How to glue furniture edges to chipboard at home?

The edge is used to protect the end edges of chipboard or MDF from impacts and abrasions, and from moisture. This treatment gives the edges of the furniture strength and protects others from the effects of formaldehyde, which impregnates the chipboard sheet inside. So let's figure out how to choose adhesive for PVC or chipboard edges.

Choosing glue for PVC edges

Kinds

There are such types of edges:

• Made from melamine - it is a tape made on a paper base with glue. It is usually used for finishing the interior parts of furniture. A budget-friendly, but not high-quality type of edge. It wears out quickly, is afraid of a damp environment and after some time can come off on its own. The only advantage of this finish is that the sticker does not require much time and can be done at home using a regular iron;

Types of edge covering

• The flexible T-shaped profile is a flexible T-shaped strip that is easily inserted into a pre-prepared cut in the side of chipboard or MDF. To install a mortise T profile at the end of the slab, it is necessary to mill a groove. If the profile becomes damaged over time, it can be easily replaced without disassembling the furniture. Of course, the use of this method is limited only by the availability of a milling machine;
• PVC edging - it gives furniture parts durability, increased wear resistance and protects the edges of the furniture from damage. But in order to stick it on, you need a machine for processing the edges, because of this, its use is limited;
• Made from ABS plastic - a more environmentally friendly analogue of the previous type. Made from plastic that does not contain chlorine. It is successfully used in the furniture industry due to its qualities such as impact resistance and heat resistance.

Varieties of edges

From the variety of edges you have to choose the most suitable one.

Melamine

Made in the form of a self-adhesive tape made of decorative paper, which is impregnated with melamine resins. Typically used for interior decoration of furniture. This is a budget option for edges for chipboard, not characterized by high quality. It has a short service life, is susceptible to moisture and often falls off on its own over time.

The undoubted positive property of the melamine edge is the ease of gluing it; this can be done at home yourself, using a regular iron. The second advantage is the absence of a side, a curb protruding above the edged surface, which sometimes irritates when it gets under your hands when working with the keyboard, and also interferes with sweeping away small debris, for example, crumbs from the dining table in the office.

PVC edging

It is a flexible tape with curved edges that form a side. This edging is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Types of edging differ in width and profile: in cross-section, the edge resembles either the letter “t” (T-shaped) or the letter “p” (U-shaped).

The latter is easier to attach, but less reliable; experts do not recommend using it on surfaces that are often subject to friction: on the seats of stools or benches, on the front edge of a computer desk, which is constantly in contact with the forearms.

PVC edging increases the durability and wear resistance of furniture parts, and reliably protects edges and corners from damage.

ABS plastic

The edging is similar to the previous type of edging tape, but is more environmentally friendly. Made from chlorine-free plastic. It has found successful application in furniture production due to its heat resistance and impact resistance.

Pasting process

If you want to save money, then use a melamine edge with glue, which is applied to the end of the product and simply ironed with a hot iron, after which the protruding parts are cut off with a knife. This method can also extend the life of old furniture.

Let's take a closer look at the simplest method. A hair dryer is suitable for this. But if you don’t have one, an iron will do. You will also need: a knife, a piece of cloth, fine sandpaper. So:

• It is necessary to cut off a piece of the edge, not forgetting about a margin of a couple of centimeters;
• Then place the melamine tape with the adhesive side on the piece;
• Apply a hot iron and wait until everything is thoroughly warmed up and the glue applied to the edge melts. For warming up, it is better to choose areas up to about half a meter;
• Using a rag, immediately after warming up, press the edge tape tightly. You can do this as soon as you remove the iron, as the glue quickly cools and hardens.

How to glue the edge?

High-quality edgebanding is a mandatory step in self-assembly or repair of any type of furniture. But before you start processing the sections, you must definitely calculate all the dimensions of the structural parts. This will promote a tighter fit of the edge material and make the furniture look harmonious and natural.

It is important to take into account that the average thickness of the tabletop is 32 mm, and if you are going to apply an edge to a chipboard, you will need to adjust the edge strip to the size of the slab of 16 mm and 10 mm.

It is better to use a 2 mm thick plastic edge on the front parts of the furniture, and 1 mm on the visible edges of the shelf parts. Manufacturers usually ignore invisible cuts, but this definitely reduces the performance characteristics of the furniture, because dust and moisture penetrate inside the chipboard. For such parts, PVC or melamine tapes with a thickness of 0.4 mm are used.

Warming up the adhesive layer of the edge. Glued edge 0.4 mm with overhangs.

We glue furniture edges with our own hands

There are two technical solutions for hemming the edges of furniture parts at home. They are based on the method of gluing edges onto laminated chipboards.

This whole operation is simple if you have purchased an edge for lining furniture that has already had glue applied to the back side. But if there is no adhesive on the tape, then you will have to work a little longer. Plus, you will need a suitable instant adhesive capable of joining plastic and wooden surfaces.

