Message Thread:
Source for prelaminated panels with realistic faux walnut?
3/7/23
I have a shelf from Ikea that has a faux walnut laminate, and the effect is surprisingly realistic if you don't look too close. The grain is printed in matte and when there is glare the grain becomes more visible, much like real wood. There is no 3d texture, just printing. In the attached images you can see a piece of wilsonart neowalnut with "Fine velvet" texture, and it's much less convincing. The Ikea shelf was manufactured in Italy.
Anyone know where I can buy prelaminated panels like this?
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
3/7/23 #2: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
I edited my previous post and some pictures disappeared, so here they are.
View higher quality, full size image (4000 X 3000)
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
3/9/23 #3: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Find your closest EGGER dealer
3/9/23 #4: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Thanks Daniel, I will check them out.
3/10/23 #5: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Daniel, I went to the local rep, saw the egger sample book and I wasn't impressed. Nothing in the book was as convincing as this cheap shelf.
They showed me something called Shinnoki smoked walnut, which looks amazing but costs $435 per sheet with no volume discounts. I brought a sample of that home and later realized it looked authentic because it's real wood veneer. So nothing wrong with that but I'd like to find something more economical.
The search continues....
3/10/23 #6: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Ok well I thought it might be worth a shot. Thought maybe their carini walnut might be close but it’s hard to tell with pictures.
3/12/23 #7: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
I'd check online with Amazon, Home Depot, or Pro Cabinet Supply.
3/13/23 #8: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Daniel, thanks, I appreciate the effort! I Have found some other candidates and am ordering samples. One is "Legno" by Stevenswood for about $100 per 4x8 panel. The other is made by Cleaf of Italy which has a texture specific to walnut, which is promising. Oddly, the Cleaf panels are something like 110" x 81", which is a pain in the a** for handling. The panels are also $400 per giant sheet, but that sheet is almost 2x the size of a regular 4x8 panel. Images of Cleaf attached.
Chippy, I have never heard of ordering full size panels from Amazon, and I haven't seen anything from HD that fits the bill. Pro cabinet just has Wilsonart and formica, but no panels?
View higher quality, full size image (1079 X 1228)
View higher quality, full size image (1079 X 670)
3/15/23 #9: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Ok, I received the Cleaf samples and they're.... interesting. On the plus side they have a nice matte/satin finish, the color is good, and the overall impression is nice. I also like that the plastic edge banding core is color matched. On the downside, the grain texture is definitely not walnut-like as claimed, and there is no relation between the texture and the color print. The surface has a subtle rubbery feel, which is another clue that this is not wood. Lastly, the print is low resolution and strongly speckled. So overall it's nice but feels less authentic than I had hoped for. The price, equivalent to $200 per 4x8 sheet of laminated particle board, seems high. I may use this if I don't find anything better....
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
3/15/23 #10: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
I forgot to mention: in the above images, left to right is the Ikea shelf, shinnoki laquered walnut (real walnut - probably stained) and cleaf LS17 walnut.
Here are some more pics. You can see the grain is applied in two ways: 3d texture and matte finish, which is interesting. Too bad it doesn't look like actual walnut grain.
I also ordered samples from KML, and I am waiting on samples from Stevenswood.
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
View higher quality, full size image (4000 X 3000)
3/18/23 #11: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Website: bonattowoodowrks.com
Have you looked at Wilsonart “Aligned” texture collection, they have it in Walnut and Oak only, handful of colors on both grains. Not sure if they come in TFL panels but they sell it as HPL sheets. It’s amazing that not many companies are matching the grain with the wood print here in US, you would think it would be a no brainer decision to make this fake wood laminates look more realistic, but I guess either the technology is too expensive or the public (us) settle down to shitty products too easy.
3/24/23 #12: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Look at 3DL suppliers.
Dackor
Riken
Omnova
SSI
Renolit
Synergy
3/27/23 #13: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Santhiago,
Thanks, I have ordered some TFL samples from wilsonart, but have yet to see anything.
CalCurted, thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think 3DL is what I'm looking for.
I did receive a very generous sample box from Stevenswood. The stevenswood walnut samples were mostly so-so, but they did have an alder sample ("L02 sabbia tokaj alder") that is very realistic in coloration and feel, with an aligned texture. I'd say it's the most realistic thing I've received so far. Unfortunately, the effect is less authentic in the darker colors, and the texture was not always properly registered to the color on some samples.
I also received a box of samples from Egger this morning. In it was an "Auburn Carini Walnut" that is ok. It has a nice 3d texture and satin sheen, but the color print seems a bit dull and low contrast.
Here's a list of TFL panel manufacturers from which I have ordered samples.
Cleaf SPA (via EB bradley)
Egger
Funder America
Gruppo Frati SPA (via mercury wood)
KML (wilsonart subisidiary)
Mercury Wood products OnTrend (made by uniboard?)
Stevenswood
Tafisa
Timber Products Co.
UCS Forest Group
Uniboard
Wilsonart
3/27/23 #14: Source for prelaminated panels with ...
Here's a pic of Stevenswood L02 and L03 Alder, as well as the Egger walnut.
View higher quality, full size image (4624 X 3468)
|