Using Adhesive to Attach Cabinet Crown to the Ceiling
Advice on using adhesive for attaching pre-finished crown, to avoid the need for hiding nail holes. February 26, 2007
Question
I have a pre-finished crown that I have to install and was wondering what others do to install this without shooting brads or finished nails into crown and leaving large holes to be refinished. I have a 23 gauge micropinner for securing to cabinet along with glue but am concerned about how to secure top of crown. Can I use glue or should I secure with brads/finish nails?
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor D:
I use 15 gauge finish nails for the ceiling and do a careful job with color matched wax from FastCap. If you match the putty carefully it's nearly invisible when you're up on the ladder, and totally invisible to the client standing on the ground. I wouldn't mind using long 18 gauge brads and construction adhesive as an alternative, but the adhesive can get messy and you're still just bonding the wood to the paper covering on the sheetrock or the plaster. The nail is holding the crown to the wood strapping so I figure it's stronger and more forgiving of house settling.
From contributor F:
Fastcap's 2P10 glue works real well but you need a couple of extra hands on longer lengths. Try not to get them stuck to the crown!
From the original questioner:
Yes, I was going to use the Fastcap glue on the cabinet side but was wondering what to use on the ceiling side.
From contributor H:
The Fascap glue will be hard to use with long pieces. I have used clear silicone and Fastcaps long 3rd hands to install crowns to ceiling. The silicone will give you a few minutes wet time to clean any squeeze-out, but and is incredibly strong and has some elasticity to allow for some future settling. It will stick to anything. Put a thin bead on the top of the crown and on the back flat area.
From the original questioner:
Contributor H - that was what I was looking for. Just clear silicone will work then? My plan was to use the 2P10 for all joints and to attach to cabinets along with micropins then silicone where crown meets ceiling.
From contributor H:
Fastcap glue is great to join miters. I only use the silicone behind the crown, not as a finish or filler bead. It is not paintable. For finish bead or gap filler at the ceiling use a paintable grade silicone or caulk. This will also act as an adhesive, but the micropins and silicone behind the moulding will be the strongest part of the joint. Most clear silicones are not paintable.
