There are only a few places to find metal kitchen countertop edging for a midcentury, vintage or retro kitchen. On this page, I outline where to find this kind of edging, which is meant to edge laminate — Formica, Wilsonart, etc. — countertops in authentic period style. I also point you to examples from readers’ actual kitchen project… I show a video of my own steel-edge kitchen countertop, and I point you to historic references. All with the goal: To help you decide which style of metal edging you might prefer and to help make it easier for you to find it.
1. Stainless steel countertop edge:
U-shaped snap-on stainless steel countertop edging is my favorite — I used it in my kitchen remodel. To do my countertops we used three different pieces — (1) a snap-on countertop edge, (2) a “cove” molding to connect the countertop with the backsplash, and (3) a smaller snap-on top edge of the backsplash.
The only source that I know of for this stainless steel edging is >> New York Metals <<. Note: For stainless steel, go straight to the pieces named “SS”-followed by a number. My husband gets huge credit for discovering New York Metals. They have been making this edging for decades. 10+ years now into my kitchen, this edging is looking as great as the day it went in!
Above: In this video, I show you my stainless steel edging including all the pieces and how they work. I also talk about how I designed the countertops. Here is a story in which I write out and show the three pieces that I used.
2. Aluminum countertop edges:
- RetroTrims aka Eagle Moulding — manufactures a variety of aluminum countertop edgings. They tell me: “Eagle Mouldings is the largest supplier of aluminum retro trims and mouldings. We stock corrugated or fluted face nosing, angles, bar and tee’s, coves, and plain or smooth nosing and tees. Our retro polished aluminum and chrome looking aluminum trims are available in polished, Brite Dipped, satin or clear, bronze, and black or standard mill finish. Our custom and OEM aluminum extrusion services allow us to meet any need our customer may have. We can cut to length or miter, punch, drill and countersink, form or bend any extrusion to specifications as well as offer many standard and custom anodized colors.”
- Bars & Booths has 1.5″ flat, ribbed aluminum countertop edging. There are also other sizes. They offer metal edging with space to insert vinyl or laminate as an accent — but this is 3″ wide, typically a size reserved to for tables, not countertops.
- Brunneret has a number of aluminum banding pieces. In addition to straightforward 1.5″ step-nosing edging design, it also looks like it offers a 1.25″ aluminum molding designed to hold price tags — but instead, you could insert a colored strip of laminate or vinyl (?) and get that banded color edge look— worth a try or call to see. Note: Typical kitchen countertop edging, per my experience, is 1.5″ — but that is not a hard and fast rule. They have a similar such design in 7/8″ width. Thanks to reader Bill for this tip.
- New York Metals — also carries a variety of aluminum countertop edge pieces. You can get it either with a brushed/matte finish or with a shiny polished finish.
- One reader used aluminum tee-molding from McMaster-Carr.
Jean’s husband found some aluminum molding at Home Depot that he used to trim the Satin Glide-style bathroom vanity he made. Also see this Alexandria Muolding at Home Depot. Be aware: A kitchen countertop is usually 1.5″ tall; if you choose a narrower/less deep countertop edge, you will need to plan accordingly. Joan also said she jury-rigged some aluminum molding found at Home Depot: “When we put a new layer of Formica on our kitchen counters, we went to Home Depot and got some inexpensive metal edging, carefully bent it around the corners, glued it and then put some decorative screws in. I think it was a very inexpensive option and it still looks great!”- Note, for this story I aimed to call out the actual manufacturer-retailers; their products also may be found at other online retailers. For example, in the past readers have recommended Outwater Plastics as a source, but my recent check of their online catalog now indicates they are getting their trim from one or more of the manufacturers I have just identified above. I also received this tip from reader Bill about another company, Orange Aluminum that I *believe* is retailing trim from one or more of the manufacturers above. Thanks, Bill!
3. Look locally and save on shipping:
I have heard from some readers in the past that local stores may carry some of these products. If you can find stock locally, you may save a lot on shipping, as this stuff often ships in 12′ lengths — oversized and a potentially relatively high shipping charge. I have no research on unique local retailers — this may be determined by local and regional preference. If you have the time to do your research locally, you may be able to save money on shipping.
