Avoiding White Glue Line Under Finish?

[Stew Denton]

I am getting ready to build shelves for my wife's kitchen pantry. I will used plywood with a 3/8" pine edge to cover the plywood plies of the plywood edge grain.

In the past it seems like white glue will form a white line if any squeezes out of the glue line and smears out on the joint.

I will not be staining the shelves, just applying finish, probably a water based semi-gloss polyurethane.

In the past I have tried to wipe down any squeeze out or waited for the tiny beads of squeeze out to get a bit dry, and then scraped them off and sanded lightly.

Is there a better way, or a different glue that does not form white lines if you miss getting off some of it? Gorilla Glue?

Any advise will be appreciated. (I tried a search in the finishing forum with no luck.)

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[William Fretwell]

Not all glue is white, Titebond III dries off white and is waterproof, good in a kitchen. Another method is using a biscuit joiner with small biscuits, this requires a thicker leading edge but puts the emphasis on the glue in the slot not the glue on edge grain. It provides a very secure method of attaching the edge. You can use two grooves and a filler strip also. The compression of the biscuit provides a tighter fit when the glue swells the biscuit.

As you say it’s a kitchen cupboard shelf, not really the subject of much scrutiny.

[Richard Coers]

I believe you have some application issues and it's not buying the wrong glue. Ideally, a glue line should be so tight that no glue should show at the joint line. The ideal amount of glue in a joint should just have a few tiny bits coming out of the joint. If you watch TV workers, they slather it on so thick it runs everywhere. That is great if you are sponsored by a glue company, but improper if you are making furniture. Do some practice glue up and start with too little glue and work your way up until just a fine line forms when you clamp it. Could be that what you think is too little is just right. Be meticulous with clean hands and keep them out of the glue!

[andy bessette]

I believe you have some application issues and it's not buying the wrong glue...

This. And I would avoid Gorilla glue.

[Mel Fulks]

White glue can shift a little as it dries and cures. Still used for some things , like kid’s pop-sickle stick stuff ! Yellow glue doesn’t roam around.
But does not wash out of clothes as easily !

[Curt Harms]

I've masking taped both sides of a joint. I also have a not-too-sharp Harbor Freight chisel that when used on glue that has a fairly hard shell but soft middle, about 20-30 minutes after glueup comes off pretty clean. Also remember edging is not generally structural so you don't need to overdo the glue.

[Charles Guest]

I am getting ready to build shelves for my wife's kitchen pantry. I will used plywood with a 3/8" pine edge to cover the plywood plies of the plywood edge grain.

In the past it seems like white glue will form a white line if any squeezes out of the glue line and smears out on the joint.

I will not be staining the shelves, just applying finish, probably a water based semi-gloss polyurethane.

In the past I have tried to wipe down any squeeze out or waited for the tiny beads of squeeze out to get a bit dry, and then scraped them off and sanded lightly.

Is there a better way, or a different glue that does not form white lines if you miss getting off some of it? Gorilla Glue?

Any advise will be appreciated. (I tried a search in the finishing forum with no luck.)

Thanks and regards,

Stew

1. Use less glue.
2. Use biscuits.
3. Use splines with just a kiss of glue.
4. Nail the trim on with no glue (or again the proverbial kiss), sink and cover the nail heads, though this obviously would work better with painted or stained shelves.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

+1 for Titebond III , conservative use of glue, cleaning at just the right time, scraping (not washing), and sanding. If your plywood has a thick enough face veneer you can use a power sander. A plowed (dadoed) edging is a neat way to face shelves but creates a lip that you may or may not want. I sometimes use Thermo-Web iron on edge banding if the facing is not needed to strengthen the shelf.

[Jim Koepke]

If you use nails to hold the trim, you might want to consider "blind nailing."

Here is an old post of mine on the subject > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?232798

jtk

[Rafael Herrera]

My dad made me a built in bookcase many moons ago, the shelves are plywood with oak banding. To do a neat job don't use too much glue, carefully wipe off the excess of the show side with a wet rag or paper towel, multiple times if necessary. Afterwards you may need to plane and/or sand and/or scrape the show side as you see fit given your level of expertise and tools available. Alternatively, get some heat activated edge banding strip, they come if different wood species to match.

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