Formica is a brand name for a generic solid-surface material called plastic laminate. It's used for countertops, cabinets and furniture. If you have a laminate surface somewhere in you home, chances are someday you will have to deal with a seam that needs filling or a small chip that needs to be hidden. This used to mean living with the ugliness, or replacing the countertop. That's because paint cannot be used to repair lastic laminate. It won't stick. Look for a product called Seamfil. Seamfil is a resin-based paint-putty that can be purchased in a color that precisely matches your plastic-laminate surface. All you have to know is the brand and color number of the laminate to be repaired. Out of the tube, onto a polished putty knife and into the chip -- patch made -- and the ugly is all gone. And that's the On The House tip for today.