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My uncle swore by using a damp rag to clean melamine before glue up
He said it would help the PVA bond better and I laughed at him for years. Finally tried it on a tricky edge banding job last month and dang if that stuff didn't hold like iron. Has anyone else gotten a tip from an old timer that sounded ridiculous but actually worked out?
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nathan_kim3mo ago
Funny you mention that, a buddy of mine had the exact same thing happen with his dad's old trick for sticking formica to particle board. His dad told him to rough up the surface with a fine grit sandpaper and then wipe it down with mineral spirits before glue up. My buddy laughed and did it his own way for years, kept getting delamination on edges. Finally gave in one day out of desperation, sanded and wiped with spirits, and that stuff stuck like crazy. He texted me a picture of the joint a year later and it still looked perfect. Makes you wonder how many old school methods got lost just because they sounded too simple or dumb to try.
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brooke4483mo ago
Actually melamine's nonporous so a damp rag can't really help PVA soak in, but it might clean off dust or release agents that mess with adhesion. Did you wipe it down right before gluing or let it dry first?
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torres.riley3mo ago
Oh man, I've been there with melamine more times than I'd like to admit. In my experience, wiping it down right before gluing is key, but you gotta let that rag dry completely first. If the surface is even slightly damp from the water or spirits, the glue sits on top like a wet spot on glass. I usually hit it with a clean dry cloth right after the damp wipe to pick up any leftover moisture. Also, your mileage may vary, but I've had better luck using a construction adhesive instead of PVA for melamine anyway. Take that with a grain of salt though, every job is a little different.
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