly became as I described previously - "carpy"! Seeing the stuff was so "sensitive" I deliberately used only a liquid household cleaner (supermarket stuff, a fat/oil remover) as I thought anything even mildly abrasive (like SolvolAutosol, or the liquid used for cleaning ceramic hobs) was not a good idea. And certainly NOT any bleach. Frankly I still find the idea of taking a ROS to any piece of furniture in the house ridiculous, even kitchen "furniture" (my opinion). Although I have no idea what Bar Keeper's Friend is, I'm sure I can find something likely on the supermarket shelves - and bleach is no problem to find. I have no objection whatever to a bit of "proper" cleaning with "proper" cleaning materials!

I think you may be right about colour too - ours is a very dark "grey", getting towards black, & with little tiny "silver" and "gold" "sparkles in it - it looked very attractive when first installed (goes very well with the "spring yellow" MDF doors), but it's about 7 to 8 years old now, and as said previously, I'm NOT pleased with it - nor is SWMBO.

Thanks for that info, if anyone's interested I'll let you know how I get on with my newly-found info on "normal deep cleaning" (for me, taking workshop tools and abrasives into the kitchen is still a no no - I wonder why the kitchen fitter - a "mate" of my wife's - didn't say anything about cleaning)? Frankly I expected something "better/more modern" than Formica, and again IMO, it certainly ain't!

 

[D_W]

IF you had wooden countertops, you'd probably scrape or sand them from time to time.

Given that the corian and other derivatives (from other makers) are acrylic, I'm not sure what's so offputting about sanding? It's just a matter of regular maintenance for countertops of this type.

As to the solvent abrasives, I'd be concerned more about the solvent in them than the abrasives, thus the desire to just sand the countertops from time to time (with my wife's training in basically keeping all things human and animal away from all objects in general, I don't expect the sanding to be very intensive, but am happy to do it. At the moment, I have a rolling cart with a wooden top in the kitchen, and though the mrs. was upset with the idea that you have to refresh the finish from time to time, she's gotten quite used to it and about twice a year, I hit it with oil and wax).

I'm quite pleased to be installing something that is workable and repairable. I wouldn't be able to treat granite or quartz with as much abandon.

 

[ED65]

Sorry but I do NOT consider taking wet & dry plus a mildly abrasive polish, probably with a ROS for several hours, to extensively "cut back" the surfaces every so often to be part of a normal kitchen cleaning routine - never had to do that on Formica in the past.

Too right! I can't believe it can be this bad, especially given it's not at all an inexpensive choice.

I know Corian can get lumped together with other solid-surface materials but when Corian is specifically what is being talked about its toughness and durability are invariably mentioned as selling points :roll:

 

[ED65]

For the record, I put my money where my mouth is and several years ago installed solid surface ( Mistral) tops throughout our kitchen and utility which are a decent size. That includes splashbacks and the one behind the cooker should be the first to show stains - it doesn't!

I was trying to remember the name of that just now. Isn't Mistral much tougher than Corian?

It was described as such to me by a kitchen fitter when we consulted recently. I can't remember if he said it was about the matrix material or the fillers/aggregates but definitely plugged as being not just durable but rugged.

 

[D_W]

Nobody else has answered, and I can't either other than to look at the MSDS. All of the solid surface types seem to be some sort of methlacrylate composition either with something else (resins, unspecified type) or butyl acrylate and then some sort of filler dust.

Mistral says "aluminum trihydroxide" and corian doesn't specify (corian has always done their best to release as little product and literature to the general public as possible, presumably for price maintenance).

I don't think any of them are going to be that hard because they're shapable with a router.

I noticed when I was buying (I'm not in the loop on kitchen stuff) that there are scads of industrially made granite-like and quartz-like moulded products made of stone dust in a resin.

The one other differentiating thing that I saw with mistral is that it's available in 25mm sheets, which would be incredibly heavy.

When I received my solid surface material this week, it was in 12 foot sheets, 30 inches wide. About 140 pounds a sheet, easy to cut with a track saw (but needs to be supported for the exit of the cut to be clean) and very flexible. A 25mm thick sheet would be nice to forgo some fabrication, but it would be enormously heavy.

I can't remember what I said above, but it looks to me like it would be a very nice surface to have on any worktable.

One issue with the solid surface that we might not be used to for various uses is that it will move a lot more than plywood with temperature changes, so just attaching it to a substrate is a no-no according to installation instructions. My kitchen varies about 8 degrees from summer to winter, so I don't think it matters much, but I'd prefer not building a substrate for it, anyway. The suggested installation (by pros, I didn't read the manufacturer book yet) is plywood strips across base tops and affixing with silicone only.

Fabrication for me begins this weekend unless I get a truckload of pavers for outside. I'm kind of excited to play with it.

 

[ED65]

I noticed when I was buying (I'm not in the loop on kitchen stuff) that there are scads of industrially made granite-like and quartz-like moulded products made of stone dust in a resin.

Yes, same here. Not that this is relevant to me now that I've done the research and found out how poorly they perform in a few areas. I'm used to the durability of melamine laminate having worked on nothing else in homes since at least the late 80s and I'm not willing to reprogram myself to use some of the other less-durable, but much more expensive, alternatives.

Even with Silestone (a quartz product), which is supposed to make Corian look like wet cardboard by comparison, there are increasing numbers of reports of terrible performance including major-league chipping from minor knocks. Coupled with the maker not honouring their warranty it's an automatic rule-out AFIAC.

When I received my solid surface material this week, it was in 12 foot sheets, 30 inches wide. About 140 pounds a sheet, easy to cut with a track saw (but needs to be supported for the exit of the cut to be clean) and very flexible. A 25mm thick sheet would be nice to forgo some fabrication, but it would be enormously heavy.

Least it's not the material I was reading about yesterday, where a typical run apparently weighs 570 pounds! Don't know how many guys it would take to safely manhandle that.

 

[D_W]

Yes on the less durable vs. the formica-ish laminates, but in terms of appearance, it just looks so much better and you can make it seamless.

Silestone and the other cultured surfaces don't appeal to me much. they're full of something that's abrasive to tooling, expensive, but ultimately bound by something that's not as hard as the quartz. It sounds like a recipe for something that can be scratched but not sanded out as easily.

In my opinion, all of these surfaces are better used by people who know how to repair them (including granite), but I'd bet such a thing is rare. We're ideally set up as woodworkers to work with them. They go together with a two-part glue, and you can plane and sand the seams and work them with routers (and repair them with various methods that are similar to repairing dents in a guitar).