Your plan to peel the laminate from the cabinets is likely the result of the fact that it has already started to peel and that should tell you the nature of the substrate.
Can you peel laminate off cabinets.
Peeling and painting laminate kitchen cabinets i patched some of the uneven surface with my favorite filler wunderfil here.
1 if the peeling is substantial use the utility knife and hand scraper to gently remove the laminate from the substrate.
I would recommend using glidden gripper primer it will stick to anything.
It depends on what you want to spend.
If the putty knife doesn t loosen the veneer s glue try a thin chisel.
If the laminate isn t peeling lift the edge from one of the doors to get a look at the underlying material.
These laminate cabinets had seen way better days as they were cracking and pee.
Remove and or glue down any thermafoil that is peeling.
Break off loose veneer as you continue to insert the putty knife into the opening.
Clean the cabinets thoroughly with water dish detergent and a sponge.
If the peeling is minor leave the panel on.
You can do the following steps with the door or panel on but if you can unscrew it from the cabinet you might find that working with it can be much less awkward.
I would peel that plastic off as i got cut on it real bad 5 yrs ago.
Then make a frame on doors drawers paint trim one color doors a little darker color.
Although generally durable the laminate can begin to peel back with age or potentially crack.
Both standard laminate and thermofoil cabinets can effectively mimic the look of wood cabinets but generally cost considerably less.
Aug 19 2019 last week i took on a big cabinet refinishing painting job.
Once clean and dry apply a bonding primer.
I would peel get stuff to wash glue off.
If you do not have a hair dryer or this method does not seem to be doing the trick you may need to use a little more force.
Tap on the chisel with a hammer to loosen.
Take care to keep the chisel flat to avoid gouging the soft particleboard underneath.
It will be easier for you to take down the cabinet doors if you are able.
This economy comes at a price however since any laminated wood product runs the risk of delamination and the very thin layer of pvc material used in the thermofoil process is especially prone to peeling.
After sanding and wiping everything with a tack cloth i spray primed the cabinet parts with my favorite kilz primer here.