Laminate cabinets need quick rehab

Q. Yuck! We just moved into a house with bright yellow and green plastic laminate cabinets. We can't afford to replace all of these at the present time. Is there anything that we can use to paint over the plastic laminate? Please help us tone down our kitchen.

Carol

A. Although some paint manufacturers claim they have paints that can be used successfully over plastic laminates, our experience suggests otherwise.

Due to the dense composition and non-porous finish of plastic laminate, paint will not properly adhere and will usually end up chipping and peeling. This is especially true of horizontal surfaces such as kitchen countertops that get a lot of use.

You can reface the laminate cabinets with a new "less colorful" laminate or wood veneer and install new doors. That should help make your kitchen more mellow and less yellow.

Q. I have a small, portable one-room air conditioner that I've used for several years. Now, some of the grease has leaked from the rear of the unit onto the vinyl siding of my house. How do I clean it off?

A. Always try soap and water first or the cleaner that is recommended. Having said that, and because the grease you're describing is probably a petrochemical based material (not silicone), it can probably best be cleaned using something like gasoline or acetone.

First, make sure there are no flames or sparks nearby, and turn off and disconnect any nearby appliances that could spark while you're working. No smoking during this project.

Then, simply put a very small amount of gasoline onto the rag and wipe. The stain will disappear.