Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Alternatives to contact cement for plastic laminate?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Benbrook, TX
    Posts
    1,245

    Alternatives to contact cement for plastic laminate?

    Howdy,

    I'm looking for a good alternative to rubber contact cement for plastic laminate. Substrates will be MDF and baltic birch plywood. Is there something thinner permit the laminate to lay flatter? I'm not concerned about cure time as I won't be doing kitchen countertops, just smaller panels, so I don't mind clamping/pressing.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    937
    Quote Originally Posted by James Carmichael
    Howdy,

    I'm looking for a good alternative to rubber contact cement for plastic laminate. Substrates will be MDF and baltic birch plywood. Is there something thinner permit the laminate to lay flatter? I'm not concerned about cure time as I won't be doing kitchen countertops, just smaller panels, so I don't mind clamping/pressing.

    Thanks!
    James,

    I'd take a look at spray adhesives. I can't think of names right now but I've seen several that work like contact cement except that the sprayer allows you to lay a finer coat of the stuff down.
    ---------------------------------------
    James Krenov says that "the craftsman lives in a
    condition where the size of his public is almost in
    inverse proportion to the quality of his work."
    (James Krenov, A Cabinetmaker's Notebook, 1976.)

    I guess my public must be pretty huge then.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    I use a water-bourne contact cement made specifically for laminates. The one I have is a Formica branded product. No bad odor.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    10,304
    Good ol' yellow glue bonds very well to the back side of formica -- much better than I've ever been able to get contact cement to do. I use a vacuum veneer press to yellow-glue the laminate to the substrate. Works like a champ.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    34
    James,

    I just got done laminating a formica top to MDF for a router table top and I use the spray adhesive by 3M called Super 77. It work great except I had to clamp it. I left it for several days since I did not have the time to work on it anyway. Just after I finished clamping it down my brother called me and told me about 3M's Super 90 spray adhesive which according to the label is designed to be used on, amoung other things, laminates. I think you can get both at either the big boxes or ACE. Give the bottles a read and see what you think.. Even though I had to clamp my top down it is glued on tight. I lifted the top with the edges of the laminate before flush trimming and absolutely no pull up.
    Good Luck
    Tim

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Eagle River, Alaska
    Posts
    731
    Quote Originally Posted by James Carmichael
    Howdy,

    I'm looking for a good alternative to rubber contact cement for plastic laminate. Substrates will be MDF and baltic birch plywood. Is there something thinner permit the laminate to lay flatter? I'm not concerned about cure time as I won't be doing kitchen countertops, just smaller panels, so I don't mind clamping/pressing.

    Thanks!
    Not knowing how much work you have to do or if you will be doing this kind of work on on-going basis I will suggest you try a spray gun, hose and one of the products like Conbond 690.

    I use this product both at work and the home shop. This product and it’s competitors are very low in odor, sticks very well and is ready to stick in just one to two minutes after spraying, a real time saver.

    I paid about 125 for the hose and spray gun. The canister of pressurized glue runs around 300, sounds expensive but it goes a long way and is a pleasure to work with compared to the contact cement in a can that you must roll or brush. The shelf life after opening is quite long. I have had mine set for several months at a time and still works well.

    All most forgot, you could also buy a mini canister of glue if the 300-dollar size is too large as it's available in two sizes.

    Do a Google for more info.

    Full sized canister.
    <img src="http://www.fototime.com/29C998BA3A2BF42/standard.jpg" border=0>
    Rich
    ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING

    Eagle River Alaska

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    2,296
    I'm not sure about the scope of your project, but i will offer this. Last month i had a situation where i needed to re-attach a plastic substrate to some MDO plywood and I tried several methods that did not work. I then tried Super Glue Gel, and it was AMAZING!!! After only a few minutes of set-up the bond was permenant.

Similar Threads

  1. Anyone use "gel" contact cement?
    By Bob Johnson in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 05-30-2004, 11:06 AM
  2. Contact cement and veneering
    By Bob Weisner in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-14-2004, 7:29 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •