How do I 'finish' pre-finished edgebanding?

[Mark Gibney]

I'm getting ready to do a small kitchen remodel for a client, and am thinking of using pre-finished maple plywood with 3mm iron-on pre-finished edge-banding.

After I trim the edge-banding how do I finish the 3mm raw edge?

A friend suggested I wipe the edge with BLO. I got to thinking 3-part finish or polyurethane wiped on might be good.

Any suggestions?

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm getting ready to do a small kitchen remodel for a client, and am thinking of using pre-finished maple plywood with 3mm iron-on pre-finished edge-banding.

After I trim the edge-banding how do I finish the 3mm raw edge?

A friend suggested I wipe the edge with BLO. I got to thinking 3-part finish or polyurethane wiped on might be good.

Any suggestions?

Iron-on prefinished 3 mm? Never seen it. The iron-on I've seen is more like a half millimeter, and the trimmed edge is generally not finished.

[Mark Gibney]

Yes, it's not a real typical dimension, but it's available, and the client wants 3mm edgebanding.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm with your client: two or three mm of banding is way better than veneer tape. I cut my own banding wider than I need, glue it on with yellow glue and pipe clamps, and trim it flush with a flush-trim bit in a router. With prefinished plywood, the big challenge is to do that flush-trim without damaging the finish. I've never found a foolproof method. So I buy unfinished plywood, and finish the plywood plus the banding together.

[Mark Gibney]

Jamie, I've gone that route in the past, but this time I'm trying to avoid spraying lacquer. Seems like pre-finished edgebanding doesn't have a huge fan base.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

3mm is a common thickness, but not in iron on. The heat would never get to the glue to melt it. Do you have a link to this?

As for finishing the edge, I guess it would depend on what type of finish it is? Some type of wiping finish is probably the easiest.

[Mark Gibney]

Gerry, here's the link -

http://www.chiquinellysupplies.com/products/14462586-maple-prefinished-3mm-peel-and-stick-13-16-x100-wood-edgebanding

I'll let you know how it works when I get it. Apparently the peel and stick can be ironed on too. We'll see.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I wouldn't trust that description.
So it's peel and stick, not iron on. Two different things. As I said before, if it was iron on, I don't think it would work, as the glue wouldn't get hot enough to melt.
If it's peel and stick, I would think that heating it with an iron would make it less sticky while hot.
And one other thing. If it's in a roll, I think you'll have a very difficult time with it. I've used rolls of 3mm in an edgebander, but trying to glue it on without an edgebander was very difficult, because the banding won't lie flat after being in the roll.

Good luck.

[Peter Kelly]

You'd probably also scorch the surface of the wood before the glue underneath activated. I believe all the coiled 3mm stuff is multi-ply wood with finger joints so the look is a bit different than solid stock. The "real" wood 3mm material sold by Adwood and others comes in 8' straight lengths.