Thread: Veneer and Laminating glue

Can't offer advice for veneering because I haven't been there.

For plastic laminates like Laminex and Formica, contact glue is used because it is a surface film glue, i.e it will bind to both surfaces without having to penetrate or key into the surface. This is important with the plastic laminates as both surfaces are sealed and impermeable and PVA's are a penetrative bond dependant on the glue being able to get into the pores of the material to form a decent bond.

Poly glues depend on drawing moisture from the materials being bonded to activate the curing proccess. With a plastic laminate, there is no moisture to be gained from that side, so the activating moisture would have to come from the substrate, which is often very dry and moisture reactive (prone to swelling) if a man made substance. This means that it is not practical to artificially wet the substrate in many instances, and the glue would not cure well in the absence of moisture. Poly also foams during the curing proccess and would tend to raise the laminate off the substrate.

Sure that others can provide better or more definitive answers for you.

Horse sauce, cheap fast and durable.

+1 for contact for pretty much everything especially large surfaces; it's quick, strong, doesn't need clamping and no squeeze out. As mentioned above, stay away from polyurethane on large surfaces due to it foaming as it cures.

Timber edging can be done in PVA, poly or contact, however: contact doesn't sand as well as the others and may leave a more noticeable join but is great for thin (0.6-1mm) stuff that can't be clamped, poly needs to be well clamped and I wouldn't recommend it for anything thinner than 3mm. PVA is the most versatile for edging of any thickness and masking tape at regular intervals will provide enough pressure to hold it on while it sets.

Have a look at Testing Wood Glues - Fine Woodworking Video

Types and Properties of Woodworking Adhesives

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/ext...NR/FNR-154.pdf