PVC Banding Inside Round Cutouts?
Advice on how to apply edgebanding to the inside of cutouts in door panels. August 19, 2013
Question
I have 56 of these to do in PL lam doors: 2" x 6" with 1" radius corners (oval) and 4" x 6" with 1" radius corners are the sizes. Does anyone have a good system for this? I will use a template to cut them so they should all be the same size.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor M:
Use contact cement on the PVC instead of hot melt. Precut all pieces to make sure they fit tight before gluing.
From contributor G:
If you could find a grommet that would work, that would save an enormous amount of time. Other than that, the Fastcap pre-glued tape would speed things up if they have a color that would work for you.
From contributor L:
If you use contact on PVC, make sure it is water borne and not solvent.
From contributor C:
They won't settle for high gloss paint? What about grommets to cover the holes? We use Stay Put in an aerosol can sometimes for this application.
From contributor D:
If color match isn't important, T molding works well. It can be cut a bit long and pressure fit. A piece of dowel or drill rod works for burnishing/seating it.
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From the original questioner:
Thanks to all for the information. The color must match the laminate, so grommets are out. I will use the PVC used on the doors, planned to use contact cement. The spray cans seem like they would be messy, with lots of time cleaning, plus using solvent to clean may make the edges loose. I have spray grade contact and thought about using that with a brush inside the openings.
My concern is getting the length of the banding right and trimming around the openings, but maybe I am worrying too much about that. Getting the joints right might not be as big a problem as I think. I have done lots of things in my 45 years in the trade, but not this particular thing and thought I would ask for advice since there are so many to do.
I do like the T banding idea, but color matching is not available. Maybe I should ask the client if they care more about color than possible problems down the road if the PVC comes loose?
From contributor M:
You can spray contact cement on the hole edges easily by stacking a group of your doors up with the holes aligned. Then you will only have to mask or clean off the top panel around the hole. I have done this many times. You can also use solvent contact cement - there is absolutely no problem.
From contributor S:
Push for the T-Molding. Much easier, much quicker. I use 13/16" on 3/4" material, then trim flush with a plane blade. I do this on the cutout for glass doors, and just use the closest solid color T-mold I can find to the laminate color. Never had a complaint.
From the original questioner:
They have agreed to white tee moulding. The one I plan to use uses a slot cutter that produces a slot .075" wide. If I get a cutter .080" wide, would it be easier to get the tee in the slot in the corners, or should I cut the tee away in the corners? Thanks.
From contributor D:
You may not need to do anything with a 1" inside radius. Do not cut off any of the leg, perpendicular slits only as needed. To figure out the length you need for each size hole, cut off the leg. Use tape to hold along the straights. The T-molding will compress a bit, so cut it a bit longer than you think will work. Put the seam in the middle of a flat. Set the seam with the molding bulging out as it goes away from the seam. Set that part last and the opposing flat first (similar to pressure fitting laminate). Seat the molding by burnishing/pushing it towards the set opposing flat. It does take some work to get everything seated tight. Setting a bulge in front of a corner may also help in pushing the molding tight into the corner. I'd use whatever cutter size is recommended for your molding.
