Cleaning suggestions for vintage vinyl countertops

[spacepig]

So, I picked up some American Kitchen Steel Cabinets from an estate sale this weekend. Per the booklet I downloaded from here, it says the countertops are "plastic bonded to steel". Is that the same thing as linoleum or something different?

The original maple cutting board top was painted twice at one point and then had fake wood contact paper added. I pulled off the contact paper and some of the paint came off and you can see the original maple butcher block underneath. The countertops are a dark teal in color, but there's another piece that's more blue. You can see a little of the blue top to the right of the fake woodgrain to see the difference. So, I'm not sure if the teal was a later color, or they're nicotine stained "Baltic Blue" or "Greenwich Green. You can see how much nicotine came off one of the bottom cabinets with just a quick spray with "Awesome" cleaner.

Anyway, I'd like to clean the countertops, but want to make sure I don't damage them. What's best to clean these with? The first couple of pictures are from the estate sale, and the others are after they were pulled out.

 

[speedqueen]

Gentle and effective, powdered Spic 'n Span dilute mix.

 

[oliger]

Clean with baking soda and dish soap mixed together. Dry really well and wax with a hard car wax. They will look like brand new. I use this method on just about everything in the kitchen. I wax my cabinets, big and small appliances, counters, etc. I used to do the sheet vinyl floor, but it has been replaced with something non-waxable.
Baking soda and soap will easily get grease and build up off.
Vinyl and linoleum floors pre- early 1970's needed regular waxing to keep from cracking.
Here is the wax I have always used: https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Cali...hers+hard+wax&qid=1565619048&s=gateway&sr=8-3

All you have to do is swipe some onto a paper towel, then wipe on whatever surface, then wait about two minutes and then wipe it off. It will make just about anything look brand new!

 

[ea56]

Using paste car wax is a great tip for polishing counters and cabinets. I’ve also used spray car (like Quick Detail by Meguiers) wax with great success on my formica counters and also on the refrigerator, makes them shine like new and smells nice too!

Eddie[this post was last edited: 8/12/2019-10:42]

 

[norgeway]

They are beautiful,,

These were sheet vinyl, Those cabinets had originally round lucite handles which more often than not got broken, I wish I could find a set this nice they would be in my kitchen!!!

 

[oliger]

RE: Eddie

Yes, It does smell nice! I have way dated 70's cabinets, but I keep them spotlessly waxed and everyone always asks how I make them look so nice.
Information for Spacepig:
Spray wax takes less time to apply, but doesn't last as long.
Hard wax takes more time to apply, and wastes a lot of towels, but lasts around a whole season (depending on the surface.) Counters last around a month. Around that time things will start sticking more to the counters and they will start looking duller, and you just re-apply wax.

 

[spacepig]

Thanks for the replies. My aunt works for an estate sale company in Louisiana and she was the one who gave me a head's up about these. She didn't think they were in good shape, but when I saw that the countertops, I decided to purchase them, even with the poor photos. They were original to the kitchen, but moved into a laundry room when the house was remodeled. Unfortunately, there was no sink base. We did take some of the upper cabinets as well, but left some behind as we were exhausted from the trip and the heat. The family will let me go back and pick up the others, so I'll probably arrange and do that. Other than being dirty, the uppers are in good shape, and several have the attached lights underneath, similar to GE cabinettes.

Eddie and Jon: thanks for the car wax recommendations. The brochure said they "never need waxing", so I wasn't sure if it was safe to do so. I have a bunch of different types of cleaner waxes and polishing waxes that I've used on the fridges, so I'll look and see what I have.

Hans: I didn't even catch that those were not the original handles, so poo on that. I'll have to keep my eyes open for some, or at least find some new handles that are more similar. I have no idea what I am going to do with these, as I still have a pile of GE and Geneva cabinets that I'm not using. I didn't want these to get tossed so I decided to get them anyway. If I can't find a use for them, perhaps I can bring them to you when I visit Salisbury next summer--lol.

Jeannine