What to replace a fridge door panel with?

[Carol H]

I want to update the front panel on my fridge -to black or something that looks stainless and wondered what products others have used to do this.

I know I can paint it but I also know that when you paint that type of surface it tends to scratch up pretty fast - but if anyone has a way of painting that will last I would be intreasting in hearing what type of paint to use.

[Rick Mooyman]

I took the door apart and cut a piece of thin plywood to fit in the fridge door rails and painted it high gloss black. I have seen guys do the same thing with diamond plate. You can also buy rolls of stainless steel and cut it to fit.

Originally Posted by Carol H

I want to update the front panel on my fridge -to black or something that looks stainless and wondered what products others have used to do this.

I know I can paint it but I also know that when you paint that type of surface it tends to scratch up pretty fast - but if anyone has a way of painting that will last I would be intreasting in hearing what type of paint to use.

[Frederick L. Simson]

What does your fridge look like now, is it white?
Mine has a piece of paneling to match the wall paneling of the cabinet.
I have seen pictures of fridges that had a mirror in the slot for a panel.
A piece of stainless could be inserted there too, but I'll have to try to find a link to my source...

[Carol H]

It has a sheet of what appears to be melamine in it now.
Where would one buy a small sheet of stainless steel?

[Donna D.]

Big Box stores like Lowes and Home Depot sell metal in sheets. I've seen aluminum and diamond plate (for certain), not sure about stainless steel... because I never paid THAT much attention. I have a Metal Supermarket about 2 miles from me. This is where I get metal product. YMMV

Basically Carol, you can put ANYTHING in that spot as long as it's the same (or close) thickness.

[monasimpson]

Originally Posted by Carol H

I want to update the front panel on my fridge -to black or something that looks stainless and wondered what products others have used to do this.

I know I can paint it but I also know that when you paint that type of surface it tends to scratch up pretty fast - but if anyone has a way of painting that will last I would be intreasting in hearing what type of paint to use.

Carol,

I recently had an alumalite panel inserted for a front refrig door. It was a panel of MDF, but I asked that a panel of white alumalite be placed there.
So many people have said it looks great.
But...You would like stainless steel. I used (Indoor/Outdoor)x-o Rust, Professional Paint and Primer in One, to spray table legs and bunk supports. You could try painting the existing panel with the same product. I do encourage you to use some type of a top coat to protect the finish.Good luck! Mona

[Doug Mager]

I went to our local 'Home Hardware' outlet, they let me rummage through some units that were destined for the recycler. I was able to find 2 machines that had removeable panels, BOTH had two panels back to back with different color options. I was able to take them home with me and swapped them off with the panel that was on the fridge to begin with. You could also go direct to the recycler yourself and see if they let you 'liberate' parts.... One problem I found with our 'on the floor' fridge is that the door panels are very pone to scratches!

[Darrell O]

I replaced the wood fridge panel with a glossy white piece of plastic sheet material called arena board. It's made for taking hits from hockey pucks - so it an take any beating that we give it in the trailer. I expect it might come in other colours too.

[Randy Bishop]

The 2 options I've used....FRP panels (FIBERGLASS REINFORCED PANELS) comes in different colors, thin, has a peeble finish and is pretty much indestructible.. This is the same stuff I used to build the overhead cabinets out of in the Trillium Renov. thread I started on here if you would like to see a picture of the stuff......On another camper I found a roll of wood grain shevling paper made of vinyl that was sticky on the back (something like wood grain wall paper) at a yard sale for a dollar and it matched the wood flooring I had put in the camper perfectly so I used that and it has stood up great also............Just a couple suggestions..RANDY

[Carol H]

*Thanks* everyone for the great suggestions - will have to get out and start looking at some of this stuff.

[Rarebird]

Hi,
In my boler I painted the door with chaulk board paint so my daughter could draw on it.
In my trillium I replaced it with thin plywood that matched my cabinet doors (all birch) which were just polyurethaned.
There seem to be many options!
Marjie

[Scott S.]

mine has the same Arborite that was used to redo the counter top. looks nice

[Herb Sutton]

Use a lexan panel with a road map or picture behind it.

[Wayne Dirkson]

I used an old tin ceiling tile. Rattle can it black cut it to size and slipped it in, looks great.
Wayne

[Marv]

In our Casita, we had full-size poster photo of a fireplace with a toasty fire going on the fridge door. Covered with a plexiglass cut the same size as the original frp panel.

Marv

[willisworms]

Just call up a steel fab shop. They can cut a piece of crop stainless to fit your exact dimensions. If your coming to kelowna anytime soon I could do this for you. I would just charge you for the steel. I pay 5 cents per square inch(200 dollars for a sheet) Just to give you an idea of what a local shop might charge you, 5 cents per square inch and then maybe 20 bucks? to cut it to size.

Dan

[francene]

Stainless steel is kind of heavy for a small fridge door, in my humble opinion.

I went to a guy that makes countertops, and got a scrap of 'formica'.
Cut that to size with a jigsaw and laminate blade. It's very lightweight stuff, very durable and easy to keep clean.

Fran
74 compact II

[willisworms]

What better for a stainless steel look,than stainless steel? 22 gauge stainless weighs 1 pound per square foot. That's like 5 pounds for an average fridge.

[Pam Garlow]

There's a product out there that's like a plastic laminate only it's a metal laminate. One of the brand names is 'chemetal'. Chemetal
I think you could get it from a big box store or a custom kitchen center. Anyone that sells laminates can probably order for you.

[Mike and Sarah K]

I used sheet metal from Home depot cut to fit with cardboard on the backing to fill the void and then painted with metallic grey hammered paint. I also did the furnace, hinges and some other items withit. my next step may be to do the cupboard doors with the same paint.