How to face glue melamine panels?


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I went to the Habitat store over lunch looking for some cheap shop cabinets and didn't have any luck. I did find a pile of melamine and walked out with 2 black sheets which I'm going to use for my SawStop outfeed table. To beef it up I want to face glue it to make it 1 1/2" thick. Is there any glue or construction adhesive that will work? I'll put hardwood edging around it. 

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Just use melamine glue BUT you can't use the melamine as is. Just use your ro sander and get below the top coating. Will be fine for what your doing. Melamine glue will NOT bond new melamine to new melamine properly. Its made for gluing exposed PB in joinery like cabinets with dado's.

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You could use contact adhesive . Rig up a stop on 2 edges to keep it lined up when you put them together. Walk all over it to snug it down. Then trim all 4 edges to even them up, add a solid wood edge and no screws to worry about.

The stuff for Formica or the spray adhesive?

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The stuff for Formica. I use Wilsonart's H2o water based contact adhesive . I put it on with a very short nap roller. Doesn't smell bad , might take 30 - 40 minutes to dry at 65 degrees. You have one shot at it so do a dry run and practice mating the 2 sheets.

I think it's $50 + for a gallon. You can use it for plastic laminate or paper backed veneers.

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When you're face gluing melamine that's got the factory glaze slightly abraded, you'd be amazed how much holding power glues that aren't supposed to stick to it can have.

 

...said the guy who's got veneer press platens that are now permanently part of an unusable part, because he didn't remember to wax them after 4-5 uses and the Titebond 1 won't let go...   

 

Try scuffing a 12"x12" pair with 150 grit, face glue them, and try to separate them a few days from now.  

 

If you check the PDF sales sheet on the link I posted above, there's a spec where Titebond actually tested melamine to melamine bonding.  While the PSI strength advertised seems low compared to "normal" glue bonds, most glue bonds are a fairly small area.  Your large panel will have many square inches of area.

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If you check the PDF sales sheet on the link I posted above, there's a spec where Titebond actually tested melamine to melamine bonding.  While the PSI strength advertised seems low compared to "normal" glue bonds, most glue bonds are a fairly small area.  Your large panel will have many square inches of area.

 

It has nothing to do with bonding its about drying. Melamine sheets are non permeable surfaces. There has to be someplace for the water in the glue to go in order to cure. The back sides of products like formica are permeable. In order to bond it actually need to sink into the surface to create a mechanical bond but that being said it will stick not bond.

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