Priming for P-lam Edgebanding

When you apply plastic laminate as edgebanding, using a primer helps a lot with strong adhesion in service. February 14, 2010

Question
I read a while back to have a good adhesive result for p-lam strips run in your edgebander. Is priming the p-lam needed?

Question
(Laminate and Solid Surfacing Forum)
From contributor M:
I have never primed, but we always clean the back of the sheet with lacquer thinner before we strip it up. I have been told many times that the manufacturer use some kind of release on sheets that can interfere with the bond, especially when you’re stripping it up for edgebanding.

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From contributor J:
Priming will sometimes cause the strips to want to stick together when you put a stack of them in the feeder gate, but it helps me sleep at night. Years ago we didn’t prime our HPL strips either, there is a huge difference. With an unprimed strip on say a p-lam door, if it gets caught or snagged the entire strip would peel right off the door and there would be no glue adhered to the strip. With priming the strip will only break off in small (1/4'') pieces and the laminate backer will still be stuck to the edge. We have used primer from both Dorus and Jowat. It is a water based product that we spray on before running the sheet through the slitter and it dries in about 45 minutes. I know many shops that do not prime or have never heard of priming, but as I said it is a small step and peace of mind.
Also if you are building to AWI specs it is required.