Delamination is when an entire coating separates cleanly from the substrate in large sheets, rather than cracking or flaking in small pieces. On previously sprayed cabinets, doors and furniture it almost always points back to how the original surface was prepared before spraying, rather than anything wrong with the topcoat product itself.
Spray application lays down a thin, even, often quite hard film that relies entirely on a genuine mechanical or chemical bond to the substrate beneath it. Where that original surface was not adequately keyed, degreased or primed, the sprayed film sits on top rather than truly bonding, and it can peel away as one continuous sheet.
A factory finish sprayed over without any abrading, silicone-based furniture polish residue left on the surface, or a topcoat sprayed straight onto bare melamine or laminate without a suitable adhesion primer are all frequent causes we find on inspection.
Delaminated areas are stripped back fully to the genuine substrate, which is then properly abraded, degreased and primed with a product suited to that specific material, before the sprayed finish is reapplied with a bond that will actually hold under normal handling.
Not reliably. Once a sheet has lifted, the bond underneath has failed across that whole area, so a full strip and reprime gives a far more durable result.
It happens most where the original melamine or laminate surface was sprayed without a suitable adhesion primer, which is one reason we check substrate type carefully before quoting.
Rarely — it is almost always about surface preparation and primer choice rather than the topcoat product used.
Send a photo of the lifted area and tell us what the surface was before it was originally sprayed.
Delamination is an adhesion failure from the original spray preparation, and a proper strip, prime and respray is the only durable fix.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
