Fill Material for Melamine Seams
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The search for a quality product that will disguise joints in melamine. April 14, 2005
Question
I have a piece of melamine that needs to have another piece of melamine joined to it. The outside of the case will be covered with laminate. However, the inside of the case will still be visible from the backside of the counter. I don't want the seam to stand out. What is the best filler? Do they make a melamine specific filler material? I would also like to use it on the very rare place where the edge chipped on the table saw. What about something like the "T" moulding that I'm using on the raw edge? I'd rather have some sort of putty or caulk that would fill the seam.
Forum Responses
(Laminate and Solid Surface Forum)
From contributor G:
We usually use white seam-fil.
From contributor V:
Seam Fil is made by Kampel Enterprises, Inc. It comes in a variety of colors and can be mixed to match any laminate or melamine. I have been using the Seam Fil product for about 10 years. It works great for repairs, and dries very quickly.
From contributor D:
They sell two kits, one for solid colors and one for wood grain. Both are a little spendy, but your local supplier might sell you a single tube or more of #901 Seam Fil - great match for white melamine. I've gotten singles here in southern California from EB Bradley.
From the original questioner:
I ordered what I thought was the correct Seam Fil. I called Kampel and they referred me to someone to order from. I ordered a F-99(?) and a 1 oz. tube of the stuff. Total price was around $7. I hope this is what you are talking about.
From contributor V:
You can usually get Seam Fil from your local laminate supplier. It can be purchased online from C.H. Briggs Hardware. They are local for me and I usually pay $2.50-$3 per tube. My other laminate suppliers carry it also, so I will order it from whoever I am getting a delivery from at the time.
From contributor G:
Are there colors out there they make that are not on my chart? I think you want to get back a hold of the dealer and order color #901 (white) and since you haven't used it (Seam Fil) before, you might want to get the extender #944 along with some of their solvent to take off excess. Chances are the $7 includes shipping.
From contributor L:
We use a simple acrylic latex caulk. It's white. It stays put. Minimize the gap, and it cleans up with wet rag. Seam fil has a tendency to dry out and curl/lift. Especially when used sparingly. I have used both, but I almost always use the acrylic latex caulk. (It is also considerably less expensive than seam fil.)
From contributor T:
That caulk will also hold dirt, and over time will become pretty nasty and ugly. We prefer SeamFil. You can cut it with MEK and get it deep down into a too-wide dado or whatever your problem is. We also find SeamFil to be a lot cheaper because the tubes keep forever. A tube of caulk not used for several weeks is trash.
You can call Kempel and they will send you a mixing chart for whatever brand of laminate you specify. Don't bother buying SeamFil solvent at several bucks for a little bottle. Get a quart of MEK from your hardware for four bucks - it's the main ingredient in their solvent and works perfectly.
From contributor S:
If you think seam fill lasts forever, I have a special deal on several tubes... They are kinda old, but hey, they last forever, right? When the tube is like rock hard, how do you get it to squeeze out? We use a simple acrylic latex caulk and if you clean the area first and keep it clean after, it works fine and it never cracks and chips out like the forever-lasting seam fill.
From contributor T:
You're right; "forever" might have been a wee bit of an exaggeration. But what happens around here is that we buy a tube of caulk, use 1/20th of it, it sits on a shelf for a coupla weeks, the nozzle clogs up and it's easier to open another tube than to dig out the clog. Don't you find the caulk holds dirt over time?
From contributor S:
I have had good luck with the caulking, but it really sucks when you get it all caulked and cleaned up and someone blows off a table right onto the wet caulk and you get to start over again. The questioner may have better luck with seamfill anyway if he is trying to hide a tight seam. It would be hard for the caulking to stick. I really don’t like seamfill, so I would use a brush on paint to hide the seam. The one I use is called Laminate Fix and it comes in a lot of colors including white. I buy direct from the manufacturer. It goes on easy and holds up really good.
From contributor T:
I'd be very interested in the source for this Laminate Fix stuff. I'm far from sold on SeamFil for melamines, and have even gone so far as to try WiteOut.
From contributor S:
The company is Kit Industries Inc.
From contributor T:
I went to their site and there is a picture of a bottle with a built-in brush like Wite-Out. Is this stuff a liquid or is that a picture of their porcelain repair goop?
From contributor S:
It is like white out in that it has a built in brush.
From contributor O:
There is a product called Form Fill that is very similar to the Seam Fill. The nice thing is that you can get the exact match for most of the laminate manufacturer's product. I am sold on Form Fill because of the extensive selection offered.
The comments below were added after this Forum discussion was archived as a Knowledge Base article (add your comment).
Comment from contributor E:
I use both filler and SeamFil. SeamFil is supplied by the company I work for so it's the one I use most often. I use the 944 to retard it some, and then mix my color. It's best to run a line of masking tape down either side of the seam. That way I'm not cleaning nearly as much material, and I can work it partially dry to build up for chips and etc.
