Dear Fellow-Fiddlers-with-Things,

If I can resurrect the existing old Vanity Unit in the Bathroom, I'll be able to save a few hundred "Dollaro's" (something not to be sneezed at...), but the biggest hurdle will be the successful regluing of the existing Laminex back on to the front of the drawers.

This first photo shows the corners of the Laminex on the front of the drawers doing their usual thing over time - lifting...

Attachment 76890

Luckily, I was able to strip it off the front of the prototype drawer in one piece, using a Clothes Iron on about medium-heat, sitting on top of a piece of cotton bedsheet (plain - not the flannelette-type...), and a fairly long, thin Scraper:

Attachment 76891

But to get it back on successfully for the long-haul, I reckon I'm going to need to strip the residue of the old adhesive off the back of the Laminex and the front of the drawer carcass (as seen in the next photo), and then to obviously use the correct adhesive to put the Laminex back on.

Attachment 76892

Soooo.... My questions to the hard-core "Tinkerers" among you are:

1) Is there a solvent that would successfully get that crusty old glue off both the Laminex and the Drawer, and would it be safe to soak the Laminex in the stuff overnight (without it ending up stained)?

This afternoon I tried Turps, Metho, and Premium Thinners on the stuff, and none of them seemed to do much to it very quickly at all. I also have some White Spirits, Shellite, and Paint Stripper that I could try, and I would certainly buy some Acetone if necessary. So wadd'ya reckon...

2) Any ideas as to what the best adhesive to use is for gluing the Laminex back on? I would have thought a Contact Adhesive like Kwik-Grip, but since it wouldn't be too hard to clamp the two surfaces together, a superior performing adhesive would be desirable if it wasn't too hard to lay hands on...

Many Thanks Gents,
Batpig.

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