stainless steel

[enya]

hello there, please forgive me if i have stuffed this up i have never used it before i dont even know if i am typing in the right place but its the only way i could find of asking a question or the only thing that would give me a typing box more to the point (yep im computer illiterate) i want to give a kitchen a face lift we have bought a house that we will be moving into in the country but not for a while, the kitchen is formica/vinyl with a strip of wood on the bottom of each cuboard door i want to paint them (the vinyl parts), and put a strip of stainless steel where the wood is what do use where do i go to find it especially the stainless steel. i have looked at square tiles from bunnings but they look wrong i would prefere one solid strip on each door rather that 3 or 4 tiles any help information or advice you can give would be invaluble i have never done any renovating before so i am sure i am going to make quite a few stuff ups on the way thats why i was made up when i found this gem of a site. thanking all in advance.kind regards
Enya

[enya]

also i will leave my computer on as i have to go out but i dont want to miss out on a reply .
thanks

[silentC]

You've posted in the right place.

For the stainless steel strips, your best bet would be to look for a sheetmetal worker in your area (try the yellow pages or ask a builder). They can cut it to size for you but be prepared to pay because stainless steel is expensive.

[John99]

Hi enya as silentC said need to find a place , sheet metal shop that does stainless work and have a chat to them it can be quiet expensive depending on what you want.

I just finished our kitchen using stainless steel for all the splash backs, I was lucky to have a mate that works with stainless.

cheers

[enya]

thanks much a great help any ideas on an alternative to stainless steel?

[OBBob]

As with most things the easiest way is to copy someone elses efforts. Maybe have a look at kitchen website or visit a showroom to see what they do. If you try to wing it you may find you end up with a bit of trial and error that could be quite costly.

As for painting the cupboards, you can get special paints for that purpose, which you will need othwise they will scratch very easily. I've never tried them but I hear thy are quite good if you don't want to go the full ho and get new doors.

[Sybarite]

Depending on how you want to cover/replace the timber edging you could consider:

A) An aluminium angle extrusion - can be buffed up very nicely.

B) One of a plethora of stainless/ stainless look laminates available from some of the major laminate suppliers.
Possibly cut into strips and glued onto your doors.

Have a look at:

www.abet.com.au
www.gunnersens.com.au
www.amerind.com.au

We are in QLD but there should be a friendly cabinetmaker/designer near where ever you are to help you further on this.

Cheers,

[journeyman Mick]

I was just talking to a mate on the weekend and helping him price out some stainless look laminate. While it's way easier (for me) to work with, it's horrendously expensive and I can get stainless for significantly less.

Mick

[Trav]

Earl's suggestion of aluminium is right. You can buy it at bunnings and you can cut it with a drop saw. I've used it to cover up some remodelling I needed to do when I installed a new oven that was smaller than its predecessor. Works a treat

Trav