Best glue for mdf to formica

[Ben Rafael]

What what do the best job and not mess with the flatness of the surface?

[Jason Beam]

Contact Cement - all the way.

It's easy to do once you know the process. Coat both surfaces, let it get "tacky", Use dowels or other thin spacers to get it into position then pull each spacer out to stick it down. Roll it out from the center towards the outside to get out any air bubbles. Remember that you only get one shot at sticking it down - once the two surfaces touch, they're stuck together pretty good.

[Thomas Williams]

I have always used contact cement.

[Travis Gauger]

Contact cement with a roller. I like the weldwood low VOC odorless stuff. Nice long oopen time on it too.

[Grant Morris]

Contact cement is the way to go. If you have never used it before I suggest you work with a couple of small test pieces to get the hang of it before doing any production work. Rolling it on with a paint roller is a good method to speading it...

[Jamie Buxton]

I use PVA and a vacuum press. Works like a champ. Dunno why PVA bonds well to the back, but chips easily off the front.

[Chris Padilla]

I would normally say contact cement but maybe I just didn't do a 'good job' with it because it is starting to come off 5 years later on my workbench...in various spots. I think I used Elmer's version of cc.

[John Gornall]

I second PVA and vacuum press.

[David DeCristoforo]

If you can get your piece into a vacuum bag, PVA (white "Elmer's) glue is going to provide a much stronger bond than contact. However, if you are applying the PL to a surface that is already "integrated" into a larger structure (like skinning the top of a bench that's already built) that you cannot get into a vacuum bag, contact is the only good option. And to answer Jamie's question, glue will not stick to the surface because the surface is a thin layer of "non porous" melamine. The "back" is not coated so the glue will bond.

[Steven J Corpstein]

What what do the best job and not mess with the flatness of the surface?

I just made a new top for my router table. Took 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF and laminated with Wellwood contact cement and a foam roller.

Used a cabinet scraper and a ground straight edge to insure a flat surface (less than .002) then used the same foam roller and cement for Formica.

The results were better than I hoped for.

[mike wacker]

+1 for contact cement. I'm in the middle of building a Router table, largely based on Norm's DVD. I'm making four tops (yes four). Figured I'd screw the first one up and a buddy was interested in one as well so we just kept going. There was a partial gallon of Formica brand 145 "brushable" contact cement laying around. Rolled it for the main top section and brushed it for the fence faces. Didn't have a roller to press the Formica when making the surfaces together. Used the end of a 2x4. Worked perfectly. Hope this isn't too criptic.

[Karl Brogger]

Spraying it is the best way to go, but not worth the expense if you're just doing a single top. Wilsonart brand glue used to be the easiest to work with IMO. I haven't built a laminate top in years though.

Some hardware distributers carry pressurized tanks that look like an LP tank for a grill for contact cement. I did this once and it worked out decently.

[Chris Padilla]

I just made a new top for my router table. Took 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF and laminated with Wellwood contact cement and a foam roller.

Used a cabinet scraper and a ground straight edge to insure a flat surface (less than .002) then used the same foam roller and cement for Formica.

The results were better than I hoped for.

Steve,

Are you saying that you glued two sheets of 3/4" MDF together using contact cement?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Weldwood - the real stuff that you aren't supposed to breath too deeply of.