I did the "noveau paneling" on my Bristol 35 1972 bulkheads, cabinets, etc. last year with paint. First you rough them up in good shape with a palm sander with 80 grit to get the gloss off. Then step down until you have a fairly smooth finish (to, say, 220 grit). Then wipe the hell out of them with an appropriate solvent for the type of paint you''re using. The problem with the formica is getting a "tooth" good enough to hold paint without it chipping when you touch it. I was in a hurry, so I used acetone. Then I used an oil based enamel undercoater and two and three coated with regular household enamel wall paint (oil based). I used a satin finish. It looks great, and, if you gouge it, touches up easy. I applied everything with a little foam roller, which gives it a consistent stippled-look finish. Frig around with it and you''ll get what you want. I suppose that you could use polyurethane boat paint, but I paid about $7 a qt. instead of $26/qt. and can touch up, and, actually, repaint pretty easily now. Bang the finish with a sharp edge and it will come off. As I recall, I may have had to 2-coat with the enamel undercoater to kill the dark panel color shadowing through. Kw
