Shelving (Fablon)

I’ve made myself some shelving, to try and organise my cupboard better when away in the van.  While not up to the standard and extent of some of the mods I see on here, I’m quite pleased with them so far if I say so myself 


Is there a way of identifying a Fablon to match the existing wood effect?  Or is it simpler to just stain them? I contacted Autosleepers with no response sadly but I expect they’re too busy with other things to help.


I’ve not used Fablon before so I’ve no experience with it really, either in the choice or applying it.


Sally

Not a lot of use to you now Sally but, for others who might be shelf- making, we got some laminate flooring strips which are a remarkably good match with the original woodwork of our Broadway. They were free because they were B&Q samples and so uneven lengths, not a problem for us as they needed to be cut anyway. 

Can’t you take a finished shelf to a hardware store and match it there or take a photo of what you want to match and ask Fablon ?

 I think I would use woodstain as Fablon is a pain to get bubble- free and neat edged.

I’ve no experience of fablon whatsoever and I’ve probably misunderstood what you are after but I’ve used vinyl wrap many times and found it very forgiving/easy to work with on a couple of camper self builds I did. I found the 3D/4D bubble free stuff the best.

Lots online (very cheap on eBay) but as an example...

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There’s also:

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Quilter wrote:Not a lot of use to you now Sally but, for others who might be shelf- making, we got some laminate flooring strips which are a remarkably good match with the original woodwork of our Broadway. They were free because they were B&Q samples and so uneven lengths, not a problem for us as they needed to be cut anyway. 

Can’t you take a finished shelf to a hardware store and match it there or take a photo of what you want to match and ask Fablon ?

 I think I would use woodstain as Fablon is a pain to get bubble- free and neat edged.

Yes, I did have concerns about getting it bubble free.  Bubbles would drive me mad, knowing they were there 

That’s a good idea about asking Fablon re a photo.

Dbvwt wrote:I’ve no experience of fablon whatsoever and I’ve probably misunderstood what you are after but I’ve used vinyl wrap many times and found it very forgiving/easy to work with on a couple of camper self builds I did. I found the 3D/4D bubble free stuff the best.

Lots online (very cheap on eBay) but as an example...

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I was initially wondering if anyone has ever done a cross reference of which Fablon matches which autosleeper wood effect.  A long shot but you never know 

I think 'vinyl wrap' is the new name for Fablon. Got some from The Range

Used Light Beech Fablon on the interior of our Sigma, most of the inside of the draws and cabinet corners were tatty, better than the original stained beech effect.
If you get any bubbles ? Just use a wee needle to prick a wee hole and let the air out.
Boaby

burlingtonboaby wrote:
If you get any bubbles ? Just use a wee needle to prick a wee hole and let the air out.
Boaby

Snag is that unless the bubbles are very wee then this results in a nice pleated effect round the pin prick as the bubble collapses.  Got the tee-shirt. Expensive stuff as well.

Paulmold wrote:I think 'vinyl wrap' is the new name for Fablon. Got some from The Range

You are probably right Paul but the modern automotive stuff is a joy to work with.

I remember Blue Peter and their love of sticky back plastic 

Sally
Done on last van, can't remember supplier, but someone like this...
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Get your build number, call AS and they'll give you the name/"species" of the woodgrain in your van. Google that or visit above, we got it easily enough (quite expensive though if you're of the Yorkshire variety!!)

Out Harmony had bleached film on rear of toilet and rear of galley through UV through rear windows. See pics, I left what was left over to do the chest of drawers I built for it, near perfect match.

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Sorry re duplicate pic, it seems to be compulsory when adding pics on here, never found a way of deleting..............

Dbvwt wrote:I’ve no experience of fablon whatsoever and I’ve probably misunderstood what you are after but I’ve used vinyl wrap many times and found it very forgiving/easy to work with on a couple of camper self builds I did. I found the 3D/4D bubble free stuff the best.

Lots online (very cheap on eBay) but as an example...

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That's a good looking product, especially their textured wood grain wraps in a wide range of "woods". 

Well worth considering for any cabinetry mods, or even possibly for dealing with the dreaded "peeling foil problem" on doors and panels. Thanks for the tip Dbvwt.

Tim

I must be really bored today!!