The work process will be directly affected by which end surface the edge material will be glued to. If you cut the chipboard in a professional workshop, the edges will already be aligned. When independently preparing the surface of the ends for gluing, a hand cutter will help smooth out the uneven and sharp protrusions of the chipboard.

The home option for covering the edge surface involves working most often with two types of edge tapes: melamine and PVC. Let's consider the principle of applying each of them.

Melamine edge with adhesive applied.

Melamine

The melamine edge is distinguished by the fact that it is produced with glue already applied. Therefore, before starting gluing, you only need to cut off a section of the border of the required length with a margin of a couple of centimeters for trimming and proceed directly to the process itself, which includes several sequential actions:

1. The tape is leveled over the entire end surface and fixed in the desired position.
2. Take an iron or even a hair dryer and from one end, always through paper or cotton fabric, begin to smooth the border over the part so that the adhesive composition on its inner surface begins to melt. It is important to warm up the tape in small sections, gradually moving on to each subsequent one.
3. To prevent swelling from forming, the heated areas should be rubbed with a roller or felt cloth. Correctly selected temperature conditions for heating the device will also help to avoid “air formation”.
4. When the adhesive has completely cooled, the protruding edges of the tape are removed, and small roughnesses are rubbed down with sandpaper.

All operations are carried out with care so as not to damage the edge material.

Cut off the ends of the edges. We cut off the edge overhangs to 0.4 mm. Processing the cut with sandpaper. The result of applying an edge is 0.4 mm.

PVC

The principle of gluing a PVC edge with an adhesive base is almost identical to the sequence of working with a paper edge described above. But there are also some nuances:

• It is advisable to start gluing with thin plastic edges; it is easier to smooth them tightly after heating and clean them along the edges;
• gluing of PVC edges is carried out directly on the entire surface of the chipboard end, and not in drying areas. The plastic is applied from one end and, then gradually heated with a construction hairdryer, is stretched over the entire remaining cut surface of the part;
• you need to ensure that the heating temperature does not exceed +45 °C, otherwise the polymer itself may also melt.

Processing edge overhangs 0.4 mm and 2 mm

The final stage of gluing the ends of furniture products is cutting off the sides along the edges of the chipboard. All overhanging edges should be removed along the contour of the end surface, starting from the ends of the product. Melamine and thin PVC edges lend themselves well to a regular or stationery knife; as an alternative, some even use a spatula with a hard blade or a metal ruler. And if the edge is more than half a millimeter, then it is better to use a manual router. The machine will evenly trim all unnecessary parts of a thick edge and significantly save your own effort.

Removing 2 mm edge overhangs using a hand router. A cutter for removing edge overhangs. Glued 2 mm PVC edge before processing overhangs. The result of processing 2 mm edge overhangs with a hand router.

How to prepare for gluing edges

Half the success of edging is having the tools properly prepared for the job. Mandatory condition: the knife that will be used to cut the body kits must be sharp, the smooth surface of the iron must be free of scale and soot, and the edge with glue must have a sufficient layer of adhesive on the back side, evenly distributed over the entire surface. It is equally important to clean the ends of the slab itself from sawdust and defects.

Required Tools

To apply an edge to chipboard, tools that anyone can find at home are suitable:

• a hair dryer can successfully replace a regular iron;
• a stationery or regular knife, a metal ruler, or a hard spatula are suitable as an edge cutter;
• fine sandpaper or file;
• felt and other dense fabric or rubber roller.

PVC edging without glue on the back side

If glue is not applied to the back of the edge, you will need to purchase it separately, and then follow these steps:

1. Make the tape of the required length, taking into account the protruding edges.
2. Distribute the glue over the surfaces of the edges and cuts of the slab.
3. Wait a certain time for the glue to dry, and then forcefully press the edge to the end and smooth it out with a roller or a block with a cloth attached to it.
4. Wait again for the glue to dry, squeeze the surfaces again and smooth them out, and then remove all protruding parts of the edge.

Trimming excess

After gluing, it is necessary to trim off the excess to give the product a finished look. First of all, you need to trim the ends. When trimming off the excess, be careful not to accidentally damage the corners of the piece. Point the knife inside the part. For a high-quality result, you need to take a new knife with a sharp blade.

To complete the finishing process, go over the corners with sandpaper. They should turn out smooth, with a uniform chamfer, and when you hold them with your hand you should not feel any roughness.

You can also use an iron to remove the old edge tape. Heat the edge and remove it with a knife or sharp spatula.

How to glue an edge to a tabletop

For optimal cladding, it is important that the table top is sawn off with high quality. Any glued edge holds better on a flat surface, and cut defects can only be hidden by an applied edge. It is also used specifically for tabletops, as it prevents objects from sliding off the table.

To glue the edge strip to the tabletop, it is necessary to properly prepare the work site so that the adhesion is as tight as possible and the strip does not move during the polymerization process.

Hot melt adhesive

Hot melt adhesives have long taken a strong place in professional furniture production. Therefore, if you are going to put production on stream, it is better to switch to this type of adhesives and the corresponding equipment, which provides a fairly high speed of execution and more stable quality.

