Removed a countertop yesterday. Thought it was Simplicity at first glance.  Turned out to be SSV with a Surell bowl.  Absolute junk, with the pits and delamination.

Hey I did not know any one inspected those products. Learn something new everyday.

I recognize that label. That bowl was made in the plant in Mt Bethel PA, which I had the absolute pleasure of helping to shut down.

Andy,
I'm probably wrong, but that almost looks like Granulon (Granicoat, etc.). Formica marketed that for awhile, I think. It was the Safas spray on material. You would be able to tell because there would be a primer coat over the substrate.

There would not be delamination, however, so I am likely wrong.

...............................................................

Lenny, was that the quintessa/2000x plant?

Oh, and you might want to blur out the name of the inspector. I don't think you need to, but it's a nice gesture.

Posted By Tom M on 20 Aug 2010 10:01 PM
Oh, and you might want to blur out the name of the inspector. I don't think you need to, but it's a nice gesture.

Tom:

I doubt that's necessary. You know when you go to a strip club and all the girls have stage names like Starr and Peaches, etc.? I'm pretty sure Surell did the same with their inspectors.

Joe

Now THAT is funny.

Good thing I have my trusty monitor wipes right heah.

You are probably right about the product. It was sold through the home centers. The substrate was painted with white paint.

Never thought to white out the name. I guess I could.

If the substrate was painted, it was likely the spray on. I never knew Home Centers were selling it, though. The primer was designed to advance the adhesion to the substrate.

What a disappointing product that turned out to be.

Yep, the material was all pitted and started to show the dirt in the pits which made the material look awful.

That edge style does not look like something they would do with SSV, must be the spray on stuff.

Back in the early/mid ninties, Formica/Surell came out with a product similar to Wilsonart's Solid Surface Veneer. I'm pretty sure this is the stuff.
I thought the name of it started with an "L", "Lucerne" or something like that.

Lenny? Help a brother out here?

Joe

Joe, you don't mean Color Core do you? And I think they had something simular to auto bumpers (at least that was there marketing) but I am pretty sure that was all solid colors. It was really soft if I remember correctly. Can't think of the name.

Posted By William Wolle on 23 Aug 2010 03:45 PM
Joe, you don't mean Color Core do you? And I think they had something simular to auto bumpers (at least that was there marketing) but I am pretty sure that was all solid colors. It was really soft if I remember correctly. Can't think of the name.

Bill:

No, ColorCore was plastic laminate without the phenolic backer and the subsequent black line at edges. It was brittle and chippy too.

The Surell stuff was soft.

Joe

Posted By Kowboy on 23 Aug 2010 10:50 AM
Lenny? Help a brother out here?

Joe

Can't wait to read this reply...

Joe must be thinking of Nuvel, a polycarbon plastic, IIRC. Bent real sweet, but it was soft as heck. It also could tear itself apart due to the coefficient of expansion between the substrate and the material. No where near as bad as color core, mind you, but still...


I think Safas and Formica teamed up to try and market this product, but it was a short-lived project, and Safas went on to do their own marketing.. One was Granulon, one was Granicoat, and I'll be darned if I can remember which was Formica and which was the Safas solo.

That was it Tom, Nuvel. They were marketing it as that new stuff like on car bumpers that was so hard to damage.

It makes wonderful workbench surfacing materials.



But that's about it.

On my 9:07 post, above, I said that Formica and Safas teamed up "to market this product". After reading it, it looks like I might have given the impression that Nuvel was the product. It was not. It was that Granicoat/Granulon spray on material.

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Formica Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of decorative laminates, has introduced NUVEL(tm) surfacing material. NUVEL has the look and performance of solid surfacing at half the cost. The product was introduced on Feb. 19 at the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Show in Las Vegas. NUVEL creates a new product category between laminates and solid surfacing. Engineered from GE Plastics' VALOX(tm) sheet, the material is a high-density, mineral-filled polymer .090 inches thick. It is stronger, more formable and durable than laminates, and has higher heat resistance. Compared to solid surfacing, NUVEL demonstrates similar aesthetic and performance characteristics, at about half the price. NUVEL can be applied to typical substrates such as particleboard or medium-density fiberboard. An obvious choice for countertops, it also is appropriate for most any installation, including cabinetry, furniture, shelving and a variety of commercial applications. The material is available in sheet form in several sizes, up to five feet in width and in any length; it can be coordinated with all other FORMICA(R) brand products. NUVEL offers an appealing matte finish that comes in Antique White, Almond, Surf, Folkstone and White. It has higher heat resistance than other materials on the market, so scorching or blistering is greatly reduced. Since color is solid all the way through, scratches are inconspicuous. "NUVEL is the affordable alternative to solid surfacing and we expect it to change the industry," said Vincent P. Langone, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Formica Corporation. GE Plastics and Formica Corporation have signed a long-term agreement which makes Formica the sole worldwide distributor of engineered thermoplastic sheet made of VALOX resin. Under an exclusive arrangement, GE's Structured Products business will supply the sheet and Formica will sell the material under the trade name NUVEL. GE's new sheet product is not otherwise commercially available. "We are excited about our new business relationship with Formica," said Gary L. Rogers, GE Plastics' president and chief executive officer. "Separately we are world leaders in our respective businesses: Formica in the surfacing market and GE Plastics in engineered thermoplastics. Together we are combining our resources to create a totally new surfacing market." -0- 2/19/93
 
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FORMI...a013117393

Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, says his favorite failure was a product called Nuvel, a countertop material he describes as “the poor man’s Corian.” If you dropped a coin on it, he says, it would leave a mark that required sandpaper to remove. Immelt takes the blame for the product’s failure, saying the need for speed, plus the human tendency to live in denial, overtook common sense and created a $20 million mistake.
 
http://www.businessmanagementdaily....age1.html#

I screwed up the name, but I got the date right.

Joe