Repair laminate on rail

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Fatboyslim

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I recently acquired a sweet 1960 or 1961 Brunswick Gold Crown 3. When I got it home I noticed that there is a small chip in the laminate part of the rail near the corner pocket. I am not sure how to repair this. Any advice will be appreciated!
 

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I say not worth the trouble.

I don't know how it would be fixed and presume you ask the question from the same position...so someone would likely need to be hired.
 
Fatboyslim said:
I recently acquired a sweet 1960 or 1961 Brunswick Gold Crown 3. When I got it home I noticed that there is a small chip in the laminate part of the rail near the corner pocket. I am not sure how to repair this. Any advice will be appreciated!
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Welcome!

Looks like a Gold Crown I as that's the only version that came with the optional ash tray castings, assuming they weren't retrofitted to a Gold Crown III. Also, the Gold Crown I was manufactured from 1961-1974. The Gold Crown III from 1976-1997.

To answer your question, there is no easy fix to repair that. The only way would be to remove the laminate, repair the void and re-laminate the rail. The problem with this is the Formica pattern Brunswick used, Elegant Rosewood 6211, has been discontinued for quite a while and is near impossible to find. I tried finding some for my ball cleaner project to no avail. If you want the rails to match, you'd have to replace the laminate on all the rails with something other than the pattern Brunswick used.
 
rexus31 said:
Welcome!

Looks like a Gold Crown I as that's the only version that came with the optional ash tray castings, assuming they weren't retrofitted to a Gold Crown III. Also, the Gold Crown I was manufactured from 1961-1974. The Gold Crown III from 1976-1997.

To answer your question, there is no easy fix to repair that. The only way would be to remove the laminate, repair the void and re-laminate the rail. The problem with this is the Formica pattern Brunswick used, Elegant Rosewood 6211, has been discontinued for quite a while and is near impossible to find. I tried finding some for my ball cleaner project to no avail. If you want the rails to match, you'd have to replace the laminate on all the rails with something other than the pattern Brunswick used.
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Thank you for your insightful comment! I am impressed that you knew it had the optional ash try castings from that snippet of a picture. Do you think I should keep the ash try corners or change them for solid corners? The guy I got it from said he kept his chalk in the ashtrays.
 
Fatboyslim said:
Thank you for your insightful comment!
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You bet.
Fatboyslim said:
I am impressed that you knew it had the optional ash try castings from that snippet of a picture. Do you think I should keep the ash try corners or change them for solid corners? The guy I got it from said he kept his chalk in the ashtrays.
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The ash trays are personal preference. I don't care for them and think they get in the way. Some guys love them because the tables they grew up on had them.
 
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Get rid of the ashtrays….one of the worst ideas Brunswick ever had….they had some on Anniversaries also.
 
pt109 said:
Get rid of the ashtrays….one of the worst ideas Brunswick ever had….they had some on Anniversaries also.
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I think I would keep them for the cool factor.. but what the hell was Brunswick thinking 😂 ashes all over the cloth..what a great Idea
 
trob said:
I think I would keep them for the cool factor.. but what the hell was Brunswick thinking 😂 ashes all over the cloth..what a great Idea
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You're looking at a 1960 decision from a 2025 perspective... Brunswick was big business back then and you better believe it knew its market then.

P.S. I like the ashtray corners, super unique and art deco awesome. Though they do need to be clean and I don't want to bridge out of one!
 
For a chip that small, you can get some two-part epoxy and a epoxy dye kit. Mix the color to match and fill. It'll never be perfect, but it will be smooth and won't let the damage extend.

My GCI laminate was in worse condition, so I scuffed and painted it charcoal metallic gray, then four coats of clear. It is great.

I like the ashtrays, they are a great place for chalk.
 
Mohawk makes fill stick that are basically crayons in wood colors. You could try buying a set of crayola crayons and blend it in with different shades of black/brown. You can use heat to melt it in or I would start with using a Formica chip or similar to push the wax in the chip then smooth it out.
 
Find a local skilled wood worker and he/she should be able to come up with something, whether it be shavings and glue mixture or another process. At least would fill the void and also look better. Good luck
 
Fatboyslim said:
I recently acquired a sweet 1960 or 1961 Brunswick Gold Crown 3. When I got it home I noticed that there is a small chip in the laminate part of the rail near the corner pocket. I am not sure how to repair this. Any advice will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
The pocket should cover most of that. This damage is usually the result of someone nailing the pockets, a bit too high.
 
On a more "to the point" note::

Next time the cloth on the rail is off for replacement; take some epoxy and color it to match the wood, smear some on the missing spot, place a 1/8"th backer made of teflon and clamp until epoxy sets.

Then continue with the cloth replacement.
 
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