According to their physical properties, hot melt adhesives are classified as thermoplastics. This means that when they are heated, they become highly elastic and quickly turn to a solid state when cooled. High fluidity and strength when hardening are given to this type of adhesive by the presence of ethylene vinyl acetate polymer (EVA) in their composition. They also have excellent compatibility with different types of materials.

It is necessary for specialists who manufacture furniture at a professional level to know the properties and technological features of using these adhesives. The main disadvantage of their use is that you need to have the appropriate equipment for the job. The application and heating of hot melt adhesives to parts that need to be glued is done using hand guns or special machines.

Profiles for processing furniture edges

You can trim the edge of furniture not only with edge tape. There are also furniture profiles that are attached mechanically. They are available in two sections - T-shaped or U-shaped (also called C-shaped).

For T-shaped furniture profiles, a groove is milled in the edge being processed. The profile is hammered into it with a furniture (rubber) mallet. The edges are cut at 45° to make the angle look attractive. It is brought to perfect condition with fine sandpaper. This type of profiles is produced from PVC and aluminum; with the same installation method, they look very different, and the differences are significant.

T-shaped furniture profile for processing furniture edges

In width they are available for laminated chipboards of 16 mm and 18 mm. There are also wide ones, but they are much less common, since they work less with such material.

C- or U-shaped profiles are most often mounted with glue. They coat the edge with it, then put on a plastic profile, press it well and fix it. These PVC profiles are soft and hard. Hard ones are harder to bend and it’s difficult to paste them over curved edges. But they have great strength.

Gluing C-shaped furniture profiles does not cause problems

If you still need to “fit” a rigid C-shaped furniture profile onto a bend, it is heated with a hair dryer, then given the desired shape and secured with masking tape until the glue dries.

Material and tools for work

To glue the edge to the tabletop with your own hands, we need the following tool:

• The iron is a household iron, it will be used as an edge heater. Can be replaced with a hair dryer;
• Construction knife with new blades;
• Fine-grained sandpaper;
• Scissors.

We prepare from the material:

• The tabletop itself;
• ABS edge according to the color and thickness of the tabletop.

How to seal a cut on chipboard?

FURNITURE EDGE

1. Let's check that the glue is applied evenly to the inner surface.
2. Press it to the end and heat it with a hairdryer or iron.
3. Cut off the ends and clean them. If light stripes form, they can be sealed with furniture wax, stain or a solution of potassium permanganate.

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Purpose of edges for chipboard countertops and panels

The aesthetic purpose of the edge is not the main one. The main task of the chipboard edge is to protect it from moisture. This is especially true in the kitchen and all ends of the kitchen countertop need to be covered.

The edge also protects you from the release of formaldehyde from the chipboard (chipboard) countertop.

As an alternative to edges, special end caps for tabletops are sold. I wrote about them in an article here. Overlays are easy to install, but add unnecessary elements to the appearance of the countertop that may seem unnecessary.

By the way. If you buy a tabletop without cutting from a manufacturer, you should know that a factory tabletop 3 meters long, of any thickness, has a technological edge of about 10 mm, which needs to be cut in any case. And if you do not order this from the seller, you will have to cut the tabletop and seal its edge on site.

Related article: All about the main quality criteria for a kitchen countertop made of quartz agglomerate

Edge adhesive: types and characteristics

Special glue for PVC edges is produced mainly in the form of granules. Solid compositions are melted before use. At high temperatures, parts are quickly fixed. Drying takes minimal time. Granular adhesives contain:

• polymer binders;
• stabilizers, which are responsible for the immutability of structures under the influence of various negative factors;
• resins that increase bond strength;
• waxes that provide rapid hardening.

Solid glue turns into a paste or liquid substance under the influence of high temperatures. Before gluing structural elements, it must be applied in a thin, uniform layer over the surface. Next, it is enough to connect the parts and fix them in a motionless state until they completely harden.

Important! During the gluing process, it is necessary to strictly follow the manufacturer's recommendations regarding the thickness of the adhesive mixture. An insufficient amount of it will not provide the required strength. If there is an excess, the surfaces will be stained. Compositions with thermal pastes have the best properties. They dry in 1 to 5 minutes. Such adhesive mixtures are able to withstand the negative effects of moisture for a long time without losing their original characteristics. You can work with them when connecting relief parts, as well as elements that have a porous structure. Manufacturers produce several types of adhesives. They are selected according to the type of product, the conditions of their upcoming operation, and the loads.

When buying adhesive for the edge of a tabletop, you should pay attention to a contact material based on natural rubber. It demonstrates excellent performance when gluing not only wood boards, but also plastic, aluminum, PVC, leather, plywood, etc.

No matter how careful the craftsman is, in the process of gluing segments it is almost impossible to avoid getting glue on tools, equipment, and product surfaces. You can get rid of excess adhesives using a professional cleaner.