Gil_J
04-15-2019, 09:37 AM
Vitracore is a very different laminate that was once used by a few of the converters. Although I haven't seen it in use for years in Prevost conversions, the product does still exist.
What makes it different from the Formica like products that are commonplace today?
Vitracore begins with a sheet of clear plexigalss or a plexiglass like product. The desired pattern or look is on a thin sheet of material that is adhered to the back side of the clear plexiglass. The one picture shows the layering of product. This same picture shows one of the product's challenges. The look layer must permanently attach to both the outer plexiglass layer and the surface that it's covering. In this case, which is extreme, the look layer has failed to maintain it's attachment to both the plexiglass layer and the cabinet. More commonly, I've seen many occurrences of adhesion failure between the plexiglass layer and the look layer while the surface otherwise looks fine.
15535
Another much more common challenge for the product is for the plexiglass layer to maintain it's integrity when it's forced around a bend. As illustrated, these plexiglass fractures seem to occur over the years where the product is bent or where holes have been drilled to support cabinet hardware.
15536
I'm not a cabinet maker, so I don't know what tricks to the trade there are to repair these failures, if there are any. The complete separation illustrated looks repairable with the right adhesive, The fractured surface would seem difficult to repair.
If there's a Vitracore expert out there I imagine many would like to know what can be done to correct the different Vitracore failures.
What makes it different from the Formica like products that are commonplace today?
Vitracore begins with a sheet of clear plexigalss or a plexiglass like product. The desired pattern or look is on a thin sheet of material that is adhered to the back side of the clear plexiglass. The one picture shows the layering of product. This same picture shows one of the product's challenges. The look layer must permanently attach to both the outer plexiglass layer and the surface that it's covering. In this case, which is extreme, the look layer has failed to maintain it's attachment to both the plexiglass layer and the cabinet. More commonly, I've seen many occurrences of adhesion failure between the plexiglass layer and the look layer while the surface otherwise looks fine.
15535
Another much more common challenge for the product is for the plexiglass layer to maintain it's integrity when it's forced around a bend. As illustrated, these plexiglass fractures seem to occur over the years where the product is bent or where holes have been drilled to support cabinet hardware.
15536
I'm not a cabinet maker, so I don't know what tricks to the trade there are to repair these failures, if there are any. The complete separation illustrated looks repairable with the right adhesive, The fractured surface would seem difficult to repair.
If there's a Vitracore expert out there I imagine many would like to know what can be done to correct the different Vitracore failures.