Dug a bit of wrap out and had a play, not perfect but it really is nice to work with.

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Dbvwt wrote:I must be really bored today!!

Dug a bit of wrap out and had a play, not perfect but it really is nice to work with.

That looks much better than the effect you could achieve with Fablon.  Has it got a sticky back like Fablon ? Can you move it after putting it in place ?  What about folding it to go round the edges and ends of shelves ?  It looks much more pliable than Fablon and so, presumably less prone to bubbles ?

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I've one or two places at home that would benefit.

Looks like it conforms well to right-angles, edges and corners without any obvious lifting.  Do you know how resilient it is to changes in temperature and humidity?

You're really going to have to finish wrapping those wall cupboards now!

Tim

Admittedly, you need a cheap heat gun (about a tenner) but it took about a minute to go from picture A to picture B

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Quilter wrote:

burlingtonboaby wrote:
If you get any bubbles ? Just use a wee needle to prick a wee hole and let the air out.
Boaby

Snag is that unless the bubbles are very wee then this results in a nice pleated effect round the pin prick as the bubble collapses.  Got the tee-shirt. Expensive stuff as well.

Didn't get any large bubbles Quilter.     I used a large wall paper scrapper to help smooth out the vinyl.Lost lots of tee shirts in my time  
Boaby

Sally wrote:I’ve made myself some shelving, to try and organise my cupboard better when away in the van.  While not up to the standard and extent of some of the mods I see on here, I’m quite pleased with them so far if I say so myself 


Is there a way of identifying a Fablon to match the existing wood effect?  Or is it simpler to just stain them? I contacted Autosleepers with no response sadly but I expect they’re too busy with other things to help.


I’ve not used Fablon before so I’ve no experience with it really, either in the choice or applying it.


Sally

Can't help with either picking a pattern or applying it bubbles free, but I do have a tip. Don't try and cut it to size,, apply it to your shelf with a little overlap. Then rub some medium grade sandpaper on the sharp edges to get rid of the excess, your sticky back plastic will be a perfect fit with no edges to lift.

Askit wrote:

Sally wrote:I’ve made myself some shelving, to try and organise my cupboard better when away in the van.  While not up to the standard and extent of some of the mods I see on here, I’m quite pleased with them so far if I say so myself 


Is there a way of identifying a Fablon to match the existing wood effect?  Or is it simpler to just stain them? I contacted Autosleepers with no response sadly but I expect they’re too busy with other things to help.


I’ve not used Fablon before so I’ve no experience with it really, either in the choice or applying it.


Sally

Can't help with either picking a pattern or applying it bubbles free, but I do have a tip. Don't try and cut it to size,,  apply it to your shelf with a little overlap. Then rub some medium grade sandpaper on the sharp edges to get rid of the excess, your sticky back plastic will be a perfect fit with no edges to lift.

That’s a great tip thanks. The other one I’ve read is that wood (in my case plywood) needs to be primed with acrylic paint before applying the wrap. So I’ll be buying a can unless everyone on here says that’s unnecessary 

Back in the late 1980’s when I was buying my first house & had to sell my new motorhome I decided to build one myself on a second hand Bedford CF van. I used a similar material to Fablon which was called something like Decra Door which was Fablon made to put on internal doors in houses. Yes I did prime the bare plywood before applying. Here’s a photo of the cupboards I made. Do they remind anybody of a certain make I was trying to emulate?[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That's a nice looking self build, proper job.    
Boaby

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I bought a roll from the Range & 'guessed' the wood-type, made a little 'oddments' tray & wiring-cover for the van & covered it, reasonable match methinks.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Nice professional job Lawrie, I think it's better than the original that scratches easier.
Boaby

Having seen some of the mods on this and other threads, I won’t be posting photos of my simple shelves. 

Hi Sally

OK, so I'm a peasant, but I wouldn't bother too much about what your shelves look like when they are hidden inside a cupboard? You've made them and they do the job, which is great! 

Without any false modesty, my shelves are probably among those you would admire, but they are not very pretty, nor are they covered with Fablon.

My crockery storage cupboard is a good example. The racks look utterly naff, but they work perfectly and are infinitely better than the space waster that came with the van.

Can I be bothered to paint or varnish them?? One day . . . . maybe . . . . perhaps!! 

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