4. Faux metal edges:
and:
5. Installing metal countertop edges:
On this question, I refer you to consult with the professionals / manufacturers who are selling you the edging.
6. Metal trim to edge your stove:
7. Historical references:
8. More research on countertop materials and ideas:
- See all my kitchen countertop research — including where to find laminate — here.
- Also popular: Readers and their kitchen projects — real-life experiences from readers like you!
This site hands down, has the best reference to help me honor the distinctive features in my 1952 built house! I was struggling with removing the red countertops (with 12” backsplash the previous owners painted) because they are original and the stainless edging covered in paint ?. This has given me the confidence to find an alternate arborite to replace the damaged countertop and edging, which I love, and still remain true to the spirit of my home. I will def submit before/after pics as soon as I find a aqua with a hint of red that will look original. Please keep up the good work and sharing information like this! BTW- the photo on the original post could have been taken in my home ♥️ So excited to start!!
Thank you, Suset – and welcome. The lead photo in the story on the homepage is my kitchen 🙂
For all our countertop research head here >> https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/countertops/
New York Metals is a great place to stop if you’re visiting NYC and flying in and out of LaGuardia (they are located very close to LaGuardia). I was in NYC on business and called ahead to order trim for my office remodel. They packaged and boxed it up for me (very well, it was hard to unpack) and I took it as checked luggage on my flight home! It certainly saved on shipping, and since I was in NYC, anyway, bada bing, bada boom!
Thank you Pam; this was timely since I’ll be tackling my kitchen counters in a week or two. I had no idea Home Depot may have something that will work for trim.
I have a question, not specifically about metal trim. My salvaged kitchen cabinets have gold sparkle Formica in adequate condition, but…
The sink hole is too large for my NOS GE turquoise kitchen sink (bought through a link Pam posted; eternal gratitude!)
Has anyone tried to patch an over-large sink hole? I have some extra laminate from a broken piece of countertop; I wonder if there isn’t a way to sister in some plywood along the one side of the sink hole and cut and patch the sparkle formica.
I hate to discard or cover over the counter top entirely; the laminate is a bit worn but still acceptable to my loving eyes, but the sink is non-negotiable. It goes in.
If anyone has messed around with doing something like this to save a counter top, I’d love to hear about it.
I would guess there is a way, but you’d surely see the patching unless the lines of the ‘new’ laminate were matched up impeccably. Note, Make it Midcentury now has sparkle laminate made new if you just want to bite the bullet and replace the entire run. https://retrorenovation.com/2018/05/30/glitter-laminate-v2-with-more-sparkle/
I am trying to picture the 12-foot lengths going around on the luggage carousel when you arrived at your home airport. 🙂
Hi Pam,
On your stainless steel counter top edging video, it would have been so much more helpful if your hubby had zeroed in some how with close up shots of those corners!
If you play the video full screen would that help?
Dang, it’d probably be cheaper to fly in to LaGuardia and pick up the single stick of trim I need than to get it shipped! I was sure hoping you would have more sources for the stainless because that’s the one big detail holding up finishing my pink bathroom. Thanks for the update though, Pam.
Did you see the shiny aluminum trim from Home Depot, it might be worth checking out as a proxy to SS
Wondering if in all your searches that you found any copper/copper colored trim for countertops? I just got some vintage copper pulls and love the idea of a metal edge on the countertop but was thinking of trying to match the pulls I just got. Any suggestions are welcome!
Also, love your site! Lots of information I have not found anywhere else.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen any extruded metal trim that finished copper, but you might try the laminate companies like Wilsonart, Formica, etc. to see if they have done it.
Need 72′ of the metal retro trim..need price & availability asap.
Hi Keny, I don’t sell anything — refer to the companies profiled in the story. There are usually hotlinks right to their webpages (in blue text) Good luck.
Does anyone know where to buy the aluminum molding/trim that is at the back of the countertop, the stuff that you put between the counter and backsplash? When I look at Eagle Mouldings, everything is quite big for the back of the countertop. I’m wondering if I even have the right term!