Is it possible to fix blisters under Formica???

[Jim VanBramer]

I recently applied Formica to a small tabletop, and after curing I discovered that I had a couple of areas that after time had popped up/disbonded. Has anybody had this happen before, and more importantly has anybody had any luck fixing this problem??? :confused:

[John Christiansen]

I have luck most of the time with this procedure.

First I hope you used a solvent based adhesive, not that lousy, no fume, no smell, no stick stuff. If you used the water based stuff, then read no further.

Take a towel and fold it once, lay it over the bubble and heat things well with a clothes iron. Weigh the bubble down and wait untill things cool back off before removing the weight. that should do it depending on how much adhesive you used in the first place.

Too intense heat and it will blister the formica itself and youll have to redo the entire top.

[Steve Clardy]

I recently applied Formica to a small tabletop, and after curing I discovered that I had a couple of areas that after time had popped up/disbonded. Has anybody had this happen before, and more importantly has anybody had any luck fixing this problem??? :confused:
Jim. Sounds to like like you had a lack of glue in some areas when applying your glue. I use water base glue, and have had only one problem, which was lack of glue. I had two spots come loose, and ended up replacing the customers top to take care of the problem after two attempts to fix it.
There is only about one way to do it. Drill a small hole maybe 1/8" and inject glue into the hole. Then use a product called seamfill to fill the hole.
If you have a solid color, you need only one tube at $9.00 per tube. If you have a multi colored laminate, it might take two or three different color tubes. This can add up. If your lamanite top isn't too big, it might be best to remove it and redo it.
Solvent base you can heat up and restick if theres enough glue there, but water base, the heat method does not work.
Also, when you roll your lamanite down, don't stop there. Take a smooth block of wood, around 4" square, with all edges rounded with no sharp edges. Take a mallet and hammer the block of wood all over the lamanite.
Simply rolling it down with a roller will not give you enough pressure to bond the glue together.
Steve

[Dar Lounsbury]

Steve

If drilling a hole in the top and injecting glue is a workable option, what if one drilled the hole or holes up from the bottom using a drill stop and save the hole to repair. I have not done either but could it work?

Dar

[Steve Clardy]

Steve

If drilling a hole in the top and injecting glue is a workable option, what if one drilled the hole or holes up from the bottom using a drill stop and save the hole to repair. I have not done either but could it work?

Dar
That's an option I thought of also when I tried to repair the top I had to replace. I did not do it though, as the thought of the wood chips from the drill being in the hole, sitting on the substrate, holding the laminate up. So----it may work, may not. May be worth a try.
I read an article in cabinet maker magazine where Danny Prolox tried that, using a suction cup to lift the formica while drilling the hole. He didn't state what happened and if there were wood chips or tearout to deal with.
Steve

[Jamie Buxton]

Steve

If drilling a hole in the top and injecting glue is a workable option, what if one drilled the hole or holes up from the bottom using a drill stop and save the hole to repair. I have not done either but could it work?

Dar

If you've got a plunge router with a good depth stop, it would work better than a drill. All the chips come out of the hole, and you can control exactly where the hole stops.

[Jim VanBramer]

Just to follow up on this, I had some luck fixing the problem this weekend. I had used the solvent based cement, and had originally put a fairly thick coating on both surfaces. I took the LOML's blowdryer (the poor mans heat gun :D ) and heated the blister and surrounding area. Then I placed a piece of plywood over the spot and clamped the @%#$! :eek: out of it. Let that sit for a couple hours to cool, removed the clamps and it seems to have re-bonded. I'm really glad that worked cuz I sure wasn't looking forward to redoing the whole thing!