I talked to someone at Holdahl company about if water based contact cement would work for laminate on hardboard. He said it should work, but he recommended sticking with solvent based because there is a learning curve for water based. He said cabinet shops typically take about a month to really get proficient with water based when switching from solvent based. Personally, I am not sure water based would be that hard to use.
I am planning to get some #6 3/4" screws to countersink into the hardboard so I also have a mechanical bond. When I make more of these frames in the future I might just use screws and Titebond II instead of contact cement.