DIY stainless steel finish on appliances

If you love the look of stainless steel finish appliances but simply do not have the funds to replace your existing appliances, here's an easy way to add the look..

 

rainydaymagazine.com

I stumbled upon this idea at Rainy Day magazine, and although they use sheeting on a roll with a self-adhesive backing, you can achieve this look with metal sheet and contact adhesive.

You can buy stainless steel and aluminium sheeting of 0.5mm thickness at Metals Centre - and they cut it to size for you. Simply measure up the appliances that you want to clad, supply them with the measurements and let them cut everything to the right size for mounting.

You will need to use contact adhesive to mount the stainless steel or aluminium sheet panels to the front of the appliance, and be sure to following the instructions to the letter.

Contact adhesive must be applied to both surfaces and allowed to cure for a few minutes until no longer tacky to the touch. Press down firmly - working from one side or top/bottom - and apply pressure to bond the surfaces together.

If you need to cut the sheeting down to size, use a Bosch PMF 180E Multifunction Tool. Don't use tin snips - they will not leave a smooth edge and you will battle to get it smooth again!

GOOD TO KNOW

I have previously used my jigsaw and steel cutting blade to cut aluminium sheeting.

If you need to bend stainless steel or aluminium sheeting, lightly score a line on one side only and then use a block of wood and rubber mallet to bend by tapping the sheeting up or down against the block until the sheet starts to bend.